Upcoming Trainers' Synergy Meeting

Next Wednesday, 21 Sep, I will be sharing one of my signature topics with a group of fellow trainers. It's entitled 'Trainer Techniques That Save You Energy'. It's derived from my book - The Introvert Teacher - and is the first part of a series of speaking topics that I will be developing.

The objective of the session will be to:

1) Understand and harness the motivations behind why you train

2) Move your focus away from fear towards love

3) Save your attention and energy for the people and the things that matter most

Details:

7 pm - 9.30 pm

OnePeople.sg, level 2, Speech Academy Asia (beside Braddell MRT)

21 September - Wednesday

Feel free to e-mail me at remus@remuszhong.com if you are interested in attending! Those of you who have my number may reach me there as well.

See you there!

Binge On History

In the past week or so, I've been binge-ing (is that a word?) on documentaries about history in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. 

Some of the information challenged my 'traditional' views on the area, while other bits made me want to find out more.

Certainly, all documentaries have some bias in them, depending on the angle and intent of the producer. The point, then, is to take in information from different sources and piece them together in a way that makes sense to me. 

A trio of things that struck me:

1) Historical figures are often portrayed in a good light by their own people's history texts. Accounts from other groups of people may shed light on their actual behaviours and deeds.

2) There is little consensus on historical information and what they mean. Interpretations vary according to the historian's culture, personality and mindset.

3) Events that once occurred are often very similar to situations today. It's no stretch to say that 'history repeats itself'.

Becoming More Visible Online

Taking a cue from some of the books I've been reading, I decided to spruce up my online profile. I haven't started work on my LinkedIn profile yet, but it'll be the next step.

In today's ever-connected world, if you cannot be found on the Internet, you have zero credibility. So, to ensure that I don't end up in that state, I'm going to be working on becoming more visible and accessible.

I'm intending to turn this into a more profession-oriented site (for myself, of course). So, there are going to be some changes.

If you haven't already, check out my Speaker and Trainer pages!

Let me know your thoughts.

Here's a sleepy cat I photographed while I was in Taiwan (many years ago).

Meeting Tom Abbott & Nicholas Ong

Last night, I was at the August APTS meeting, where I met a couple of new people and listened to Tom Abbott and Nicholas Ong.

Taken from APTS website: www.aptsg.com

Tom was an emphatic speaker and an expert in sales training. He shared his story and a few points from his signature training material with us. One of the things that struck me was his emphasis on developing expertise - something that I strongly advocate too.

In answering one of the audiences's questions, he mentioned that saying no to training in an area of our non-expertise allows us time and space to focus on our area of expertise. He acknowledges that, at the beginning of our training careers, we will want to take on practically any assignment, just as he did.

However, he reminds us that once we build up our skills and portfolio, we need to specialise so that we can stand out and focus on giving the best of ourselves.

A picture with Tom

Nicholas was a very different style of speaker. He was clearly more comfortable speaking in Mandarin, but, through his gallant effort, and the way he made his personal story so relatable, he received a standing ovation. 

His was a story of transformation, how he overcame a past mired in darkness and confusion to emerge as an entrepreneur and speaker. He told us about the hard work he put in to complete his books and his determination to make something of himself. He certainly has. And he isn't resting on his laurels.

Two very impressive speakers with so much experience to share. I'm glad I was there to take it in. I look forward to the next meeting.

A picture with Nicholas