Reminder: It's Not What You Say, It's How You Say It

One of the larger projects I'm working on this year is as the main trainer of a collaboration between the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) and the National Cadet Corps (NCC) of different schools in Singapore.

This is an initiative to have NCC cadets become ambassadors for a smoke-free lifestyle in their respective schools. To push this initiative forward, the Singapore Cancer Society has come up with a talk with a series of activities and projects aimed at getting these cadets ready to take on their roles.

Since different schools have different cultures and different behavioural norms, I found it important to change my delivery each time I presented the talk and run the activities. It doesn't always go smoothly at the start, but, by the end, the NCC cadets are engaged, enthusiastic and ready for the next step.

Of course, there will be a small minority that are smokers (all under the radar, of course) and these individuals will pose some challenges.

I have found that the key is to integrate them into the whole rather than make them feel ostracised by the message. To do this, I found it necessary to change my delivery of the information and steer the flow of the discussions towards a 'softer', more emotion-based engagement. The key information remains the same, of course.

This has been yet another reminder of a philosophy I stand strongly by:

It's not what you say, it's how you say it.

The Introvert Teacher - Nearing Completion

At last! The final cover art of The Introvert Teacher is completed, approved and has been sent to update all current materials.

Layout initial approval has been given and is underway for the rest of the chapters of the book.

Other little details for different parts of the book have also been submitted and everything is under production with my publisher.

I have to say that I didn't think that this phase would take so long. In my head, it was a 'OK, let's go ahead and do it' moment and everything will fall into place.

It seems that I still have much to learn about the publishing industry.

I'm glad that I'm getting to learn it now, through my first book, with helpful guidance from an experienced and professional team.

I have little doubt that if I had to do all this on my own, my book publishing won't even be halfway done.

So here's a HUGE thank you to my publishing team!

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.