What I have learnt from a new approach I am adopting in speaking about Singapore Stories — Usually, a community or public historian speaks publicly as a “sage on a stage”. Direct instruction is typically the name of the game. The public speaker is seen as an expert, or at the very least someone well-read and well-versed in what he is teaching or speaking about. And indeed…

From actual experiences in speaking on Chinese radio; an English podcast; and trying to improve my own voice — The first time I spoke on a Chinese radio show in 2019, I literally shuddered upon hearing the sound of my own voice from the radio. I later learnt that this phenomenon is so common that there’s an actual term for it: “voice confrontation”. There are several interrelated explanations for…

In my talk at the Punggol Regional Library, I share stories about the history of Kangkar, its residents’ daily lives, and its eventual (re)development — This story was for a public lecture on a history of Aukang and Punggol Good morning! As you probably already know, I’m Shawn, a history enthusiast. I’m a worker by day, writer by night, and speaker by weekend. As this is the weekend, I’m here to speak with you.

Reflections and (hopefully) helpful pointers from a published Singapore author — Every now and then, someone will ask me about writing or publishing. I just received several valid questions broadly on marketing and publicising a family history book. I thought it might be useful to look back and share my experiences on how I marketed and publicised a local family history…

Some best practices that I have gleaned over the years of formatting slide decks, at work and at play — Each time I see a presentation that could have been formatted much better, I wince a little in pain. We all know that a well-formatted presentation can make it easier for decision makers to just focus on the substantive content. But somehow, sometimes, and strangely, an odd font or a…

Does this concept truly unlock opportunities and value for creators? — As a content creator, I have been fascinated by the “one thousand true fans” theory. In general terms, Kevin Kelly wrote an essay that essentially argued that if you have one thousand true fans who buy everything you create, you can sustainably make a living from your creative work. According…

How to get the “chains of habit” to work in your favour — There is this wise saying I love, commonly attributed to the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett: “The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” Putting aside the debate as to whoever said this first (and in whatever form), whoever said…

What I did, how it went, and what I learnt — Speaking to children is a whole different kettle of fish compared to speaking to adults. In April and May 2023, I went outside my comfort zone of delivering talks to adults, and went into the wild and wacky world of delivering talks to children. They were amazing experiences in their…

Reflecting on lessons I gleaned from a recent leadership course — Recently, I attended a leadership course. The instructors taught us about the importance of servant leadership; understanding ourselves better and strengthening our self-awareness; and coaching and mentoring our officers — important (no doubt), but fairly unsurprising lessons. I’m sure that, leader or not, most people instinctively know lessons such as…