By Siti Zulaikha Shawaludin and Naim Fadil
GOMBAK, 14 March 2015: IIUM Radio (IIUM.fm) crew members had a rare opportunity to be trained on the art of speech and public speaking by one of Malaysia’s leading corporate Master-of-Ceremony (MC), Ishak Nengah. The training programme was designed for crew members to learn and improve their skills in conducting radio programmes.
Highlights of topics emphasised during the training programme were: radio as a medium, your voice is your most powerful tool, using your voice, conducting a radio interview, and practical exercises.
Ishak Nengah, the facilitator, has over 30 years of experience in the field of oral communication having worked as a journalist, radio and TV broadcaster, as well as Public Relations and Advertising Manager. He is also one of the few who can emcee fluently both in Malay and English. Over the years, Ishak Nengah had emceed numerous important events “ big and small “ including those attended by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong as well as the Prime Minister.
A total of 32 students and three IIUM lecturers participated in the programme.
The programme started with the introduction of the speakers background and achievements. As part of ice-breaking exercise the speaker allowed participants to œintroduce oneself by evaluating participants level of creativity, presentation and voice control. The speaker then presented radio as a medium of communication and stressed that the œDJ is not the star of the show, but the focus has always been on the subject matter or the guest.
He emphasised that words are very powerful element in creating impressions and in giving vivid pictures to the listeners. Voice is as powerful as the DJ himself. A good voice is one that is filled with warmth and expression. Thus, the right technique of breathing and voice projection must be learned beforehand. In addition to news reading, participants learned about the right voice intonation in reading formal news.
During the afternoon session participants were introduced to radio interview techniques. According to Ishak Nengah, both the interviewer and interviewee must agree on the right topic for the programme. In this respect the interviewer after doing his homework, should guide the interviewee on the discussion and inform the interviewee of possible anticipated questions that he will be asked on to avoid unexpected surprises.  In addition to the discussion, it is important to make the guest feels welcome and keep introducing him several times during the interview as the listeners might have just tuned in.
The programme ended with Question and Answer session followed by group photo. Overall it has been a very successful session revealing some of the secrets in public speaking.***
Photos taken by Naim Fadil