How to Float in the Pacific Ocean

Some side notes — I was trying to locate my Toastmasters Speeches in Facebook Notes from way back 2011 and for some reason, the notes themselves are very elusive. Was the Facebook notes section archived or deactivated? I was not even aware of this shift, really. In the meantime, I shall copy and paste whatever transcript that I can find.

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Note: This is my Basic Speech Project No. 8 that I delivered in the El Presidente Toastmasters Club. With my encounters in the Pacific Ocean during my "Fieldwork" in Baler, it served as my inspiration to craft the speech and use the Ocean as metaphor to my Division A contest experience.

Since the objectives of this speech project is TO USE THE VISUAL AIDS TO SUPPORT / REINFORCE THE SPEECH, I made one - and it became a source of laughing stock! my gulay. Hindi naman kasi ako marunong mag-drawing, so I made pictures using paint and with help of an officemate. 

For those who are not informed about this club, I joined the Toastmasters club last 04 November 2010 to hone my public speaking skills. I would like to encourage and to invite all of you guys to be a kibitzer to a Toastmasters Club Meeting. Ours is done every first and third Thursday of the month, 7PM at Max's 2nd Floor Liberty Center, Shaw Blvd, Mandaluyong City.

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Summertime of our lives, our lives! (song of A1)

Fellow toastmasters, it’s officially Summer! With the summer breeze, wonderful beach, and inviting sea, let’s satisfy our heart’s delight by enjoying ourselvesalong the shore, sipping summer shakes, and diving in the salty waves. I remember this dress; this is the same beachwear that I wore in my Baler escapade. Baler is at the north eastern part of Luzon, and it faces the Pacific Ocean. The sea, known for its wild waves and tsunami, is the same ocean that challenges the surfers and frightens the swimmers.

Me as a risk taker took the challenge of the sea. I can swim – but I am not a professional swimmer. Not even a surfer. What I can share to you is what I read and understood in ehow.com – my own “reformulated” simple steps on how to float on your back in the Pacific Ocean. These procedures helped me to stay calm and relax on its strong waves. Are you ready? Okay, let’s go floating!

Ella is floating on the Pacific Ocean. Weeeeee~!!!

The first step is to make sure that your chin is pointed to the sky. Tipping your head back positions the body to be buoyant. Next, Lift your chest and stomach up by arching your back slightly, allowing the lower body to rest higher in the water. Then, make sure that your ears are in the water. If the head is lifted, the legs will sink, making floating nearly impossible. Afterwards, lift the arms and rest them on the surface of the water. This changes the swimmer's center of buoyancy and makes floating easier. Finally, gently do a flutter kick with your legs. And now you can float!

Simple, right? Well, some would say it’s simple when you’re floating on a still water in the pool, or in the calm seas of Boracay. But the angry Pacific Ocean that is ready to engulf your being, with its waves pulling you away from the shore and blasted you with a larger-than-life-surfer-friendly push back to the shore – that’s a bit hard.

And that’s what I reflected in Baler – whether I should continue to represent the Area 5 in Humorous Speech Category or not. I was asking to myself if I am up for the challenge…

The moment I wore the medal and won that privilege, the pressure started to sink in. The weight of my “responsibility” to represent the club, the heaviness of the fact that there is a seasoned humorist as a candidate, and the anxiety that I cannot perform well in a larger audience, questioned my determination if I could re-run my speech all over again in the same stage, delivering the same message, and some are the same audience.

Questioning my ability to deliver a story that would make them laugh and impart lessons is like questioning my ability to float in the Pacific Ocean. It’s like, you want to dip your legs on the troubled ocean waves, ready to eat you whole. It’s suicidal!

But after praying and seeking advice from friends, inside and outside Toastmasters, I told myself, why not take the chance? After all, it’s like floating in the back. With my own reformulated steps and a little bit of metaphor, I think I can.

Ella is like floating on the sea of people when she delivered her story

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Pacific Ocean is like the sea of people wanting to hear my story. They are the cause of waves – both harmful and helpful. So, the first step is I made sure that my chin, in this case, is facing the chin of the audience, so that my eyes will be the same level as theirs. The face is the source of the message, and the sea of people needs to see it.

Next is I lifted my chest up, so that they would feel that I am confident to deliver my speech. Then, I made sure that my ears are, in this case, in the audience. I learned to listen well. I heightened my senses so that I will know when to start speaking, when to put humor, and when to end it with a bang.

Afterwards, I let my arms rest. Instead of pressuring the two upper limbs to stay on the sides, I let them join the act. With it, I was fluid in delivering the speech with the body language.

Finally, I did a subtle, but profound kick of urging the audience to listen to my story. And it worked. I was like floating the whole time when I delivered a funny speech, with some punch lines and life lessons to impart with. And yes, it felt good. I was not nervous or fearful or stressed when I shared my piece. Though I did not win, I believe I floated on my back there, notwithstanding the waves ready to engulf me.

So fellow toastmasters, whether we are in the sea full of waves or in a sea of people full of eyes to look at you, as long as you can be at ease, you can float. So, instead on pouting and complaining that the waves are big and ready to eat you whole, why not take the challenge?

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Evaluation Proper:

It was TM Tin who evaluated my speech. I am glad that she appreciated the organization of the speech, and the way of delivering them. She noted that sometimes, technicalities are sources of embarassment or fear to deliver your speech, but it did not hesistate me to do what I could (she accepted the fact that I am not good at drawing). She noted that next time, if we use visual aids, make sure that the audience will see them, and see the reinforcement it bears.

She pointed out, "It is not the visual aid that would deliver the message, rather, it is the SPEAKER". Actually, many of us (especially students) experience DEATH BY POWERPOINT, wherein the reporter / discussant read the powerpoint slides in VERBATIM, which is NOT THE PROPER THING TO DO. For a tip, the powerpoint slide should be in a 3 X 5 LINER - with three lines, at five words per line the most (read them in the internet, kindly google them, I cannot remember the source, hihihi).

Oh yeah, lesson learned. Andami kong natutunan. And natutunan kong mag-drawing. hihihihi. Two speeches to go and I'll be on graduation!

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(inputted in facebook notes last 09 April 2011)