10 January 2006

just talk...

Do I look like a teacher in some way.. ? It's the second time i got a request from unknown ppl, to teach them about sthg. I don’t mind, and frankly, quite honoured to be asked upon, esp when it’s from strangers. It makes me feel that my presence in this world is slightly larger than I thought =]. That im able to provide sthg , to ppl around the world..wahh, now im making it sound like im some kind of Nobel Prize winner. And speaking about Nobel , hehe, I remembered when I was a kid, I used to think that the Nobel Prize is awarded to authors or writers who write ‘novel’, and kept getting puzzled why ppl spelled it wrongly when it’s supposed to be ‘v’ instead of ‘b’. Talk about thinking about thing I knew nothing about. Sheesh..and last time too, I thought Godzilla is about a beautiful person, ( because the name ‘Godzilla’ is quite exotic, like ‘Cleopatra-sort-of-name’ ) and later was aghast when found out that it is actually a relative of Gorilla or King-Kong species. Yikes. *After nearly 8 yrs believing that Godzilla is in the hierarchy of 'KingKong', a hamba Allah corrected me again, No...people, it's not. How about checking up the actual definition of it urself..? Something to do with lizard.(ehhe..scared i might get it wrong again..! =0)

Okay, enuff of that. Someone asked me "... kak naz, boleh bagi tau petua supaya lancar bercakap semasa berucap ..” =/..hmm, petua..( rs mcm org tua pulak..).. I guess, this fella must have seen the rapid movements of my mouth, babbling away somewhere. Yeah2..i can be quite talkative smtmes.(err, most of the times)..i dunno whether this guy actual intention is to ‘main-main’, or he really wants to know, but…let just give him the benefit of the doubt, and share what I know.

Hmm..how to say it, im not a good speaker myself, still learning a lot ..and i dont intend to be 'Miss Knowledgable-about things' and start lecturing ppl on how to talk. Some ppl say, it's in the gene, like ppl who are born with talents to sing and perform beautifully, compared to some other who has to really work hard to achieve that ability. But the truth is, no matter how we acquire a certain skill, as long as we manage to prove to ourselves that we are able to do it, that's what important. Not to impress ppl, but to make ourselves proud and say.." yes,..im able to do this, and will do it the best that i can..".

as for me, i never regard myself as 'born with talents in talking' ( like that is sthg we want to be proud of ..ehhe). But i know that since kid, im the girl who enjoys talking and getting attention from it. I remembered when i was 9-10 yrs old, i would applied my mom's lipstick, ( thickly , to be exact..), smudging it messily on my lips and sit in front of the mirror. Then, i would talk, mimicking the anchor woman reporting news on television, or the lady hosting a talk show. I would talk, and talk all the way..pretending that im all grown up and talking on television about serious matters. There was this one time, when i was 'talking' to the mirror about a topic,( i just picked out any topic )...and my cousin was watching from bed. When im done, she said.. "hey..boleh tahanlah kak, ralit manihah dengar..." Wow, it really lifted my spirit up, even when the comment was from my 4 years old cousin..ehhe.

And when i was in school, i had the opportunity being exposed to more 'talking session'. I took part in public speaking, which later opened the door to debate and forum competition. And all these chances, were the thing that forced me to practise talking, willingly or unwillingly. Had to memorised texts of speeches and rehearsed the points many times till i can remember where the fullstops and commas are . And i would practise talking in front of the mirror, to see my facial expressions and body gestures as i talk. Apart from that, i had to read a lot, esp newspapers, when i was among the debate team members and i think it kinds of help to enrich my vocabularies . Another common habit i had before, was to read aloud, especially English articles. I would read aloud, along with appropriate intonations. I dont know why i did that, i just did. And still do it smtmes.

Now, being an adult and matured, i still 'talk' to the mirror. Not pretending to be an anchor woman anymore, but to practise for my oral presentations. It might appears as weird to other ppl, but it's my way to prepare myself before presenting in front of ppl. And it works for me, it gives me the practise i need, the chance to see from the audience's eyes and it helps build the confidence.

In short, ( after a long story-telling time ), what i can say to this guy, and to anyone interested to know is..practise talking and speaking. Just practise to talk, how u do it, it's up to u. I dont know about God-given talent or man-made talent,for me, i just want to do my best. The confidence to speak in public can be learnt and built from time to time through frequent-doing and exposure, and where to get the exposure is by speaking up in classes and offering to be the presenter when there's a group presentation. The problem ive seen in some ppl is their mentality and sikap 'nak kerja senang' which limits them from using their potential to the maximum. They use excuses to avoid speaking in front by shoving the job to ppl they identify as the 'speaker' or 'the one who can talk'. The result of it, only that person will get the experience and become better speaker, while the rest will forever remain quiet like mice. Reading a lot also one of the ways to help us become better speakers, as the words and ideas are alwys flowing in our mind.

Genetic inheritance..?Hmm..dunno, might play a role, but should not be used as reason why one can't talk fluently by saying " none of my ancestors are good speakers ". I remembered reading an interview with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed. He said he was once a very shy and quiet boy, but he worked hard to overcome his shyness because he had to, and now become one of the respected speakers in the world. Beat the fear and outlive our potential..sure we can,..=]

But the peak of all, is the feeling of satisfaction looking at the faces of ppl in front of u, listening to ur talk. Seeing them nodding their heads several times, agreeing with ur points. Noting their serious expressions like they are really hanging to every words spoken, not to mention the rows of applause u get at the of end ur speech. By that time, u know that u did it.

Scared, trembling hands, anxieties and nervousnes, heart that thumps so fast and loud it practically burst out from ur chest..all these are normal symptoms, especially if it's our first time or beginners. But trust me, once u started talking and getting hold of the ppl's attention, u will feel in control and relaxed. I think all speakers, no matter how many speeches they had give, will still slightly feel nervous, they just know how to fake it or overcome it, that's all.

so..just talk. Pretend that we are good speakers who are full of confidence, and capture the listeners. Nevermind the mistakes, small steps eventually will become big steps, so...keep talking..! =D

5 comments:

aLam said...

psst, kak naz.. godzilla is a giant lizard .the closest hairy relative to it would be the bird species.
So for measurement, Big-bird from Sesame Street has more appropriate relation to it than King Kong ^_^

justme said...

erkk..alamak...=0
another wrong 'ilmu', another embarrassment.Thanks for correcting me..ill correct the entry...=]
so ..it's Big-Bird rather than Big-Foot.
mental note :ermm,naz, how about reading it up b4 writing it down..

justme said...

yikess...more like a big lizard+biawak+tenggiling...

ghoyye said...

i like this entry! kinda reminds me of myself in a way :)

btw, that godzilla bit is funny gile! always know zieha and imah as the blur ones, never thought of you as blur jugak. maybe it's in the genes? ;)

justme said...

ehhe..dunno la ghoyye, ..alwys found myself caught in similar situation because of my 'blurr'ity..=/.
Err..is it'genetic inheritance'..??

oklah imahh..ill change the colour..thot that this blue looks nice..ehhe..