Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Unexpected

You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen. ~ Paolo Coelho

This morning, I had a speaking schedule at a National Plus School in South Jakarta. As usual, it was about parenting and this time I received a special request. Instead of choosing one of the three topics I have prepared for this term, i.e. 'Boundaries with Kids', 'Positive Push' and 'No Excuse Parenting', the school's representative would like me to present the parents with both 'Boundaries with Kids' and 'Positive Push'.

"No big deal, I'm sure I can do it," This is what I said to myself when I received the news. So few days ago, I started to glance through the slides and remove few of them in order to have a good flow for my presentation. In other words, I get used to prepare myself before speaking in front of public.

So far, I only deliver my presentation in English when I'm with Toastmasters. I remember it was only once when most of the parents were Indian and Korean then I had to do it bilingual in English and Indonesian.

When I arrived at the school this morning, it was still forty minutes before the seminar began. So, I looked around and paid attention to the kids who were still playing with their basket balls on the right side of the hall. When a small group of parents came in and I heard them speaking in Japanese, I began to wonder. Does this group of people understand Indonesian because my seminar will be in Bahasa? I was not informed if I should speak in English.

Nevertheless, I did not have ample time to ponder as it was time for the Master of Ceremony (MC) to start the session. Suddenly, when the MC just started his introduction, I heard a spontaneous comment from the audience, "Can you do it in English?" Fortunately, our MC can speak English, so no problem. At that very moment, I realized that I also had to give my seminar in English, too.

I was definitely right. When I asked the audience if I need to speak in English, they nodded their had and said YES. I then explained to them that this is an unexpected circumstances. But, for sure I would do my best to deliver it in English.

Deep in my heart, I was so grateful to Toastmasters. Ever since I joined the club in August 2005, I have found the right place to practice and improve my spoken English. The time, money and effort I have spent to come to Toastmasters really paid off this morning. I was thrilled to bits that I could do it. It was really such an invaluable experience!


A Scout is never taken by surprise; he knows exactly what to do when anything unexpected happens. ~ Sir Robert Baden-Powell