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Thursday, October 8, 2009

Oratory Skills

Public speaking or oratory is the art of speaking to a large gathering or group of people in an organized manner in order to deliver a message or to entertain the audience. While some may have the talent to openly speak in a large group, many will feel nervous when asked to give a speech to a large group of listeners. This is normal, because even the most experienced speakers sometimes get nervous before an oratory. Mastering the art of public speaking can help lessen the nervousness experienced before a speech.

In order to deliver a successful speech, the speaker must first overcome the fear of speaking in public, which is also known as “glossophobia” or stage fright. It is important to control the fear, because when an audience sense that the speaker is in fear, they tend to shut the speaker out for that reason alone. The fear can be detected by the listeners in many ways, many of which are from the movements of the speakers. Some examples of of these movements include :

· Shuffling from foot to foot
· Wild or random gestures with the hands
· Stuttering and jumbling of words
· Speaking too fast
· No eye contact with the audience
· Referring to written notes too often
· Clearing throat repeatedly

To overcome these symptoms, the best way is by practice. Frequent practice will raise one’s confidence level. One must not be afraid to do a mistake, because we learn through mistakes. Try practice speaking in front of a mirror or in front of close relatives to test the pitch and volume of one’s voice. The pitch cannot be too high because it might irritate the listeners, and a slow voice will lead the audience to sleep. Practice also lets you speak more fluently when the real time comes for the speech. This is important because the listeners need to really understand what you are saying in order to get the message.

During the speech, try adding some humour or jokes to keep the audience entertained and prevent them from getting bored. Laughing can make a sleepy person stay wide awake for the whole section of a speech. Orators who use humour in their speech are more effective compared to those who give serious speeches.

Besides that, try building a relationship with the audience at the start of the speech. The bond created can keep the audience focussed on the orator and the topic he or she is talking about. These bonds can be created by asking questions at the audience such as “how are you today?”. When someone answers a question, ask for their name. Doing this can make the audience feel that the speaker is interested in them, and will therefore keep the audience paying attention.

The most important thing when giving a speech is to be yourself. The speech given does not to be perfect, just good and entertaining for the audience. One cannot deliver an information or message well if they feel awkward. However, the best way is to prepare before a speech and practice a lot.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia. It is built for King Suryavarman 2 in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. Khmer is the name of the people who lived in Angkor. Angkor Wat means city temple in Khmer language.

Information based on questions

1. What is Bayon?
Bayon is the second biggest temple after Angkor Wat.

2. What is the Bayon for?
It is famous for the depiction of daily lives which the people led on the walls of it's structures.

3. Who was Chaou Ta Kuan?
He was believed to be a spy and he recorded everything that happened in Angkor Wat while he was living there.

4. Who were the Khmer's enemy?
The ancient Vietnamese.

5. What is the main reason for the fall of the Khmer empire?
The loss of water control due to the fact that the people neglected the irrigation and drainage system because they feel insincere working for the king at the time.

6. How did Angkor Wat survive?
The monks kept visiting the temple as pilgrimage site.
7. Who built Angkor Wat?
King Suryavarman 2.

8. What does Angkor Wat mean?
Temple city.

9. What contributed to the rise of Angkor?
Mastery over water control. They have extensive and systematic irrigation system which supplies their needs like farming.

10. How did the Khmer cultivate rice?
They built barays in which they store water for the use of culticating rice.

11. What contributed to the fall of Angkor Wat?
External threats from neighbouring countries like Thailand.

12. How did the main temple survive?
The monks continued living and dedicating their lives to the city temple.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Indigenous People


a)Pakena are white people whose ancestors lived in Europe



a)iwi (tribe)

b)hapu (sub-tribe)

c)maunga (mountain)

d)awa (river).




Te Reo Maori - the Maori Language

Kia ora - Hello
Kia ora tatou - Hello everyone
Tena koe - Greetings to you (said to one person)
Tena koutou - Greeting to you all
Haere mai - Welcome
Nau mai - Welcome
Kei te pehea koe? - How's it going?
Kei te pai - Good
Tino pai - Really good
Haere ra - Farewell
Ka kite ano - Until I see you again (Bye)
Hei konei ra - See you later



Islamic Art

Art is something that is created by man to express their feelings or to convey a message. In Islamic arts, the messages of Allah are conveyed through art medias such as porcelain ware, biuilding designs, metalwork, textiles, carpets and other everyday objects. The messages are condensed into one word, which is "Tauhid" meaning the oneness of Allah and is the main characteristics of Islamic arts.

One of the branches of Islamic arts is the Islamic calligraphy. The words used in Islamic calligraphy chiefly consists of Arabic words, verses in the Quran, or jawi,an adapted arabic alphabet for writing in Malay.They are generally used to decorate the walls of mosques, porcelain ware, glassware, tombstones, coins, carpets, textiles and metalworks.

There are many types of Arabic calligraphy, but the two best known are the Kufi and Naskhi. the shape of Kufi letters are mainly perpendicular because it is patterned in the way soldiers marced in Mesopotamia. Since the letters are staright and perpendicular, they are most suitable for carving on mosaic, tiles and stones in buildings such as mosques and fortresses. As time progressed, the calligraphy began to develop from it's origianl form to beautiful floral forms.

Different from the Kufi, the Nashki is cursive and linear in form. Since the 12th century, it had replaced the Kufi calligraphy in that it began to be used as a decorative repertoire in Islamic works of art. The Naskhi is more favoured because it's cursive and linear forms enabled much faster writing. The Thuluth was the most popular form in the Naskhi calligraphy. The thuluth are used for the Quran and also commonly found carved out on monuments in Iran and Turkey.

During the 13th century, another form of calligraphy was introduced known as Taliq. Later, the Nastaliq form appeared which is a combination of Naskhi and Taliq. This form is used in Shahnameh manuscripts, literary works of Iran poets. Besides that, there is also the Diwan or Diwani calligraphy. Although adopted as the official writing of Turkey, it is seldom used in works of art or manuscripts.

In Islamic architecture, the characteristics of the buildings represents the expressions of feelings, peace, tranquility and purity. The structure provides maximum entry of light, for it is believed to create a sense of harmony with the environment and also a sense of comfort. Furthermore, the buildings are equipped with beautiful interior and exterior decorative designs which can mostly be found on walls, arcades and roofs. One of the examples of beautiful Islamic architecture is the Madinah mosque.

Other than that, the ceramics of Islamic religion also possessed artistic values. The creation, designs and art of decorating these fragile items were greatly influenced by Chinese ceramics. The ceramics are mostly decorated with only two different colours, but some are multicoloured, adding to their beauty and uniqueness. The basic ceramics are glazed
porcelains and tricolour glazed porcelains. The objects created are mainly everyday objects such as teapot, incence burner, pottery, bowls and candle holder.

Metalwork are not left out in the Islamic art. Compared to other forms of art, metalwork has attained a high standard of technical development and representation in Islamic arts. The metalworks are historically influenced by Sassanian and East Asian arts. Gold and silver were rarely used because the prohibition on it's use for men in Islamic faith. The products of metalwork are usually weapons and armor. The blades are carved with intricate desi
gns and calligraphy or are sometimes inlaid with jewels like ruby or emerald.

Conclusively, Islamic artists create their works of art out of observation, perception and intimate experience of the environment. Muslim artists are constrained by certain religious imperatives. For instance, they must accept that space (the environment) is created by Allah and they themselves are also Allah's creation. They must accept Allah's oneness. Therefore, their creation should not be too extreme because such an act can affect their faith and consequently drove them to be proud or arrogant. Hence, Muslim artists are prohibited from creating human figurines or use human forms in their creations, lest they be tempted into idolatory or polytheism.

Musical Instrument,the ukulele which is usually played at Maori Ceremonies and even for Leisure

Maori Culture,Traditions and history

