My Ribbon-Winning Impromptu Speech On Selling at Ifpas Toastmasters Club

I volunteered to speak in a table topics session. Table topics are impromptu speeches, sometimes from topics picked at random from cards face down on a table.

I love doing table topics. But they are meant for giving an opportunity to speak to members of the audience who are not performing planned speeches nor doing roles. I was the General Evaluator, granted a long slot at the end to evaluate the people not evaluated (the evaluators themselves). I hung back to allow others to have their moment on stage.

Then I saw that the impromptu speakers were rewarded with an orange. We eat fruit for breakfast and I wanted an orange. So I volunteered.

The topics were mostly related tot he evening's theme of Chinese New Year. We had begun the evening by being asked to say what we were doing to celebrate Chinese New Year.

People said: visiting relatives; giving 'hong bao' (red packets containing money given to unmarried relatives); receiving hong b a o and counting the money, haven reunion dinners with family, organising reunion dinners in restaurants.

My topic was: ' "You have to give a little to receive a lot." Do you agree? '

I said:

Yes, this is obviously true. Shops and manufactures are always offering buy one get one free and I fall for it every time. So does everybody, most customers are tempted by a free gift. I am a sucker for free gifts. I saw an advertisement for milk this week in Singapore. The ad said: buy two and get a free glass. I told my husband. He said, 'But we don't need two cartons of milk. And we don't need a free glass. It's an oddment. We have too much clutter already. I was so disappointed. I love free gifts. When I see a free Lego toy with a cereal packet, I want to buy the cereal packet. I don't have grandchildren, or children the age for Lego. I don't need it. But it's free and I want it.

The same happens when I go to buy a dress in Singapore, or China, or India. I buy a dress, pay and turn to leave the shop. The manager bows and smiles, and gives me a free scarf. You know what that means. I've paid too much. He says, 'Because you are a good customer.' He means I paid full price and didn't bargain hard enough. I'm now under an obligation. Anybody from Singapore or China knows what that means. He now wants to show me another dress, dearer, or cheaper, than the first one. He will of course give me another free scarf.

Yes, the salesman knows, you know, I know, you have to give a little to receive a lot.

Angela Lansbury, B A Hons, CL, ACG.