Speechcraft Program 2008

2-Day Course on Effective Communication Skills

"Speechcraft Program 2008"
(Co-Organised by IEM G&S-YES & IEM Toastmasters Club)

DATE : 22nd & 23rd March 2008 (Saturday & Sunday)

TIME : Full-day program

VENUE : Conference Hall, 2nd Floor, Bangunan Ingenieur (IEM building), Lot 60 & 62, Jalan 52/4, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

SPEAKERS : 7 renowned speakers by TTDI Toastmasters Club

Engineers are usually synonymous with technical skills. But in the current environment, engineers are also expected to have better social skills. One of the most important aspects of the social skills is ‘Public Speaking’, where one has to speak to the audience effectively.

In light of this, a 2-days course on “Effective Communication Skills – Speechcraft Program 2008” was held on 22d & 23rd of March 2008 at IEM’s premises to enhance public speaking ability among the engineers. It was co-organized and conducted by the IEM G&S-YES Section and IEM–TTDI Toastmasters Club. There were 20 participants from various engineering fields who joined the program.

The program began on Day-1 with the Table Topics session, where all the participants were given a topic to be presented impromptu around 2 to 3 minutes. Participants were then taught on how to organize their speech, introducing the speaker, usage of vocal variety, and preparation of Speech 1. Participants were divided into two equal groups in order to facilitate everyone within the time allocated. Each participant was given the opportunity to present his/her prepared Speech 1 around 3 to 5 minutes, followed by an evaluation.

On Day-2, participants were mentored on how to use body language – especially the hand gestures and eye contact, working with words and methods of evaluation. Two speeches were presented by the participants on Day-2 around 5 to 7 minutes each. At the end of the session, tremendous changes could be seen on the way participants presented Speech 3 compared to Speech 1 and 2. Participants were more confident and fluent.

Last but not least, a prize giving session was held to honour the best table topic speaker and two most improved participants from each group. All the participants had a very beneficial and interesting time, thanks to the organizers.