I am tying up lacked guest speakers for opposition, I see that NSP SDA RP all had lack Tamil Speakers. I spoke to various Sec Gens & Candidates, and I am working things up.
New candidates & first timers, I have helped them to rehearsal their rallies' speeches. Let me share some techniques:
1. I will use video camera in a conference room that has an rostrum (e.g. @ PKMS) & shoot the rehearsal & then let candidates view that video on laptop or PC. & then group discuss & comment & exchange suggestion with the well experienced speakers.
2. Psychological motivation, charge your speakers' candidates' spirit highly.
3. Practice to avoid reading from scripts computers on stage.
So far so good.
Followings are common pointers that speakers in this GE had needed:
1. Pause needed, don't just shoot fast. I know that MCs are limiting your time and you have lots to say, but be SELECTIVE, don't repeat what other speakers on the same stage had already been saying. Pause is important, strong messages need times to sink into audiences' heads. Unlike in a common dialog speeches are quite one way, and you are usually pouring too much than what the audience's minds could absorb well. Pauses can help. Pause at the right places, allows audience to responds will applause. This is important, because it becomes a dialog & interaction, they know then that you are hearing their feedback. The connection is then made better. Don't deliver a ONE-WAY SPEECH.
2. Take the time to bow, good bow to rally crowd is 0.75 sec duration. This is a heart-touching and courtesy interaction with audience. Most candidates I had seen just did not bow or did so too briefly, a sincerity level question. If you have physical reason (e.g.) Mr. Chiam, raise your hand and hold (don't wave) in the air 1 sec. Very useful gesture.
3. When audience shouted something very meaningful, quickly say - yes I hear you! You will catch your score and votes.
4. Cycle the emotion into contrast to have best effects, a good rally speaker can take audience emotions up & down & left and right, from one extreme to another, judge your own ability and try it out to control the magnitude of emotional swing. A common failure is the speaker only monotonously put the audience's emotion in one single direction or within a very narrow spectrum. After 10 mins, the audience nerves numbs in the same spot, so they are not responsive any more. To be good in this you must be constantly reading the emotion of audience and adjust yourself.
5. Interlace and switch languages (& dialects) within SHORT DURATIONS, why? because you may be able to use many languages but most audience don't know them all. So you are cut-off from connecting with them once you are using a language that they don't understand, so you want to keep that kind of duration SHORT. You switch back and forth in short duration in a live rally. This is not youtube where viewers can fast-forward and rewind to save their own time. You disconnect and they find wasting time they will walk away.
I past by Mr. LTK's rally (I think the 1st night) 20 mins or so from ending 10PM, I realized that thousands of crowds started to leave early. Of course I know that the crowd are trying to avoid massive jams, but one factor is that during that time Mr. LTK was purely speaking TeoChew for long duration, those who don't understand TeoChew will be the 1st to leave in this case.
New candidates & first timers, I have helped them to rehearsal their rallies' speeches. Let me share some techniques:
1. I will use video camera in a conference room that has an rostrum (e.g. @ PKMS) & shoot the rehearsal & then let candidates view that video on laptop or PC. & then group discuss & comment & exchange suggestion with the well experienced speakers.
2. Psychological motivation, charge your speakers' candidates' spirit highly.
3. Practice to avoid reading from scripts computers on stage.
So far so good.
Followings are common pointers that speakers in this GE had needed:
1. Pause needed, don't just shoot fast. I know that MCs are limiting your time and you have lots to say, but be SELECTIVE, don't repeat what other speakers on the same stage had already been saying. Pause is important, strong messages need times to sink into audiences' heads. Unlike in a common dialog speeches are quite one way, and you are usually pouring too much than what the audience's minds could absorb well. Pauses can help. Pause at the right places, allows audience to responds will applause. This is important, because it becomes a dialog & interaction, they know then that you are hearing their feedback. The connection is then made better. Don't deliver a ONE-WAY SPEECH.
2. Take the time to bow, good bow to rally crowd is 0.75 sec duration. This is a heart-touching and courtesy interaction with audience. Most candidates I had seen just did not bow or did so too briefly, a sincerity level question. If you have physical reason (e.g.) Mr. Chiam, raise your hand and hold (don't wave) in the air 1 sec. Very useful gesture.
3. When audience shouted something very meaningful, quickly say - yes I hear you! You will catch your score and votes.
4. Cycle the emotion into contrast to have best effects, a good rally speaker can take audience emotions up & down & left and right, from one extreme to another, judge your own ability and try it out to control the magnitude of emotional swing. A common failure is the speaker only monotonously put the audience's emotion in one single direction or within a very narrow spectrum. After 10 mins, the audience nerves numbs in the same spot, so they are not responsive any more. To be good in this you must be constantly reading the emotion of audience and adjust yourself.
5. Interlace and switch languages (& dialects) within SHORT DURATIONS, why? because you may be able to use many languages but most audience don't know them all. So you are cut-off from connecting with them once you are using a language that they don't understand, so you want to keep that kind of duration SHORT. You switch back and forth in short duration in a live rally. This is not youtube where viewers can fast-forward and rewind to save their own time. You disconnect and they find wasting time they will walk away.
I past by Mr. LTK's rally (I think the 1st night) 20 mins or so from ending 10PM, I realized that thousands of crowds started to leave early. Of course I know that the crowd are trying to avoid massive jams, but one factor is that during that time Mr. LTK was purely speaking TeoChew for long duration, those who don't understand TeoChew will be the 1st to leave in this case.
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