How To Promote Your Club Conference Or Event

How do you promote your club conference or event? I have been looking into this to repeatedly and contunually promote Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters speakers group in Singapore meeting twice a month on the first Wednesday evening and the third Saturday afternoon, and a one-off event, the Pathways workshop at Tampines Changkat community club on September 28th.

Choosing The Event Date
The first point to notice is whether the orgnaizers or stars are available. Give them a choice of dates. You might not want to have a party for teeneagers during their exam week or when everybody is away for the summer break. Offer the star turn or workshop leader a choice of dates or ask when they are free.

Then check whether you have competing national, local, or same society events on the same day. If possible, change the day. If not, make use of the overlap.

Joint Promotions & Conflicts
You could promote both events and ask people to sign up for one or the other. Or get publicity about your concern over the conflict. You may rmember a royal wedding with took place on the same day as a sports event.

Posters
How do you create a layout? You want a banner headline, one or two photos or a mosaic. Details in a text box of where, when, directions, price, contacts, sign up. Is the event free, or price or prices for different people (members and non-members or guests, earlybird or pay at the door.

Use Canva. Or Powerpoint.

Tickets
On websites such as Eventbrite you can ask the guests to print off a ticket or show you their registration or payment on their phone if you are sure the event venue will have internet connection. If no internet connection, arrange for somebody to have a charged phone to act as a hotspot.

How To Print Tickets Cheaply And Quickly
You can make DIY tickets and ticket stubs. Across an A4 page you could print at least four horizontal tickets, possibly as many as 16.

Numbering Tickets
Why number tickets? To prevent fraud from photocopying. To keep track of tickets and numbers sold. To match up the ticket sold with the ticket stub.

Prices and Reductions
If you are not selling tickets and people are complaining about the price, you could offer a reduction or buy one get one free (to fill up the empty room).

Useful Websites
canva.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. President of Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Club. Area S3 director.

How To Keep Clean At Conference Food Breaks How To Handle Food At Conferences And Meetings

On my first trip to India in a five star hotel restaurant, my soup tipped over the dirty hands of the elderly man serving me. the next day my taxi driver offered me a slicc of some fruit he was eating. I said thank you. He passed it to me with his unwashed and visibly dirty hands. Twenty-four hours later I was down with Delhi belly - diarrhea.

 I was ill next day with diarrhea and missed one of my two days in the city which was the highlight of my trip, which had cost a lot of time and money.

Back in London, England, I was ill for ages.

For years I remembered both the two incidents of uncleanliness, plus the illness, but only rarely do I link the two, the dirty hands and the diarrhea. Now, writing this, I think back and wonder what I could have done.

The obvious answers are:

1 Carry drinking water to wash fruit.
2 Carry wet wipes to wipe my own hands before eating.
3 Explain my concerns about washing hands and fruit and handling food with napkins food long before I am actually handed food.
4 In public places put up a reminder sign over food tables pointing to hand washing and free water.

5 Before the refreshment break, ask people not to handle their own food or other people's with unwashed hands.

But sickness can strike you in clean countries, cruise ships, five star hotels, conferences and meetings.

Even if the food is prepared properly, what about that buffet style food? At lunch time or break time, out comes the finger food. UK or Singapore, it is the same at Toastmasters clubs.

Finger food in Singapore.

Refreshment Time Warning
Singapore is reputed to be a clean country. But what about when you are eating food? You are likely to eat food in restaurants, and at meetings, and at the homes of friends and business associates.

Too many people pass you a slice of spring roll, a piece of pie, or cake, using their fingers.
''Scuse fingers?" they sometimes say, hopefully.

Wales
Back in Britain, in Wales, at Writers' Holiday in Fishguard, at Fishguard Bay Hotel, at morning break time we are served cups of tea. All very clean.

But then we help ourselves to a plate of biscuits. I have rushed straight from the painting class into the adjacent dining room. Now that I come to think about it, I should be washing my hands after painting and before eating the break time biscuit.

UK
Sometimes, at Writers' Summer School, at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, England, you have a choice and can take biscuits which are individually wrapped. Why? At first I thought it was to stop the melting chocolate making biscuits stick together.  It seems like overkill.

Singapore
In Singapore, you are sometimes offered individually wrapped cakes. They have lists of ingredients on the back. Handy for those suffering from nut allergies or diabetics needing to avoid sugar or on weight loss diets.

But, isn't wrapping every piece a waste of time and resources such as paper or synthetic wrapping? Yes. - until you think about handling food.

Scuse fingers?

No, I don't.

Why don't I?

1 Firstly, you have your perspiration, and other people's, from shaking hands with everybody.

2 Secondly, you have just touched door handles and light switches and don't have clean hands.

3 Studies in school comparing groups of children who washed hands with those who didn't find a higher number of coughs and colds among the group who did not wash their hands. Even if you don't have a cold now, you could be passing on germs.

4 Numerous government signs and brochures warn everybody that those of certain age group, over 50 or over 60, are more vulnerable to infection. You and most of the group are able to withstand the risk of infection. I am not.

5 I am later in contact with relatives who are in recovery from cancer treatment and have an immune system which is down.

6 I am frequently shocked that those who work in the health service and can see the effects of illness and read the official advice and the evidence, fail to wash their hands, buy healthy foods, or give health foods to others.

What should they do instead?

1 If you are buying food and paper plates, remember the tissues. so people can tissues.
2 Supply hand washing or wet wipes.
3 Or tell people the location of the toilets and wash basins.

Hand Washing For Groups
If you are organising an event at which people will be sharing food and eating with fingers, have a bowl of water for hand washing and a towel or better still series of towels or paper for hand drying.

Serving Utensils
Provide serving utensils. You can cut the length of queues (Americans call them line ups) speed up service in a short break by  having food tables away from the walls, so that people can pass on both sides of the table. In this case, you need two sets of serving spoons in each bowl, in order to prevent those in a hurry from putting their hands into the communal bowl, or passing food back to others with unwashed hands.

Hold crockery with the finger tips of both hands, instead of the thumb and finger of your right hand with the thumb extending over the eating area of a plate or bowl.

We are bombarded with requests to save water and save paper in order to save trees. We can do that, but not at the expense of having days of work, and missing half our holiday and business travel trip through catching avoidable illnesses.

Maybe I should make myself a badge, and hand out badges saying, "I am over 50 and susceptible to germs. Please use utensils, not fingers, when passing food. Thank you."

I could just make two badges and leave them sitting on the table.

Singapore and Halal
One advantage of the halal restaurants in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia is that they have a washbasin near the eating area, outside the toilet area. This enables you to wash your hands easily.

Global hand washing day is October 15th. We should be washing hands every day.

USA
The American slogan is Clean Hands Save Lives.



Websites
Blogs
https://info.debgroup.com/blog/keep-colds-away-this-winter-with-an-effective-hand-hygiene-programme
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-not-to-pass-bread-pizza-slices-or.html

International Views
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Handwashing_Day

USA Official Advice
https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/index.html

UK Official Government Advice
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/we-are-counting-on-you-to-wash-your-hands

Singapore Studies
https://www.smu.edu.sg/perspectives/2015/05/27/washing-hands-saving-lives

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Conference and meeting name and face projection

So well organized at AIA insurance company. My name is projected with my role at the meeting. This makes me feel very welcome. The audience can follow what is happening. Great for networking. You can mentally note somebody's name.  The master of ceremonies is reminded of each person's name which makes it easier to say, 'Please welcome ...' without looking down at notes.

Author

Angela Lansbury

Using your languages overseas

Language Problems
1 You want to learn a language fast.
2 You want to maintain your languages.
3 You want a job using your languages.

Answers
If you want to
1 Learn Languages: Enrol in a class in person; enrol online (Duolingo is free); audio discs for home or car, Earworms from Berlitz, teach a language such as English for foreigners in a language school overseas and you often get a reduction if you sign up to learn another language such as German or Mandarin. (I taught English in several private schools in Singapore, created a course for other teachers, and as a volunteer introduced and helped run an English enrichment programme at weekends for those who failed their English O level mock in a state school and the pupils all (except one in hospital) re-took and passed.
2 Take holidays in foreign countries speaking your second language. Whilst there look for job opportunities. Go to job agencies. Attend a bilingual Toastmasters International speakers club as a guest. Go to a sports club which has local or expat members. Employ a nanny or au pair from the country whose language you wish to learn or maintain. Set up a system in which you teach them or they teach you for an hour, even half an hour, even 15 minutes, every week or every day.
3 Go to the German / Italian / other language embassy (or website) and find their trade department. Write or phone and say (in German and English) that you want to help German businesses with German exports into your area. Ask for a list of companies doing business in your area. In addition or instead check the phone book and the internet in both countries.

Story
A Magazine Article
I met somebody from a travel magazine at the World Travel Market in London. I told him I was a specialist in books and articles on weddings, wedding etiquette and honeymoon hotels and asked if he wanted any articles. He said he did not need any writing because he had the editor or features editor of a Bridal magazine doing his articles. I asked him to keep my card and remember my name in case the situation ever changed. I forgot all about it, once in a while found his card in my pile of cards, shrugged.
Then, suddenly, unexpectedly, an urgent voice on the phone wanted to know if I remembered him and whether I was available - at very short notice, to complete an article and text half done. His writer had had an accident (nothing serious, a limb (for anybody reading this in a second language, that means an arm or a leg) and she could not complete the work.

He said, "I can send a courier over straight away, collect the stuff from her and transport it to you."
"Yes, of course," I said. "Just send me an email confirming the time you need it, the length of the article, and what you will pay, and when, and I'll reply confirming I have understood and agree to the terms. Tell me if you will pay automatically on receipt or if I need to enclose an invoice and if so which person, department and company name I should invoice. A one line sentence from you is enough. How soon can you do that?"

A Book
If you have no luck with a business proposal such as a book, simply try again a year later.
Somebody who had recently worked in the book buying department of a major supermarket (think Marks and Spencer) told me that if I had a book rejected I should send a slightly different version, or even exactly the same one, a year later.

Why? Firstly, because the staff my have changed and a new person may think differently. Secondly the competition may have changed. Maybe last year they had two cookery books offered but only one on gardening but this year it's the other way around.

Secondly, the staff could be the same but the policy could have changed. Maybe last year company policy was to focus on women and cookery, but this year it's on men and gardening.

You can schedule one phone call or email per week or month through the year. Add seasonal greetings. Change dates. Update your current experience.

Tips
3 Where Can You Use Languages?
1 Teaching Languages: primary schools, bilingual schools, secondary schools, adult education, business schools, in house training.
2 Websites.
3 Packaging. Instructions. Instruction books.
4 Book translation.
5 Magazine translation.
6 Encyclopaedia translation
7 Online translation service for business letter.
8 Wedding speeches. Wedding Services.
9 Funeral speeches. Funeral services, prayers and memorials.
10 Poetry and songs.
11 Greetings cards.
12 Advertising and marketing letters.
13 Conferences. Translating written speeches in advance for printing. (I did this for a Belgian delegate at a lawyers' conference in Delhi. It takes hours!) Simultaneous translation. (I did this from French into English at a motoring and tourism event in France.)
14 Thank you speeches from delegations to host country. (I did this for groups of travel writers in France.)
15 Political speeches; and religious sermons.
16 Conference presentations.
17 International contests.
18 Radio and TV.
19 Foreign Language newspapers, own language newspapers overseas.
20 Annual reports.
21 Law courts.
22 Hospitals.
23 Government publications.
24 Police stations.
25 Hotel registration forms. Hotel websites. Travel brochures. Hotel receptionists.
26 Airport security, offices, sign writing.
27 Bilingual magazines on airlines and trains.
28 Nannies, babysitters and home schooling in bilingual families.
29 Cleaning, gardening, DIY, secretary/PA for expats.
30 New business and start-up associations.
Good luck. Enjoy using your skills.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See my other posts and blogs. You can also follow me on Facebook and see profiles and posts on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube videos. Please follow, like and share.

Languages & Translation: English, French, Chinese

I am hoping that I can find enough interest in both London and Singapore for a Toastmasters International Club provisionally entitled Multi-Lingual Translators' Club. London has clubs for French speakers, Spanish speakers, and German speakers.

Singapore French and Chinese Clubs
French Club
In Singapore I have attended meetings of the Francophile French-speaking club in Singapore, entirely in French. I thought I spoke fluent French. However, the rat-a-tat machine gun speed of the speakers was a challenge.

 Then I was baffled by the Table Topic. (That is an impromptu speech, called a table topic because it was a originally on a subject chosen from face down cards on a table).

Chinese Speaking Clubs
 I want to one Chinese club where nobody spoke English, so I had trouble even asking for directions to the toilet in the interval. (I followed one man but he was going to the telephone box. Another went to the Gents, which had a urinal, but I could not see the Ladies toilet.

Finally I found the bilingual English and Mandarin Club who members mostly speak both fluent Chinese (Mandarin) or another Chinese dialect such as Cantonese of Hokkien. Some of the speeches were entirely in Chinese, evaluated in Chinese. This made voting difficult as I could judge only by ticking the number of laughs from the audience, and the gestures and facial expressions and animals and enthusiasm.

At the time I declined to vote on the Chinese speakers. At one point the Chinese speakers were voted for separately.

At conferences you have simultaneous translation. Speakers are asked to pause after every sentence or two, at most three, to allow the translator to remember and translate that section of the speech. Usually a handout is provided with a translation of the speech.

French Translation
In Delhi I translated a speech from French into English. (I think it was for a Belgian lady at a conference on international law). This took longer than you might imagine. First she rehearsed what she planned to say in front of me. I spent hours writing it down in longhand. Even if I had had a tape recorder, it would have taken longer still to type it up (I've done that with other recordings) as you keep having to rewind every two or three words to type it up and search for the next piece.) Nowadays I imagine you could do it with SIRI voice recognition which comes built in with the software package you can buy to go with an iPhone Plus, which may be built into the price, or offered   at a discount.

On a second occasion I attended a motoring weekend in France, travel for journalists sponsored by a car manufacturer, which involved seeing the city and attending an afternoon of speeches describing the development of that year's new car model. This involved a lot of technical terms. Luckily many were the same in English and French.

In the first session things went well for the talk on the city, a welcome by the tourist board. A second session on cars was a real challenge.

In the interval I was able to go out and ask in advance what the next talk was about. As the speaker chatted away, I wrote down several challenging technical words she used. After that the translation was much easier, especially as I had the guest of the talk. The car had three new features, something like the speed of the engine, the choice of colour of leather, the new modern styling, more curvy, less boxy. At this point the main challenge was to translate quickly enough before the speaker started talking again, to make sure I did not miss the first sentence of the next session.

Vote of Thanks
I was also able to translate a vote of thanks from the English motoring and travel writers and photographers into French. To help amplify my vote of thanks, I added the name and title of each English journalist and what they had said.  So Mr Monsieur Smith of a North Of England newspaper had praised the architecture of the city, a great family destination for tourists from the UK, and the style of the car, which many would want to buy, or hire, for business or pleasure.  Mr Brown of London motoring magazine had enjoyed the generous French food and wine, which would interest his gourmet readers, and he admired the luxury of the new car, which would appeal to his discerning readers who sought something special.

I addressed everybody by name. Then I made sure to say a sentence in English first, to collect my own thoughts, and keep the English listening and not talking amongst themselves. Then the French translation.

This year I was sent an email from a French translation organisations which sells books. The newsletter outlined five reasons which you find trouble understanding spoken French, even though you can read it quite easily.

The first reason is that you don't understand common proverbs or metaphors. If that's the case, they can sell you a book. (In theory you can look things up on the internet, but it's always handy to have a book.)

A second reason is that you need technical vocabulary. So you immerse yourself in websites, films, conferences and book, as you probably do to some extent anyway, but plan your year, week, and day ahead to be constantly immersed.

If you are interested, the newsletter is from here:
https://fr.frenchtogether.com/francais-oral-problemes/

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, translator.