How to Create a Mexican Wave or K a l l a n g Wave In A Small Room - or Do A Party Piece

Problem
How do you create a Wave of people when you are not in a football stadium with thousands but just a small room with a couple of dozen people?

Answer
This was demonstrated at a Toastmasters International meeting at L e n g Kee Advanced Toastmasters club in Singapore. The Emcee giving a talk on being an emcee (M.C. or master of ceremonies) was Lee Qing Hong. (He is my Facebook friend if you want to find his page.) He demonstrated what he called the K a l l a n g Wave (first time I'd heard the term) by running around the o v a l table you find in board rooms at many Singapore Community Clubs.

He explained the Wave and asked people to stand up as he ran past and immediately to sit down again. He then ran around the room.

Your Party Piece
It's good to have a form of entertainment. When I was a child every child had to have a 'party piece' to perform at other children's birthday parties and family gatherings. You could play a piece on the piano, sing, recite poetry, do a handstand, dance to music and clapping, perform a magic trick or card trick. Teenagers liked to play the guitar.

A party piece is a way of thanking the hosts by providing entertainment in return for the food and drink and welcome and socialising / networking / matchmaking / dating opportunities you receive.

I once stopped at the door of my host and hostess's house to say thank you and said, "Thank you for the food and drink and welcome and the entertainment."

The hostess responded, "Thank you. You were the entertainment."


Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.