Big Bad Wolf 2019 Stagetime by Johan Speaking Academy

What a delightful surprise when we received the news that OCBC Bank had invited Johan Speaking Academy to open up a booth in one of Malaysia’s biggest and highly anticipated book fairs of the year, the Big Bad Wolf book fair! A few days before the grand opening of the Big Bad Wolf Book Fair, Johan, Cherry and their intern Ben went on a site recce to the venue of the book fair, the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre better known as the MIECC. A few other bosses and soon-to-be exhibitors like us were brought on a short tour and a short briefing by a representative of OCBC Bank. It was truly a sight to see as we all surveyed an empty but vastly huge hall that will be completely filled to the maximum very soon. Fatin briefed each exhibitor regarding where will their booths be on the actual day, how many plug points are allocated and where they will be.

One day before the grand opening of the Big Bad Wolf Book Fair, Johan, Cherry and their intern Ben proceeded to the MIECC to set up and assemble all that is needed for the big day. Roll ups rolled up, the mini booth was assembled, the huge 3D backdrop with Johan Speaking Academy’s logo was installed, portable tables were set up, including all materials like magnets, speakers, microphone, and sales kits. It seems like everything is going as planned, Johan, Cherry and Ben left after completing the set up.

The Big Bad Wolf Book fair was truly a blast, despite having a microphone stolen before our first day, it couldn’t stop us from continuing to work hard and press on towards promoting our programmes and classes to potential customers. We had two different activities for kids who came to our booth. Firstly, we had a photo booth that had a variety of different props which included, funny head wear, cute eye wear, and elegant masks. When kids take a picture and post it on their Facebook while hash tagging Johan Speaking Academy, they are given a RM 50 discount voucher, which includes a Johan Speaking Academy magnet for the kids who participated. The kids can also do a mini presentation speech on our mini stage with one of our choice scripts. By doing this, they are also entitled to get a free RM 50 discount voucher and a Johan Speaking Academy magnet. Several parents came over to our booth for enquiries regarding the different programs for their children of varying ages to learn the fundamental skill of public speaking.

The kids from Johan Speaking Academy’s various branches throughout the nation also made a splendid performance with their speeches, presentations, and story-telling on the weekends that followed, and they all did such a great job, it caught the immediate attention of the visitors to the Big Bad Wolf Book fair, and soon it became a crowd of over a 100 people that were also attracting the attention of many a passer-by. The parents were so proud of their kids who did a marvellous job on the stage. Thank you OCBC Bank, thank you Big Bad Wolf, and finally thank you kids and parents for your support in helping us to be a better platform for young people to be empowered by the gift of public speaking! Thank you all!

3C - Confidence & Creative Camp by Johan Speaking Academy

The 3C workshop is our annual workshop that only happens once at the end of every year during the period of school holidays in Malaysia. What sets this program apart and distinctness from our other programs such as YouTubing workshop, Debating workshop and the 1.5 day workshop. This workshops incorporates the learning of Public Speaking Skills combined with the creative aspects of arts and crafts. It is a unique and unorthodox blend of creativity and expression that surprisingly fits so well together!

In these 3 days workshop the children have learned plenty from Johan and Cherry themselves, but also from some art teachers as well. They have learned three different forms of art, which are clay art, a type of French art called Decoupage, and also a type of Japanese art called Nagomi. This time there were about 16+ kids, they were enthusiastic, and energetic young kids who were ready for any challenge.

Day one of their learning journey comprises of learning clay art taught by teacher Crisci! The kids were given the choices of creating their clay art from a few designs. The designs that really captivated them and fuelled their inner creativity were the Pikachu, Santa Claus, Penguin, and Hello Kitty clay arts. They learn how to create shapes of different forms and sizes using clay. The kids enjoyed it so much, they made their magnificent masterpieces even more dazzling by adding glitter, several other accessories, and extra clay. Johan and Chery also taught the kids about the basics of public speaking and also on how to properly introduce and express themselves.

Day two sees the kids attempting to learn Decoupage, a French type of art taught by teacher Vivian. Teacher Vivian briefed the kids on being careful for safety reasons as they are handling scissors with very thin paper and glue. The kids really loved the Avengers, and Star Wars art designs. Each of the kids were given a bag that they were free to express their creative decoupage designs on, using a hairdryer and some other materials to make it waterproof. Day two also sees the kids practicing their storytelling speeches added with body language and tone.

In day three, the kids started off with Japanese type art, which is called the “Nagomi Notebook”. The kids learned precision and patience as they created their Nagomi Notebook using coloured sand to mix colours and being rewarded with impressively beautiful pieces of work for them to take home. Teacher Peggy was also very skilled at her craft as she taught the kids how to play with different colour schemes and patterns that they can insert into their masterpieces. After creating their beautiful Nagomi, the kids rehearsed their two speeches until their parents come to witness them perform. To make it simple, the kids chose one art work which they have chosen and presented it before the audience of proud, happy parents. The kids also did their storytelling with stories that were handpicked by Johan and Cherry and applied what they have learned in just 3 short days.

To wrap it up, the kids did an awesome job, impressing their teachers, and making their parents proud with their beautiful artwork and courage to stand on stage to speak. Well done kids!

Kids Public Speaking 1.5-Day Workshop by Johan Speaking Academy

If you have not sent your kids to learn the fundamental skill known as public speaking, you might be missing out! Because Johan Speaking Academy has just conducted their 1 and a half day workshop in their main headquarters in Taman Tun Dr Ismail! It was a fine morning when the kids started to appear thirty minutes before the class started. Soon enough, the classroom was filled with a total of 16 kids! Being professionals themselves, Johan and Cherry got straight to the matter at hand and started the workshop with a stunning ice breaker that put the kids in fits of laughter, giggles, guffaws and chortling. Teacher Johan educated them on the basics of public speaking, and the many different elements and concepts that followed. The kids were unsure of what they were facing at first, as some if them were quiet and reserved initially, but soon after an amount of time they soon opened up and started being themselves!

Teacher Johan expertly handled the situation that led the kids to be able to express themselves better, and even treated the kids for some pizza as lunch! The kids gobbled and devoured the pizza along with the garlic bread with much gusto! The kids started learning a lot about presenting about themselves through an introductory speech and also practiced on telling stories to captivate audiences. Johan, Cherry and Ben devoted themselves to help the children to be better public speakers by aiding the children in practicing for their respective speeches and stories! When the day finally came when they would present to the eager and excited parents, some of the children were nervous to be performing in front of a crowd, the teachers comforted them and assured them that their hardwork would be worth it. One by one the instructors guided their little hands on the stage to deliver their speeches and stories! The parents were also delighted that each and every kid was given the chance to be emcees for each other's speeches as well as they were filming and taking photos of their children with their mobile phones throughout the whole day! In addition, the parents were also happy when they have witnessed their children's growth in terms of confidence and presentation skills on the stage.

After a delightful group photo, they went back with smiling faces and grateful hearts to Johan Speaking Academy for elevating their children's potential to new heights! All in all, the kids did so well, that it made all of us proud, even the teachers. In the end, it was about the kids, not us, it was about helping them to open their eyes to the fountain of untapped power inside each and every child, and teaching them to have a healthy sense of pride in themselves. We are educators, they are our future.

Brand Ambassador @ Lost World Of Tambun x Johan Speaking Academy

It was one bright and exceptionally sunny morning in Ipoh at the Lost World of Tambun. It was 9.30am in the morning as parents and their children started to arrive in groups. Johan and his two teachers, teachers Vivian and Tracy who were in charge of Kid’s Public Speaking in Ipoh got to work straight away by greeting parents, giving children identification stickers, and also joining the queue to purchase the wristbands that would allow entry into the Lost World of Tambun. Soon after, the cameramen and video shooting crew arrived and got ready with their equipment immediately to start taking photos and footage of the event. At 10am sharp, the parents, kids, teachers, along with the photographers and video shooting crew advanced inside The Lost World of Tambun and headed straight into the animal attractions in the huge petting zoo, which included Hippos, Tigers, Crocodiles, Macaws, Guinea pigs, Rabbits, Snakes, Racoons, Giraffes, Zebras and the Ostrich, truly an amazing sight for all to see.

The kids were super thrilled and ecstatic at the idea of having to be able to get up close to some animals, and were enthusiastic to begin their speeches. Even though it was a rather hot and sunny day, the kids were exceptionally focused on their speeches to deliver interesting observations with accurate details along with facts about the respective animals, so were the photographers who snapped away tons of photographs to make sure to capture every single moment, and also the videographers who diligently shot the videos with patience and an aura of steadiness mixed with calm. The teachers were aiding the children with their scripts, fostering a sense of confidence in the kids, giving them simple hand gestures and signs to guide them and gently encouraging them to do their best even though the kids were nervous.

The committed teachers did it for every child and never missed out on even one. The emotions coming from pride and joy was evident in the faces of all the parents when they saw their children speaking boldly in front of the camera, because everyone knew it was no easy nor simple task that the kids were doing. It was truly a stroke of luck for everyone as it started to drizzle and rain right after we were down to the last child of the day. As the kids, parents, crew men, and teachers gathered in the mini hall that was graciously provided by The Lost World of Tambun, it started to rain heavier on the outside. But the rain was no reason to deter the kids from giving their best to do their speeches. One by one every kid stood up on the stage that was prepared by the teachers and gave their speeches. Soon after, it was time for the awards ceremony and it was truly a heart-warming ceremony as the kids went up on stage to receive their certs and their medals from their instructors which is also signifying that they have crossed over this threshold. All in all, the kids did an awesome job with their speeches, they were eloquent, and confronted their fears and stood face to face with the camera with courage and determination. In short, they did everyone proud, their parents and also their teachers. It was truly an awesome day in the Lost World of Tambun. From the brilliant example of the kids that day, we are all reminded of the quote by Winston Churchill saying “Fear is a reaction, but courage is a decision”.

Apec 2020 Launch - Kids Emcee by Johan Speaking Academy

When we first got the call, we cannot believe it either. Why ?

- first, it was so near to the event, could we pull it off ?

- it was a call on a weekend, is this real ?

- APEC, such a huge formal government launch, you want a kid to be an emcee ?

Guess, when things fall into place, we have to trust the process.

Indeed, things were moving so fast, and it was already 3 Dec, 2019 ( Tuesday ). At 12.00pm, when we arrived at Cyberview Resort, there were many activities going on. People are setting up the main entrance, the ballroom, the secretariat room, the press conference room, preparing the signboards along the road, the pathway signboards leading to the ballroom, decorating the hotel with LCD screens, plants, backdrops and many more.

We headed straight to the secretariat room, together with our student E-Zen and her dad, Wilson. We waited for further instructions, as the event is tomorrow. Guest includes,

- the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

- Chief Ministers

- Cabinet Ministers

- delegates from the 21 International Economics

What is APEC ?

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region

Just after awhile, things got blazing fast, and we went to the ballroom to see the speaking area. We were brief about the run-down of the event. It was totally new to E-Zen as this was such a big event. Even for us as teachers, it was also our first time in such a formal official event, having our students speaking here. Then we met E-Zen's partner Terrance Das, a familiar figure in the emcee arena of Malaysia.

Both wasted no time to rehearse their scripts. At the start, they were both not familiar - with each other. Then, you can see things started to flow smoothly. The rhythm, the timing and the inflection of important words. Training started from noon, till ........almost 10.00pm ! Of course the rehearsal involves the whole team together with the lighting crew, the sound guys, the usherers, the opening launch gambit, everything has to fall into place. There were breaks in between, it was a long but fulfilling day.

I asked the team,"Why did you all have the idea of having a kid as an emcee ?"

Well, "APEC is talking about the future, and our future is our kids. We would like to add a new dimension to the whole setting, that is why we wanted a kid to be the co-emcee with an experienced emcee."

We headed home and it was almost midnight.

6.30am, 4 Dec 2019 - the day everyone is waiting and working hard for. APEC 2020 Launch.

The call time was 6.30am, and the hall is already FULL with the working committee making sure everything is alright. No time to waste as both the emcees started to practice their scripts again.

By 7.30am, crowd was filling up the ballroom, from member of the media channels, corporate staff, government staff and invited guest.

8.00am, our honorable Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad arrived with the APEC economic leaders. A group picture was taken at the garden of Cyberview Resort. The iconic part of this event was, 22 years ago, Malaysia was the host and it was Tun Mahathir who was then, the Prime Minister Malaysia. Same venue, same spot, same prime minister. Wow !

After the photo taking session, the leaders walked into the ballroom with applause from the floor. Everyone stood in position as the national anthem of Malaysia, Negaraku was played. We, Malaysians, sang along. Terrance, E-Zen's co-emcee then welcome the delegates with his opening remarks. Terrance added that, E-Zen, being 11 years old, was the youngest person in the room. Not only that, she is also the co-emcee for today. Everyone cheered ! E-Zen then exhange witty remarks with Terrance, much to the suprise and astonishment of the crowd.

E-Zen then invited MITI minister Datuk Daryl up on the stage for the opening remarks. Terrance then invited the honorable Prime Minister for his speech. Followed by the launch.

Everything was over in just over an hour. It was sweet, simple and yet impactful. After the event, national delegates came and shook E-Zen's hand and congratulate her for a job well done. Even the media was impressed and came to interview her.

This was a remarkable day for Malaysia as the host for APEC 2020, yet another milestone for E-Zen as a kid emcee and also Johan Speaking Academy, for taking up this role.

We would really want to thank E-Zen, her mom Elain who was with her the whole of 2nd day, her dad Wilson who was with her the first day rehearsal, my co-founder Cherry Ho for practising with E-Zen the past 2 days, MITI, MARii and all the working committee for making this event a success.

Xmas Party & 5-Year Anniversary for Johan Speaking Academy

A season of joy and happiness. December was a very busy month for all trainers as we conducted our school holiday programs. But Cherry said, "Work hard, play hard."

There was a date set, but most of them can't make it. Then we changed again to accommodate more people. YES, the namelist was full ! Almost 20 pax.

We decided to apppoint an organizing chair to do this. Teacher Lee Chen, who is in charge of Kids Public Speaking @ Bukit Jalil, who also conducts Online Kids Public Speaking volunteered for the task.

She booked a buffet steamboat restaurant at Paradigm Mall, and informed everyone. Also, we are required to bring a present each for the gift exchange session.

The booking was 7.00pm, on a weekday. By 6.30pm, myself, Cherry, our intern Ben, Teacher Kian from Kids Public Speaking Mont Kiara arrived. Teacher Lee Chen came too in a moment.

Then 2 great "brothers", Min Shin and Vincent arrived. Vincent is the trainer for teens debating, while Min Shin partner Swee Lyn to teach at Bangi.

Without wasting time, you know what's next ? Photo session. "Smile...say cheese..."

One by one, the place was filling up.

The list ...

Teacher Kian - Mont Kiara

Teacher Vincent - Debating

Teacher Min Shin & Swee Lyn - Bangi

Teacher Kim - Bangsar

Teacher Paul - PJ SS2 and TTDI

Teacher Stacy & Aiziah - Puchong

Teacher Lee Chen - Bukit Jalil

Teacher Kamala - Subang

Teacher Yati - Shah Alam

Teacher Suhaila - Ampang. Her daughter came too.

Wai Kiat - our photographer

Hanna and Quincy - polar stomp, our video team and also trainers for kids youtubing

Myself and Cherry - Founders, TTDI

Everyone was so happy meeting each other. We wasted no time in filling up the steamboat with our preferred choice of soup. There were Kimchi, Shabu-shabu, Miso...and...errr...forgotten. The table was instantly filled with meatballs, fishballs, crabsticks, vegetables, mushrooms and many more. Feasting time !

As we cooked the food, we laughed, we took more pictures, we engaged, we communicate and we shared.

At 9.00pm, Cherry brought in a customized cake. A celebration of Johan Speaking's Academy 5-Year anniversary. It was a very special moment. Looking back how we started in 2014, and how far we have become in empowering so many trainers. More importantly, how we together have impacted so many kids' lives, gave them a platform and a voice.

More pictures were taken. The smile at each other faces, really comes from the heart.

Gift exchange time ! It was so fun !

Then, the time we have all been anxiously waiting for...sharing time. Each of us have to share our 2020 goals. Not only we shared, we also listened attentively as our friends shared their goals. Truly inspiring.

By the time we realized, it was already 10.00pm and the restaurant have to politely asked us to leave. It was crazy, we stood outside the restaurant, and it seems like nobody wants to leave. We talked for another 30 minutes, before the hugged each other and left.

Thank you so much trainers for believing in us and for taking the journey with us. Together, we inspire more lives, and to many more years for Johan Speaking Academy. Love you all.

Note :

Missing in the list who can’t make it to the dinner was Teacher Tracey & Vivien - Ipoh

Teacher Kathryn and Venessa - Cyberjaya & Dengkil

3-Day STAR Speaker Masterclass by Johan Ooi

"Johan, is this for kids ?" some participants asked.

"Nope. This is for business owners," I replied.

When the planned to kick-start this program, we had a few questions in mind.

- Do business owners want to learn presentation skills ?

- Is it important for them to be able to speak up and inspire their team with their vision ?

- Will it be crucial for them to learn this skill, if one day they need to use it ? Maybe pitching in front of investors for funding, or closing the business deal ?

We had done a couple of corporate training on presentation skills and public speaking, but openly for public, this is the first time.

After doing some previews, the actual STAR SPEAKER MASTERCLASS event kicked-off.

There were 5 participants, and they were super enthusiastic on what is in store for them. The event was held at Crystal Crown, Petaling Jaya.

On day 1, they learnt about storytelling skills, public speaking and presentation. As they come from different background, the diversity actually made it even more fun. This was not only theory base, practical sessions was intense actually. We laughed, we learned and also gave feedback to encourage each other.

During lunch break, a small group has its advantage as everyone got the chance to chat and knew each other more. Each of us shared our background, and also the reason for attending this STAR SPEAKER Masterclass.

The day continued, with more practical sessions.

On day 2, it was a different dynamics, as participants now need to speak in front of a video camera. Why is this so ? Speaking online is another skill set where business owners need to acquire, with the rise of online videos. If you could reach your followers, your fans and your customers through online, you will cement your personal brand stronger in the market.

Participants were anxious, yet excited of the prospect of making videos. We went to the pool, the lobby area and around the hotel for this activity. The day followed by them learning how to pitch and share their business ideas.

On day 3 of STAR SPEAKER Masterclass, we covered back storytelling skills. Participants shared more of their stories as they develop their business stories even deeper. Another segment covered was "How To Market Yourself Using Funnels?"

"What is that, Johan?" Dennis asked. To some, it was a brand new thing. They have heard of it, but never really went through it. So it was a practical thing where they actually build 1 funnel at that moment.

At the end of 3 days, we covered so much. More importantly, the 5 speakers will speak LIVE in April 2020. This was not just a theory base class, but a practical session with REAL-LIFE-EXPERIENCE thereafter.

Thank you for your believe in us for this masterclass. Cheers and all the best to you guys.

From the desk of Johan Ooi.

Teens Mastery Program by Johan Speaking Academy

Our teens program has been around for the past 4 years. Normally, we do the 10-week program, but lately we added the teens debating for the past 1 year.

This time, we decided to change the dynamics a bit for this school holiday program by adding another important element for teens, which was "Interview Skills."

Thus, the idea of this 2-day teens mastery program which consist of our usual teens public speaking, debating ...and interview skills.

This time, we had 16 teens registered, ranging from 12 year old to 16 year old.

We kicked off with the impromptu speech session by Teacher Kim. After going through the module, the participants need to speak up ! "What?" some of them said. "Yes, you have to speak,"answered Kim. It was a nervy start for some of them, but slowly, from observing their friends, soon things went very well.

Then it was followed by session from Teacher Paul on body language, then Teacher Kian on vocal variety.

The new element which was Interview skills was next. We covered the session for the next 30minutes, before the participants had a role-play. It was funny, yet enjoyable session.

Now, this was just not theory base workshop, this was a practical one. Thus,participants were split to 4 groups, each getting their own topic for presentation in front of their parents the next day. Suddenly, they got so excited as they can showcase their ability.

During lunch, they even wasted no time to maximize every minute and discussed their project during lunch.

Debating was next after lunch. Vincent took them on a great journey on how to use critical thinking and creativity when presenting. Then we had a mock-up debate. They were suppose to speak for 3 minutes, but some of them could not even reach to 2 minutes, as this was totally new to most of them. Vincent said ,"This is just the beginning, you will get better as we will have more practice session."

Time flew by so fast, and it was 5.00pm already. It was time to go home.

Day 2, some groups came by super early to get themselves prepared for their presentation. Each group have to present 2 things :-

a) Their group presentation - public speaking

b) They have to battle it out against another team in a debate

You could see the enthusiasm in their eyes as the practised and practised. Some groups focus more on the debate, some groups more on their public speaking presentation.

Parents session.

As parents arrived for the presentation, you could feel the tension in the air. Maybe it was nerve, maybe it was new to some, but the show must go on. Team by team went up to present their group project. They have to even open the floor for Q & A, which parents can ask questions and challenge their ideas. It was really fun. You could see the teens got stuck sometimes as they did not anticipate those questions.

Then it was followed by the debate. The battle of the wits was intense, as each group presented their ideas with confidence, and at the same time, rebutting their opposition ideas. There were lots of cheers from the parents too !

At the end of the day, there were winners for the best presentation and also for the debate. Winning and losing, is just a process. More importantly, the teens learned new things, made new friends and can carry the knowledge they had for the past 2 days into the future.

All the best future leaders. Thank you.