Personal Branding Workshop with Eugene Seah

On 13 Feb (Mon), I was invited by Eugene Seah to sit in on one of his personal branding workshops. This time, it was with The Singapore Professional Golfers' Association. The attendees consisted of many golf coaches, some of whom have been coaching their learners for years. I'll admit that I didn't know there were so many golf coaches in Singapore.

At the start, things went off a little slowly. My thoughts were that golfers were more likely to display introvert characteristics. They would likely prefer to take a back seat and absorb information than they are to readily respond, After all, they chose to play a sport that encompasses small groups of players in a huge expanse of quiet, serene surroundings. 

Nevertheless, with Eugene's generous outpouring of energy, engaging demeanour and useful personalised advice, the golfers eventually warmed up to him and became highly enthusiastic.

A trio of takeaways from a trainer's perspective:

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1) Use familiar terms

Seeing as how the attendees were all golfers, Eugene used acronyms like BOGEY and ACE to emphasise certain aspects of this branding workshop. The use of such familiar terms was clearly visible in the attendees' increase in response to him as he built more and more rapport with them.

2) Focus on one or two points only

The amount of time available meant that there was no way of going too in-depth into the concepts of personal branding. As such, instead of doing a touch-and-go on many different 'modules', Eugene chose to focus on one main area - in this case, the subject of Style.

3) Consciously connect with the audience

There are numerous ways to connect with an audience and Eugene managed to do quite a few of them.

He was there early to mingle and talk to the participants.

He also identified and gave airtime to individuals who were more open to sharing at the beginning, thus encouraging the others to open up as well. 

Finally, he asked for and used the first names of those that he interacted with during his workshop.

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It was a great experience to learn from and observe a fellow trainer.

Thanks, Eugene, for the invitation and the opportunity.

Meeting (and Shooting) Fandi

I met Fandi (Ahmad) on Wednesday, 8th Feb. This happened through a series of people, as do all such meetings.

The day before, a fellow trainer asked if I was available to do a short photoshoot. Since I had helped to photograph the SG100 Carnival, he thought of asking me to do it.

He later passed my contact on and, before I knew it, I was asked if I was available on the morning of Wednesday. Since I was, I was told that the person I was photographing was Fandi. The pictures will be used in an upcoming project (can't release any details yet) and they needed a few high-res photos of our local star.

The meeting was scheduled to take place at Jalan Besar Stadium, where I found myself on the morning of the shoot.

I met Calvin, who plays a major role in the project, and he shared some insights on getting good portrait shots, he being a photographer himself.

One important thing he shared was that a portrait is all about the eyes and to make sure that the eyes of the subject were in focus and clear.

Bearing this valuable tip in mind, we walked into the stands and, after meeting Fandi's manager, I took some test shots to get the settings right, and finally got to meet Fandi in person.

Never having met him before, I had no idea what Fandi would be like.

I found him to be a very engaging, charming individual with a great sense of humour and fun. He was easy-going and very enjoyable to work with. 

The shoot lasted about 20 minutes or so and we got some pretty good shots.

Because Fandi and his manager had a meeting to attend, Calvin and I thanked them for their time and proceeded to our respective next destinations.

Of course, we didn't forget to take a quick photo with Fandi:

It was a great experience and a privilege to be able to shoot Fandi - someone I grew up hearing about.

Thanks, Calvin, for the opportunity. And, of course, thanks, Fandi, for being you.

2017 Busy Period Begins

As with previous years, projects are coming in hot and fast now.

For the next few months, there may be slight hiccups in updating this blog due to the volume of work that needs to be done.

Nevertheless, I will continue to update this blog and refine the rest of the website based on some suggestions that I have received.

The Introvert Teacher - Marching Towards Completion

The day is close! 

A video for the book has been commissioned. Initial layout has been approved. Marketing materials are being finalised. An updated cover has been designed.

All that is left to do, really, is to print the book once everything is completed.

I'm estimating another couple of weeks or so until all this is done. 

If all goes well, we may have our first physical copy ready before April!

This is still the previous version. The new one will be up soon!