Things I wish they have known during the PAC

The invitation to be a facilitator for a PTD Assessment Centre (PAC) programme a few weeks ago came as a surprise, but one that I relished. I thought it might be interesting to watch possible PTDs-to-be in action before they undergo any formal training and I was right – it was indeed a worthy experience.

Yes, I saw a few familiar faces among the participants, including my junior from college and my best friend’s wife. However, the facilitators had been advised (read: warned) not to be or seen to be too friendly with the participants – and so I kept my distance.

It was my first experience as a facilitator – but I guess it wasn’t that difficult or worrying to be in the seat of a facilitator compared to being one of the assessed participants. Still, a few of my fellow facilitators confessed that at first it could be quite a daunting task to give instructions and provoke the participants during the activities – but it always got better after one or two activities.

There are a few lessons and values instilled among the PTDs that I have learned to appreciate more since my formal training in Intan four years ago. Things I wish some good candidates have known during the PAC, such as:

* Volunteering is good. Dominating is not. If one of your peers volunteer to take over any task after you have done so – make way for them;

* It is just as important to listen to what others have to say as to voice out your opinion. So, speak up, but do give consideration for other people’s views too;

* Never say “I can’t” when you are invited to present for the group. Even when you know your BM or English is not that good, just give it a try first. The main thing is that you dare to step forward and rise up to the challenge;

* A good diplomat does not need to raise his or her voice unnecessarily to emphasis a point – how it is said and one’s body language could help drive any of one’s point home. And no, there is no need to respond defensively or aggressively upon any provocation, imagined or otherwise;

* Everyone should use the given 5 minutes effectively for public speaking. Less than 4 minutes could mean that you lack confidence and just want to rush things to get them quickly over with. Over 5 minutes is pointless because the panel stopped awarding any point after the bell is rung twice;

* Avoid talking on everybody’s favorite topic. After a while, it gets a bit tiring to hear people talking about the same thing again and again and again. During the recent sessions, social ills and ICT were the top topics chosen by the participants – and yes, they became dull rather quickly;

* Posture speaks a lot. Stand straight, eyes front, shoulders back, use gesture as appropriate and no hands in pockets or behind your back. Make eye contact by scanning the whole audience and change facial expression to emphasise points;

* Less is more. Covering 10 tips on how to be a good parent is too much for a 5 minutes speech. Alternate your volume, alternate your speed and stop for pauses as you move from one point to another;

* Keep it simple. Give a concise and precise introduction and stick to simple English if you think you’ll have some trouble pronouncing some ‘big words’. The impact you make during the introduction can hook or lose the audience’s immediate attention. And no, telling a well-known (lame) joke does not make a riveting introduction;

* Even when you know that you won’t be joining any physical activity due to some constraints, just be attired appropriately when asked to do so. It’s part of what PTDs refer to as esprit de corp;

Oh, I've enjoyed the experience as a facilitator tremendously. Enjoyed provoking thoughts and watched people changing their decisions, enjoyed challenging some participants to do more than they thought they were able to, enjoyed pondering on some of the public speeches, enjoyed cheering the participants on during the run; enjoyed acting as Yang Dipertua Dewan during the debate – and enjoyed the delicious strong black kopi kampung as could only be found in Intan…

The speech I enjoyed most? It was on values learned from The Apprentice.