"Children need to learn how to communicate effectively. This public speaking program has been really beneficial for my kid", this sentence has been resonated across all parent testimonials throughout the weekend of 23rd and 24th of November 2019 at Sunway Velocity Mall.
Johan Speaking Academy (JSA) has brought yet another fun filled and exciting event with over 170 kids ranging from the age of 5 to 15 taking on the crowd with storytelling, motivational speeches and debates. On Saturday, 23rd of November, Johan and Cherry welcomed parents from the TTDI, Dengkil, Cyberjaya and Mont Kiara branches. In the morning session, TTDI Kiddos Public Speaking program took place with little angels presenting their poems and stories. Kids public speaking from TTDI took place shortly after.
The afternoon session on Saturday kickstarted with Kids Youtubing. The young youtubers shared a short film, entitled “Johnny English”, where they acted, filmed and edited together. The crowd burst with laughter when the main character could not defeat the villains and had to fight them with a help of a bread! Soon after, Dengkil and Cyberjaya branches grouped together to present their kids. The kids presented stories on little red riding hood while imitating the sound of the wolf and the grandmother! The session ended with teen public speaking from TTDI and kids public speaking from Mont Kiara branch. After each group presentation, the kids were awarded with a medal, certificate and trophy.
On the crisp Sunday morning, more crowd filled the arena as the TTDI kids public speaking group took on stage with their motivational speeches. “Dreams without goals are just dreams. You will fail at some point in your life. Failure is inevitable! To get something you never gotten before, do something you never have done before. Never be discouraged and never hold back your dream. When you fail, remember this: Believe in yourself!”, presented one kid from the Subang branch. The sessions were on going with no breaks in between and the crowds were being replenished from each branch parents throughout the day. The agenda after Subang branch was Mandarin kids public speaking from TTDI, followed by kids public speaking from Shah Alam, Puchong, Teens Debating from TTDI, Bangsar and Mont Kiara branches in the respective order.
The teen debate was the most intense 45 minutes of the day. The topic was “Should scholarship recipient serve as government teachers for a mandatory period?”. The debate started with the government and opposition team presenting their arguments and solutions. While the opposition made a strong argument that teaching requires passion and one cannot force scholarship recipient of various fields to become teachers, the government brought forward points about the added value the scholarship recipients will have once they have completed their mandatory teaching period. The opening opposition won the round in the end.
Throughout the day, Johan also addressed the crowd with tips on public speaking. One of the techniques used by world champions for public speaking is to start from centre, then move to left side of the stage, back to centre, towards right side of the stage and end towards the centre. This allow the audience to read the speaker from left to right as our eyes and brain read from left to right. He also shared the difficulty of the language, expression and vocal variety which the students have embedded perfectly during their delivery.
The day ended around 9PM with kids winning some balloons during a lucky draw contest. “Two continuous days with over 170 kids graduating can indeed be taxing”, added Johan while he helped the organizing team to wrap up, “however, this shows a promising future of eloquent speakers in Malaysia.”
