C4 Speech, By Paulina Chao, 2006/8/1
Picture: what is the first thing you do in the morning when you wake up? Is it opening the curtains? Brushing your teeth? Doing exercise? Or worrying if you can complete today’s work? Actually, the first thing we do is looking at a clock. If it is still early, we would go back to the bed. If it’s late, we would jump from our bed and rush to work. We live in a time river and time flies. How can we fight against the clock?
The industry is doing us a big favor. We live in a world filled of machines. We have washing machines, vacuums machines, and dishwasher machines to save time from housework. We don’t need to wash all our clothes by hand like our grandma. We have telephones, computers, and fax machines to make our work more efficient. Airplanes and cars can take us almost anywhere we want. These inventions leave us more time to enjoy our life. They change our lifestyle and extend our life in a special way. As we can clearly see, machines are useful for fighting against the clock.
Three hundred years ago, someone predicted that in the future due to technology, we would only need to work two to three hours per day. People will spend most of their time for entertainment. The words “fast, quick, rush or hurry” will disappear. Unfortunately, the prediction has been proven to be just a dream. The truth is the opposite. Life’s footstep is becoming faster than ever before. The word “karoshi” was coined few years ago. This Japanese word means "death from overwork”. People lead a life with such a busy pace, which they pay for with their health. Although machines save us time, we still overwork to fulfill our desires in a competitive world.
Increased pressures and anxieties are causing mental and heart diseases. People are starting to review their lives footstep. They find a slower life make us happier and healthier. The master coffee advertisement says “We should waste our life on the beautiful moments. Sometimes, just with a cup of coffee or tea to drink slowly, we can smell it by our nose and taste it by our tongue. Sometimes, just listen to a lovely song, we can imagine the world. In these moments, we can tell “this is life!” We can enjoy more about life when we slow down. More and more people start to lead a slower life and enjoy it. We can see this trend from the rage of yoga, meditation, jogging, and handicrafts. The Spanish slang says “Those who run faster will reach the grave firstly”. I believe no one likes to speed up under these conditions.
Now we come to one question: what is a suitable speed for living? The fact is, there is no certain standard on how fast or how slow you should be. Your speed should be whatever you feel is comfortable. We should learn how to control time, and not be controlled by time. We can combine a fast life and a slow life together, making it balance like playing music. Include allegro, moderato, and lento for the rhythm; working fast, while eating and reading slowly. These choices are all up to you. The life will be diversified and rich when it goes in different tempos. Let us play a right rhythm for our life.
Jun 23, 2007
To make an effective communication
C3 Speech, By Paulina Chao, 2006/5/13
Mr. (or Madam) Toastmaster. Ladies and gentlemen.
Let me start by telling a situation we might face during the daily life. John, a new engineer in your company, is always late to the office. As John’s supervisor, you feel unsatisfied about this situation. At first, you don’t want to handle this problem, because you think his working ability is very good. You don’t want to affect your relationship with him by blaming him for late. However, you feel angrier about John while he keeps being late. Finally, you loose your patience and talk with John about this problem. He promises that he will be punctual next time, but still fails. Under this situation, how to make an effective communication? Today, I’d like to talk about three ways help you to make an effective communication.
Firstly,” Decision”. How to decide whether a communication is needed or not? From your viewpoint, John is a good worker and you have good relationship with him. Should you discuss about the problem of lateness with him? The tool to evaluate is you should review your reaction. When people are unhappy and bothered by something, even they choose not to discuss it, their facial expression, body move, and talking will reveal it. The other person can feel your dislike without understanding why. This will affect your relationship slowly. If you find that your attitude towards John becomes unfriendly, perhaps you should decide to make the communication.
Secondly, “Definition”. To define what the real problem is can make the communication more effective. When John is late for the first time, you should talk with him about the problems content. That is “you’re late and I hope you can improve it”. When John is late for second time, then, you should talk about the pattern. “You promise that you will be punctual, but you break your promise. This hurt your credit and it’s hard to trust your words next time. When the problem repeats, then it’s time to discuss about relationship. You should point out that it will affect your relationship with him. Most of people will keep talking about content only while the problem repeats. It’s very easy to turn the communication into blatter just like mothers do. Using the “definition”, that is whether the problem belongs to content, pattern or relationship, I call it CPR, can help you solve the real problem. So, to get your head right before you open your mouth.
Thirdly, “Emotion”. Emotion Control. We all know it’s very hard to control the emotion before and during the communication, especially when we’re angry. The anger is very easy to turn the communication into fighting. According to a research called “attribution studies”, which found most people are not familiar to find the reasons for the problem. People are apt to conclude the problems come from the character. When John keeps being late to work, you start to think John is someone unpolite and rude. This makes you even angrier. If you want to make an effective communication, you should control your emotion by controlling your thoughts. It’s better to calm down before starting a communication. How to make it? My suggestion is to think some good aspects and positive stories for the person instead of thinking the bad character. Perhaps John needs to send his daughter to school every morning, and that’s why he is late. Maybe you can think some good suggestions after understanding the truth. When we think the positive way, it’s easier to calm down and make an effective communication.
Let me just run over the three key points you can use before an effective communication. They are “decision”, “definition”, and “emotion”. To decide whether a communication is needed, define what the problem is and control your emotion. These tools can help us to make an effective communication. Nowadays, we all play different roles in the society, just like you and me. The effective communication can improve the human relationship for us. I’d like to leave you with the following thought – doing some preparation before the communication can make it more effective. So, well prepared!
Mr. (or Madam) Toastmaster. Ladies and gentlemen.
Let me start by telling a situation we might face during the daily life. John, a new engineer in your company, is always late to the office. As John’s supervisor, you feel unsatisfied about this situation. At first, you don’t want to handle this problem, because you think his working ability is very good. You don’t want to affect your relationship with him by blaming him for late. However, you feel angrier about John while he keeps being late. Finally, you loose your patience and talk with John about this problem. He promises that he will be punctual next time, but still fails. Under this situation, how to make an effective communication? Today, I’d like to talk about three ways help you to make an effective communication.
Firstly,” Decision”. How to decide whether a communication is needed or not? From your viewpoint, John is a good worker and you have good relationship with him. Should you discuss about the problem of lateness with him? The tool to evaluate is you should review your reaction. When people are unhappy and bothered by something, even they choose not to discuss it, their facial expression, body move, and talking will reveal it. The other person can feel your dislike without understanding why. This will affect your relationship slowly. If you find that your attitude towards John becomes unfriendly, perhaps you should decide to make the communication.
Secondly, “Definition”. To define what the real problem is can make the communication more effective. When John is late for the first time, you should talk with him about the problems content. That is “you’re late and I hope you can improve it”. When John is late for second time, then, you should talk about the pattern. “You promise that you will be punctual, but you break your promise. This hurt your credit and it’s hard to trust your words next time. When the problem repeats, then it’s time to discuss about relationship. You should point out that it will affect your relationship with him. Most of people will keep talking about content only while the problem repeats. It’s very easy to turn the communication into blatter just like mothers do. Using the “definition”, that is whether the problem belongs to content, pattern or relationship, I call it CPR, can help you solve the real problem. So, to get your head right before you open your mouth.
Thirdly, “Emotion”. Emotion Control. We all know it’s very hard to control the emotion before and during the communication, especially when we’re angry. The anger is very easy to turn the communication into fighting. According to a research called “attribution studies”, which found most people are not familiar to find the reasons for the problem. People are apt to conclude the problems come from the character. When John keeps being late to work, you start to think John is someone unpolite and rude. This makes you even angrier. If you want to make an effective communication, you should control your emotion by controlling your thoughts. It’s better to calm down before starting a communication. How to make it? My suggestion is to think some good aspects and positive stories for the person instead of thinking the bad character. Perhaps John needs to send his daughter to school every morning, and that’s why he is late. Maybe you can think some good suggestions after understanding the truth. When we think the positive way, it’s easier to calm down and make an effective communication.
Let me just run over the three key points you can use before an effective communication. They are “decision”, “definition”, and “emotion”. To decide whether a communication is needed, define what the problem is and control your emotion. These tools can help us to make an effective communication. Nowadays, we all play different roles in the society, just like you and me. The effective communication can improve the human relationship for us. I’d like to leave you with the following thought – doing some preparation before the communication can make it more effective. So, well prepared!
Leon Wang
Apr., 18, 2006
The Silent Language
There is a language that everyone speaks. It’s not taught in any classrooms and it doesn’t have grammar, spelling or pronunciation. However, it is an extremely important language. This is the language of nonverbal communication- what your body posture, face, eye contact and gestures about you.
Eye contact- In many countries, for example, Muslim countries, direct eye contact is a sign of disrespect. Americans use eye contact to indicate understanding, interest, and confidence. When someone is talking to you, try to maintain good eye contact.
Hand shake- It’s customary to shake hands with an individual you’ve been introduced to or when saying hello. The best hand shake is, “Open your hand, keeping all your fingers together and the thumb open. Grasp the palm firmly, but not crushingly, and give a couple of small shakes. Don’t let your hand go all limp.”
Your voice- The voice is your first tool for communicating information with others. How you say is just as important as what you say.
Smile- The fastest and easiest way to meet people and make friends is to smile! Smiles are very contagious and a great way to start a conversation or a friendship
Personal space- In some countries, it may be acceptable to stand very close to another person, but in USA, people might feel uncomfortable and threatened. Americans usually maintain a space of 2-3 feet around them as their personal space. Unless you are on a crowded bus, try to maintain that distance to make others comfortable with your company.
[Personal experience]
The best method to learn nonverbal skills is to watch how other people interact. Go to the mall, the park, a bookstore or a restaurant and observe how others communicate in verbal and nonverbal ways. You will quickly learn what nonverbal actions Americans see as confident and friendly, and practice them yourself.
Remember, “Silent talks more!”
Apr., 18, 2006
The Silent Language
There is a language that everyone speaks. It’s not taught in any classrooms and it doesn’t have grammar, spelling or pronunciation. However, it is an extremely important language. This is the language of nonverbal communication- what your body posture, face, eye contact and gestures about you.
Eye contact- In many countries, for example, Muslim countries, direct eye contact is a sign of disrespect. Americans use eye contact to indicate understanding, interest, and confidence. When someone is talking to you, try to maintain good eye contact.
Hand shake- It’s customary to shake hands with an individual you’ve been introduced to or when saying hello. The best hand shake is, “Open your hand, keeping all your fingers together and the thumb open. Grasp the palm firmly, but not crushingly, and give a couple of small shakes. Don’t let your hand go all limp.”
Your voice- The voice is your first tool for communicating information with others. How you say is just as important as what you say.
Smile- The fastest and easiest way to meet people and make friends is to smile! Smiles are very contagious and a great way to start a conversation or a friendship
Personal space- In some countries, it may be acceptable to stand very close to another person, but in USA, people might feel uncomfortable and threatened. Americans usually maintain a space of 2-3 feet around them as their personal space. Unless you are on a crowded bus, try to maintain that distance to make others comfortable with your company.
[Personal experience]
The best method to learn nonverbal skills is to watch how other people interact. Go to the mall, the park, a bookstore or a restaurant and observe how others communicate in verbal and nonverbal ways. You will quickly learn what nonverbal actions Americans see as confident and friendly, and practice them yourself.
Remember, “Silent talks more!”
C1 Speech (Leon Wang in 2006)
My name is Leon. It is my French name. Last year, I graduated from CCU which is located in Chia-Yi County. I studied in Department of Foreign languages and literature. English courses are compulsory for us, and we have to take Second Foreign Language courses. I choose French. Why? At first, I was interested in Japanese courses, but I heard some bad news about the Japanese instructor, so I changed my mind to head for French realm. Honestly, I don’t learn French very well, but I always cheat my friends with some French sentences, to prove I am good at it! Such as…
My college life is a turning point for me. It is my first time to leave home and to live in the faraway place. When I didn’t go to the college, my first impression for Chia-Yi County was a place of inconvenience. I was not surprised when I reached there. The most you could see was farm, farm, and farm. Meanwhile, the air was full of the smell of fertilizer. Everything there was new for me because I never experienced it before, especially in Kaohsiung. However, God is equal. Some things only happen in rural areas. Can you imagine a firefly flies into your home? This happened to me. It stops on the top rim of my cup, twinkling and twinkling. I am excited by this little insect. The one necessary thing that students in our college need to experience during the 4 years is go to the mountain area in竹崎 to enjoy the firefly pageant. I will remember forever we rode on our motorcycles at midnight and went to the mountain where is lightless, totally dark. Finally, we really saw numerous fireflies. Until now, the most shocking scene for me is many, many, many fireflies gathering in a tree. It is like a Christmas tree. This big fake Christmas tree has been unforgettable for me so far.
After my graduation last year, I found a part-time job while I was waiting for the military service. I went to the naval troops in September, but quickly I was rejected because of high blood pressure. I “heritage” the disease from my father. Later, I took 12-day replacement service in December. High blood pressure is complicated for me. It lets me get rid of the normal military service, whereas it is a potential jeopardy in my life. As a result, I keep a habit of jogging to make my body healthier.
When it comes to my personality, I define myself as a man of discipline. I am not good at joking, but I like to be infected by happy atmosphere. I always have great fun in making humorous and amusing friends because they can bring me happiness. Obviously, members in Toastmaster are my great friends because all of you bring me the most fun. Now, I am preparing for the Entrance Exam of Political Science Department next year. I find everything about international relations is fascinating, such as International Relation Theory, International Law, Political Science. I take much time to be with the books every day. My life pattern is immutable and pure. That’s why I look forward to Toastmaster activity so much. Because you make my life colorful!
My name is Leon. It is my French name. Last year, I graduated from CCU which is located in Chia-Yi County. I studied in Department of Foreign languages and literature. English courses are compulsory for us, and we have to take Second Foreign Language courses. I choose French. Why? At first, I was interested in Japanese courses, but I heard some bad news about the Japanese instructor, so I changed my mind to head for French realm. Honestly, I don’t learn French very well, but I always cheat my friends with some French sentences, to prove I am good at it! Such as…
My college life is a turning point for me. It is my first time to leave home and to live in the faraway place. When I didn’t go to the college, my first impression for Chia-Yi County was a place of inconvenience. I was not surprised when I reached there. The most you could see was farm, farm, and farm. Meanwhile, the air was full of the smell of fertilizer. Everything there was new for me because I never experienced it before, especially in Kaohsiung. However, God is equal. Some things only happen in rural areas. Can you imagine a firefly flies into your home? This happened to me. It stops on the top rim of my cup, twinkling and twinkling. I am excited by this little insect. The one necessary thing that students in our college need to experience during the 4 years is go to the mountain area in竹崎 to enjoy the firefly pageant. I will remember forever we rode on our motorcycles at midnight and went to the mountain where is lightless, totally dark. Finally, we really saw numerous fireflies. Until now, the most shocking scene for me is many, many, many fireflies gathering in a tree. It is like a Christmas tree. This big fake Christmas tree has been unforgettable for me so far.
After my graduation last year, I found a part-time job while I was waiting for the military service. I went to the naval troops in September, but quickly I was rejected because of high blood pressure. I “heritage” the disease from my father. Later, I took 12-day replacement service in December. High blood pressure is complicated for me. It lets me get rid of the normal military service, whereas it is a potential jeopardy in my life. As a result, I keep a habit of jogging to make my body healthier.
When it comes to my personality, I define myself as a man of discipline. I am not good at joking, but I like to be infected by happy atmosphere. I always have great fun in making humorous and amusing friends because they can bring me happiness. Obviously, members in Toastmaster are my great friends because all of you bring me the most fun. Now, I am preparing for the Entrance Exam of Political Science Department next year. I find everything about international relations is fascinating, such as International Relation Theory, International Law, Political Science. I take much time to be with the books every day. My life pattern is immutable and pure. That’s why I look forward to Toastmaster activity so much. Because you make my life colorful!
Life Is a Long Journey
June 2, 2004Farewell Speech, by Darren Yeh, charter president(2003-2004)
Dear fellow Toastmasters, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.
I haven't seen you for a long time. How have you been? First and foremost, I want to share good news and bad news with you. Which one do you want to know first?
Good news is that I already got a job--- Evergreen Marine Co. accepted me to serve as a marine mate and asked me to get on board by the end of this month. So, I will leave Taiwan for several months and sail around the world. Before I work on a 6,000 TUE container ship, I have to take many training courses for meeting the professional competency requirements and that's why I can't attend tonight's officer's installation ceremony. I am so sorry! But if my vessel entering Kaohsiung Harbor, you are most welcome to visit my ship and be my guests on board.
About the bad news--- my NEW girl friend and I broke up last week. Through this ANOTHER tragedy, I learnt that "never believe what women said"; and "there is no good unmarried women but lesbians." John, do you agree? I know it’s hard to tell the truth before so many beautiful girls.
Life is a long journey. We may get a lot of fun during it. 18 months ago, in order to fulfill my 2 years military service, I came to southern Taiwan. At here, I met a sweet, considerate and of course, MARRIED lady--- Sherry; we started to discuss the possibilities of chartering a club in Tsoying. Then, we shared our ideas with many senior members in Division D. Certainly, we got lots of inspiring responses--- Dick, Melody, Grace and John, thank you so much for your advice and support. From then on, the seeds of chartering our club were deeply rooted in our hearts.
Through 6 months hard working, we hold 2 demo meetings, recruited 25 charter members, conducted the officer team, sent required documentary materials to HQs, then our club was finally chartered.
After the chartering, our club officers devoted themselves to our members, Ivans, Joyce, Andy, W.C., Joy, Angela, Jeff, Sherry and Alan, your effects made our club a lovely club. You did a wonderful job. I thank you.
Grace, the difference between your presidency and mine is you got it through a democratic, fair and peaceful election. Your inauguration is full of blessings and joyfulness. I believe that you will lead our club to a prosperous future. I hand it to you.
By the way, Benjamin, my Cow Lord, as an ATM, you decided and were elected SAA. I am very proud of you. I hope one day, you will be our club's president.
Life is a long journey. When we end a story, another story is just beginning. It's really nice to having you during my journey of life. And these days we were here will always be remembered.
I love you and “I'll be back, soon.”
Sincerely yours,
Darren Yeh
Jun 22, 2007
Festival (Word of the day, 2007/6/20)
By Summer LinDragon Boat Festival
• Rice-Wrap Day, (Agriculture Calendar May 5th)
• Dragon-boat races/ Rice dumpling
• In memory of Chu Yuan!
Other festivals?
Chinese Traditional Festivals
• Spring Festival
• Lantern Festival
• Mid-Year Festival (Ghost Festival)
• Mid-Autumn Festival
• New Year's Eve (the last day of the Agriculture Calendar)
Other Examples:
• Christmas is one of the festivals of Christian Church.
• The movie generated a very positive response at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Festival?
CELEBRATION~
Definition 1:
• A series of performances of movies, plays, music, or dancing that is usually organized in the same place at the same time each year.
The Edinburgh Festival愛丁堡藝術節
Definition 2:
• an event that is held to celebrate a particular thing or activity
Yang Ming Shan Flower Festival
Definition 3:
• A day or period when there is a public holiday, often to celebrate a religious event.
Moon Festival
Etymology
• feste
• feast
• fete
• -fest
More words:
• Fest- a song/beer/food fest/ -fest/talkfest
• Festive-bright and cheerful, joyful, merry
• festivity- things done to celebrate a special occasion
Collocation
• V+ festivalhold a festivalkeep the Spring Festivalobserve/celebrate a festivalthrow a
• Adj/N+ festivala religious/ dance/drama/film/folk/harvest/music/beer/flower festival
More examples:
• The Cannes Film Festival
• A harvest festival
• A Shakespeare festival
• The silver jubilee festival
• A victory festival
• Mud Festival
• Film Festival
Enjoy yourselves!
• What kind of festival do you enjoy the most?
• Do you want to create a festival of your own?
Jun 6, 2007
Newly (Word of the day, 2007/6/6)
Newly By Nina Chou
newly : adv., usually before a past participle.
It means recently.
Ex.: a newly married couple
newly-wed
newborn
new year
new wave
newly industrialized
newly : adv., usually before a past participle.
It means recently.
Ex.: a newly married couple
newly-wed
newborn
new year
new wave
newly industrialized
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