Anti smoking and HIV talk for school children

Again, it was an honour for me to be able to participate in such activities. We may have been through such same event over and over again, but each provide an opportunity to learn new things. In addition, practice makes perfect. That is how doctors, pilots, engineers, basket weavers, photographers and even paddy planters do it.

The school that we went to this time was SK Pak Roman. There is nothing romantic about it, nor there are any Romans residing in the kampung. Who is Pak Roman by the way?

Jovial lot

What amazes me is the location of the school. We passed through some villages, then rubber plantations, then a herd of cows and the many speed traps that the cows created on the narrow tarmac road. Motorist zig zagged on the way up the mountain, but we zig zagged to avoid the fresh early morning fecal remains of the ruminants. It was all claustrophobic with minimal sky lights sipping through the cracks of the tree tops when suddenly we were met with a clear opening. The sky was bright and blue and the concrete school gates and building blocks greeted us.

Why are there no girls?

.. Because tino (girls) are not allowed in!

What a difference. SK Pek and SK Pangkal Meleret had signifcantly more cars parked on the school compound. The compound of SK Pak Roman was quieter with few cars. It was not the school holiday season too.

The number of primary six pupils who were planned to attend the talk were about 20 students only. Thus, the primary five pupils were called in to fill up the nearly empty hall. The target audience - primary six pupils who had just sat for their UPSR exam.

The boys are always the busy lot. On the other hand, the girls are quietly reading.

Things to note before presenting.

1. Know your subject. Technical jargon are useless for children with low concentration span. In other words, make sure that the slides are appropriate for age and education level.

2. Know your topic well. Preferably, memorize the slides before presentation.

3. Ensure appropriate and adequate research on the topic were made before presenting. Sub par knowledge and understanding level of the presenter can lead to the presenter or the presenter's organization be vilified.

4. Interact with the audience. This is to capture their attention. Make small jokes if possible. Avoid dirty jokes. Not many people are easy with dirty jokes, what more with children.

5. Condition your young audience. Chit chatters at the back of the hall is a sign that your talk is beginning to desaturate the oxygen level in the air. Condition them by giving an instruction easy to follow. For example, train them before the actual talk to say a certain word together immediately after you, the presenter gives out a cue word.

6. Provide fun filled mini quizzes at the end of the talk with some gifts for winners. Hopefully, the immediate objective of getting their attention is achieved.

7. Be less wordy and put more meaningful pictures on the slides. A rule of thumb taught was to avoid more than 6 words (width) by 6 lines (height) in a slide.

8. Provide page numbers on each slides. This allows audience to refer back to clarify certain points.

9. Acknowledge by adding bibliography at the end of your slides. This shows how serious you are in stemming the crime of plagiarism.

There may be more which could be added later.

Despite all these, practice makes perfect. One still need to learn and observe from pro speakers, preferably, speakers for various age groups.