For most of this month and last, except for conducting my grooming workshops and fitness trainings, I'm cooped up largely at home. And there's good reason to do so as I've been focusing my energies in course development.

Yes, from trainer to service provider and now course developer, it's been helping to stretch my potentials to the fullest :)

And it's all in good faith as I've just tied up with Health Management International (HMI) to develop five modules for their students. Health Management International Ltd (HMI) is a Singapore-based Healthcare Service and education provider with business activities in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Located in close proximity to the major hospitals, HMI is Singapore's first private dedicated healthcare education provider.

When I was given the list of topics to work on, I naturally picked those that were within my areas of expertise. These included:

- Grooming & Poise
- Food & Nutrition
- Service Excellence
- Oral Presentation Skills
- Stress Management 

Busy as I am, but when a good opportunity comes along, I will not hesitate. After all, deciding to work together meant I had faith that the organisation could deliver what I was developing and help add value to the healthcare practitioners. As I have friends in the healthcare industry, I understand the challenges they face and the demands made on them by patients and healthcare institutions.

I guess the biggest challenge was to tailor the syllabus to cater to both the fresh students intending to join the industry after they just left school, as well as the mid-career entrants. 

Combining my professional knowledge and my corporate experience, I finally finished the five modules, comprising both course notes amounting to at least 50 pages and Powerpoint slides.

Now that my assignment is done, it's time to go for a short run :)

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Time really flies when you are doing something you enjoy and adds value to the lives of others. This is the primary motivation that continues to drive me day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. 

With the same conviction I hold dear to my heart, I am happy to be the mentor to four ladies today who have joined me at the 3rd public run of my one-day grooming workshop 'The Visual Art of Looking Good'. I deliberately keep the numbers small as it means we have more time to interact. And the learning environment is also kept more intimate in this way.

If you think workshops are boring because it's theory, theory all the way with the trainer talking and talking, think again. In my workshops, you will never get this as I've been in the trainee seat before. In my workshops, you get to explore, play, practise and more importantly, have fun while learning!



Coming from different walks of life but all four ladies have come with one single aim in mind and that is how to look their best always with the least effort. 

It all boils down to understanding yourself and the better you understand yourself, the easier your task will be to dress yourself and look your best. 

Perhaps it is the worst kept secret that all ladies aspire to be hourglasses. Yet in reality, how many truly have an hourglass body shape? Not too many. But is this any reason for despair? Of course not!

As long as we the positive features of each body shape, we can still flaunt our assets, use our clothes to camouflage our flaws and look our best!

So what is the first step? Measure yourself as measurements don't lie. The only question is how. This is what I address in my grooming workshops!





I'm hard-pressed for a reason but I think perhaps it's Friday and the four ladies can miss work legitimately as they are attending my workshop; or because the venue is right smack in Orchard Road, today's workshops ranks among one of my most memorable ones :)

I'll see you at the next batch!

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I'm back as a guest trainer for two runs of my colour analysis workshops at The School of Makeup today. It always excites me to see new faces as I firmly believe colour analysis is truly beneficial to everybody. Why wear clothes which make you look much older than your actual age? Or why apply the wrong colour of makeup only to look dull and insipid?

Welcome to the beautiful world of colours. Just like how we add colours to a plain piece of white canvas, so too do we apply colours onto ourselves in our dressing and appearance to up our image quotient. And what better way than to look harmonious from top to toe?

Looking harmonious is of special importance to these two groups of ladies as they are all training to be makeup artists. Be it a day look, bridal or night makeup, choosing the right colours is the decisive factor that makes or breaks a model.

When the ladies were told prior to the workshop to turn up in their bedroom face, most were horrified. But they soon came to realise that a bedroom face offers them the best analysis of their own colours.





At first glance, it may be difficult to discern with the naked eye which colour is more suitable. But coupled with more practice, the going gets easier and naturally more fun too!

If you are keen to find out your best colours too like what these ladies discovered for themselves, contact me now. Colour analysis can be taught separately or be incorporated as part of my one-day grooming workshop. 

Draping her in a warm colour like gold...


Draping her in a cool colour like black...


Does she look glowing or dull in true green?


Is lilac one of her best colours?

With the ladies in the night class

With the ladies in the day class

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Held annually to celebrate innovation and service in Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board, the annual Innovation & Service Week is THE event of the year for the staff as they get the opportunity to participate in workshops, attend study visits to other companies and honour the innovation efforts of the people.

Thus, I'm really honoured when I received the invitation to speak at CPF Board's Innovation & Service Week 2010. Being placed as the opening number to kick off the series of workshops and visits in this week-long event was a double honour for me :)

Having liaised closely with the organising committee since July 2010, the topics for the "Create A First Impression that Lasts" grooming workshop were specifically customised to cater to the needs of the staff.


Everyone is barefoot :)

Stepping in the training venue code-named the Dream Room on the 30th floor was another first in itself as all 30 participants (and trainer included) had to remove their shoes before entering. Although this was the first time I conducted a workshop barefoot, but in all honesty, I really enjoyed the feeling!

Facing the energetic and bubbly group, it was hard not to be affected by the mood in the air. With the participants laughing, teasing one another and enjoying themselves, I was really happy as they participated full on. This really augurs well for any organisation as it takes pro-active service-minded staff to leave a positive first impression on members of the public.


Group discussion


Participant sharing


Does his side profile look more like Andy Lau or Tony Leung?



Sharing with the participants more than just grooming tips, I weaved in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) elements into the workshop. This really got everyone more than excited as the participants noted in their post-workshop feedback that this tool was exceptionally useful in their daily work as it had direct revelance. This would also probably be the first time the participants had encountered incorporating NLP techniques into their daily lives. 

Being able to add value to other people's lives is truly a very blessed thing to do. What's more when I enjoy doing what I'm doing :)


The happy lot of CPF staff!

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Today's the very first time I've done two grooming workshops in a day but there's always a first time in life for everything, right? :p

When I first received the invitation to speak at their monthly Soapbox, I had to admit I was rather apprehensive. I mean one would normally associate Mensa with people with super high IQ. The members would probably out-speak, out-think and out-perform all of us. 



All my apprehensions evaporated the very moment I had chance to come into contact with the bubbly and chatty members of Mensa Singapore. And I think being back at the same venue (NUSSU Guild House at Suntec City) where I first started speaking professionally had a very calming effect on me too!



Interestingly, the aims of both my grooming workshop and Mensa's stated purposes are aligned. I aim to identify and foster grooming intelligence for the benefit of all my fellow brothers and sisters. So does Mensa but in the intellectual field.

With more males than females in the small group today, it was a refreshing change from all the previous workshops I've done. For once, the men in Singapore have shown that they too, are interested in the grooming stuff once regarded as the domain of ladies! 



And I must pay tribute to the men in the room as even though they were listening to lady stuff at some point in time, their thoughts were of their other half. One participant proclaimed he knew his wife was of a romantic personality because she loved details in the clothes.

That is the beauty of what my grooming workshops is all about. Besides discovering more about your strengths and how to capitalise on them, you also learn how to hide your flaws. More importantly, the knowledge taught is yours to keep and share with your loved ones. In short, you don't have to be a super high IQ person to understand and appreciate my lessons :)

 

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As with all customised workshops, today's grooming workshop too is a special one as it's targeted at singles. From the looks of the eight participants from Ministry of Education (MOE), Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and Ministry of Defence (MINDEF); it was evident they took precious time off on a Saturday morning to embark on a fun-filled, self-discovery journey.

If you ask me why some of us are still single, it's not because we are too busy forging ahead in our careers nor still searching for the right partner. Rather, much of the reason has to boil down to the fact that we lack certain ingredients to make us more appealing in the eyes of the opposite sex. But don't worry, this certainly is no cause for worry as I'm here to help.

Even with only one male participant in the group, the atmosphere was not marred by the gender imbalance. Instead, we had a very good exchange of both gender viewpoints. Constant laughter permeated the cosy surroundings.

I felt what particularly excited the participants was the new knowledge all were equipped with after completing their self-discovery journey. After all, we cannot deny the fact that we are all too busy working to even take some time off to understand ourselves better. But more often than not, wanting to up our image quotient begins with us. We are our best friend.

 

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