Red Bear Technology 6th Anniversary Dinner

Event: Red Bear Technology 6th Anniversary Dinner Date: 04 March 2011 Time: 7-10pm Venue: The Pines Club Style! Emcee:

I arrived at 5.30pm to finalize the program details (just in case there are some last minute changes). Usually the hour before the event, a few things take place: Final program meeting with events coordinator and client, emcee briefing to deejay, sound and mic test and finally changing into my attire for the night. The event coordinator came around and shouted "Alright, we are all set and ready to go!"

The guests started arriving in small groups. Some came alone, others with colleagues and spouse. At around 7.30pm, the client informed that majority of the guests were here and the emcee can commence the evening anytime. I went up on stage, welcomed and warmed up the audience and invited the CEO on stage to deliver the opening speech. At this point everyone was still feeling a little shy and awkward as most of them were from different companies. The CEO gave a good speech which managed to gather some laughter among the audience. Dinner ensued and everyone was happily tucking in with champagne and beer. When the game segment started, the CEO was very spontaneous and went around to invite others to join in. It was a great sight to see so many people joining in for the games. One of the games was a beer drinking contest and it was surprising that the overall beer champion was a lady! The CEO laid another challenge for the winner and if the winner could win the CEO, she will walk away with a 40" LCD TV. Even though the lady had drank 3 glasses, she went on to win and finally walked away with the grand prize! Everyone was so encouraging and started cheering at the scene where the CEO competed with the winner. Impressive! Another highlight of the evening was the lucky draw. The prizes were fabulous and definitely everyone would want to be a winner. The evening ended with a toast proposed by the CEO and his team, to all their business partners, vendors, customers, etc. The event was a great success. Instead of the usual chinese cuisine fare, the evening dinner was a sumptuous 6-course western cuisine and every plate tastes wonderful. Well done to the event organizers and client whom ensured everything went smoothly!

Corporate Team-building At Club Med Bintan

Event: Corporate Team-building
Date: 19-20 February 2011
Venue: Club Med Bintan

Style! Emcee:

I had a great time in Club Med Bintan last weekend. I was invited to a corporate team-building experience and I hosted the pre-dinner party.

Team-building, to me, is to break down the walls between colleagues and foster the working relationships, so as to build cooperation within departments as well as inter-department. Ultimately,the aim is to create a more conducive working environment to improve efficiency and productivity.

Interestingly from my observations, during the entire day of team-building activities, one would notice the synergy that has been created as teams comprising of members from different departments, are put to the tasks of overcoming challenges. This synergy is evident especially during brainstorming and discussions, where team members put aside their corporate ranks (director, manager, associate, etc) and put up ideas and suggestions on how best to solve these challenges. However, in real life, especially in Asian companies, when the boss casually asks for comments, the staff seated around the meeting table would hardly utter a word. The second piece of evidence suggesting this synergy is evident during lunch and dinner where people whom they have met for only a few times becoming so comfortable with each other, exchanging knowledge and experiences in their personal and professional life.

As a corporate trainer, I work with people from different age groups and industry backgrounds. The differences in team dynamics are aplenty, but one common similarity is the process of how Winning Teams are built. I have attached a link of Bruce Tuckman's Team Development Model and the 4-stage process (Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing).

Click here: Bruce Tuckman's Team Development Model

If you are looking at how to increase the productivity of your staff, I would love to work with you, through team-building activities, to improve overall staff performance and morale.

NTU MAE Dinner & Dance 2011

Event: Nanyang Technological University School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dinner & Dance 2011 Date: 18 February 2011 Venue: Ban Heng Restaurant (Harbor Front Centre) Time: 7pm - 10pm

Style! Emcee: How would I describe tonight event? A congregation of scholars and the best minds. I was honored to be chosen to host the event, especially since NTU is my alma mater. It is heartwarming to find familiar faces among the staff and professors seated in the audience. As an emcee, apart from the usual announcements, awards presentations and lucky draws, the real test of an emcee is the ability to warm the crowd and get them to be excited about the evening. The differentiating factor between a good emcee and a mediocre one lies in here. This is why top emcees are paid top dollars as they are able to engage and entertain the audience regardless of age, nationality, race, education and background. I did a brilliant job tonight in entertaining the audience, comprising of mainly the age group of 40s and 50s. How do I know? Laughter gets louder, claps are more resounding, more attention given, less people going to the toilet, and finally definitely easier to get volunteers and replies from any question you ask. This is the emcee's 6th sense. Somehow you know that you have caught the pulse of the audience. I felt happy tonight, after the organizing committee came to thank me for a great job. But what really got me happy about, is the fact that I got the chance to create an evening of fun and enjoyment for the staff and professors that once educated and nurtured me. Thank you for creating that spark in me to pursue my dreams. *cheers*

Singapore Chefs Association Annual AGM & Lo Hei Dinner 2011

Event: Singapore Chefs Association Annual AGM & Lo Hei Dinner 2011
Date: 12 February 2011
Time: 7pm - 10.30pm
Venue: Grand Copthorne Waterfront

Style! Emcee:

How do you serve your guests if they are all chefs and experts in culinary skills?

That was the first question that came to my head when I was engaged to host this event. The answer: Well, serve them good food, good drinks and GOOD FUN!

Welcome to Singapore Chefs Association!

Together with the event organizer, the organizing committee and the sponsors created and hyped up the mood for the evening, with exciting pre-dinner activities with prizes sponsored by Nestle Professional, majestic ice-carving by the hotel chef from Grand Copthorne, lion dance "cai qing" performance, and the God of Wealth who is loved and adored by everyone!

Impressive and majestic looking ice carving!
(If you look closer, there are test tubes of sweet desserts. Fabulous!)

Receiving blessings of luck from the God of Wealth
( Huat Huat Huat ah!...)

Pre-dinner activities: Spin & Win

As the emcee for the event, I welcomed the audience with phrases and phrases of Chinese blessings and everyone started clapping and cheering as I gave more and more words of blessings to everyone. It was a great way to start an event since Chinese New Year is about visiting friends and loved ones and sending our blessings to them!

The SCA President Mr Eric Teo addressed the audience and captivated their attention by sharing light moments of laughter. I liked the way he introduced each member of the committee. It had a nice personal touch as he shared a little about each committee member.

The lion dance troupe was awesome, in full upright posture, standing on top of the supporting trouper. The audience gave rousing applause as they presented the auspicious scrolls!

The next best part was the traditional Lo Hei customs. With 50 over tables in the ballroom, and everyone tossing and shouting words of blessings, I must say that the mood and atmosphere were perfect!

After the dinner commenced, I conducted my favorite segment - Fun & Games! It was an interesting sight after I invited the audience to join in. On one side of the stage was all the senior citizens and on the other was all our youth citizens. Coincidence?

The audience started competing and to everyone's surprise, the senior folks won instead of the young ones. As I announced the results, you could hear the audience was all cheering for our senior folks! The game prizes were fantastic - Hampers sponsored by Nestle Professional.

I went on to the second Fun & Games segment. You know that once the audience is all warmed up and ready for more, the energy level gets higher, the mood gets lighter and everyone is all eager to charge forward. Everyone had so much fun in the second Fun & Games segment and even I had lots of fun!

As the evening draw to a close, I invited the SCA President and the representative from from Nestle Professional to lead everyone for a finale toast. Cheers to even more surplus this year! 大家发啊!

Partners for the evening

Diversey Annual Chinese New Year Dinner 2011

Event: Diversey Annual Chinese New Year Dinner
Date: 11 February 2011
Time: 6pm - 10pm

Style! Emcee:

As I made my way to the event with the rain was pelting down heavily, my mind was thinking about the audience. How do they feel making their way to the event in the rain? Would the rain dampen their spirits? Would they not turn up?

When the time came, the guests arrived in great spirit, smiling, chatting and laughing merrily, some started with the great tasting finger food (specially prepared by the host), and some started toasting and sipping Italian wines.

sumptuous spread of finger food... yummy!

At the same time, the dinner was being prepared..

A delightful BBQ feast by the pool

Just before the event started, I am posing for the mobile phone camera man...

Model, anyone?

I launched the event in Chinese New Year style, getting everyone to clap and mimic the loudest ever man-made firecrackers (well, since real firecrackers are not allowed) and warmed the audience. There were guests from various countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, Italians and India.

After the opening speech, the Lo Hei was a unique and interesting experience. There were tea cup candles placed on the table, and the lights were slightly dimmed. It was like a fusion of Western fine dining with Eastern customs! Candlelight Lo Hei!

The crowd was great and spontaneously took part in the fun and games, and even the management joined in the dance! We also prepared a special segment for the birthday babies and sang them a birthday song.

The night ended on a high note with everyone toasting "Yum Seng" and some had their fortune in the lucky draw. Good night!

Kim Seng Heng Holdings Ltd Chinese New Year Celebrations

Event: Kim Seng Heng Holdings Ltd Chinese New Year Celebrations
Date: 07 February 2011
Time: 12pm - 3pm
Venue: Yishun Safra Jasmine Ballroom

Style! Emcee:

I love hosting events with audience mix of different nationalities, races and backgrounds. From a local Singaporean's perspective, it gives them a flavor of our local culture. On the flip side, they provide insights into their culture, ideas and styles.
It never fail to impress and amaze me how spontaneous they are and willing to participate and enjoy themselves, even though there may be times when they do not understand our lingo or slang. (Singapore is truly a globalized country!)

For all my friends and guests from overseas, the photo below provides an explanation of the various ingredients in the "Yu Sang" (鱼生) dish. The tossing of the "Yu Sang" is known as "Lo Hei" (捞起).

This is my first event in the Year of the Rabbit. I am very glad to be a part of the celebration with the staff of KSH. I wish everyone a Happy & Prosperous New Year!

Huat ah~!

Krislite Annual Dinner & Dance 2011

Theme: International Cultural Fiesta
Date: 31 January 2011
Venue: Carlton Hotel

Style! Emcee:

This event celebrates the success of Krislite 1st Annual Dinner & Dance. All the guests were extremely pleased with the event, including the management. As an entertainer, it is always very heartwarming and reassuring to know that your hard work and efforts have been well-appreciated by the applause and thanks at the end of the whole show. I always look forward to put a smile on each of my guest's face, to let them walk away feeling cheery and happy. To me, that is what I enjoy the most of my job. It is also the feedback I get from each event's success that continues to motivate me to do better and better.

When the crowd came strolling in, I saw the age group was mostly late 30s, 40s and also 50s. That got me thinking how I should set the mood for the event and deliver the fun and games to make sure that everyone enjoys the evening. In the end, the response was better than what I expected. To me, that's service finesse as an emcee. Delivering to suit your client.

As the theme was International Cultural Fiesta, it was surprising to see one guest came in a God of Wealth (Cai Shen 财神) costume. He created so much fun and laughter for everyone when he went around and "spread" his wealth.

Everyone had a laughing good time and it was simply awesome. Even I enjoyed it together with the crowd. So many surprises, so many raw talents among them.

To everyone at Krislite, you guys made me enjoyed the night hosting with all of you!

UMC Annual Dinner & Dance 2011 (Co-hosted with Mediacorp artiste Vivian Lai 赖怡伶)

Co-host: Mediacorp artiste Vivian Lai

140 tables in the Convention Hall

UMC U Talent!

Date: 28 January 2011
Time: 6pm - 11pm
Venue: Suntec Convention Hall 602
No. of paxs: 1400

Style! Emcee:

This is my first grand scale event for year 2011 and I had the opportunity to co-host with Mediacorp artiste Ms Vivian Lai (赖怡伶). The event was hosted entirely in Mandarin and I would say, based on the feedback from the organisers, my Mandarin is fluent and the show was an outstanding success!

UMC presented 5 finalist groups of contestants, all of them went through a stringent round of audition and were selected based on various criteria. I was also invited to be the panel of judges for the audition in last December. For the final round, the contestants performed their own items and were also given an opportunity to perform a second item (加分题) to increase their scores, outdo the rest, and clinch the top prize home. The group that won was AGAPE, and not only did they dance, they did a rap as well, and got everyone in the audience to participate and dance with them. Brillant!

The lucky draw segments were filled with extremely attractive prizes and even after the 1st prize was drawn, the management threw in additional prizes and that got everyone excited and went crazy!

This event was a great success and hosting with Vivian Lai was very fun and both of us had so much laughter on the stage. Her voice was very nice and she looks GORGEOUS! (Wait for my hosting video with her)

To everyone at UMC: Wish you all the best and see you all soon!

Deluge Protection Shanghai Surprise

Date: 28 Jan 2011
Time: 1215pm - 1530pm
Venue: Deluge Head Office

Style! Emcee:

The event was part of the Chinese New Year celebration and I am so glad to be selected as the emcee. The event started with a lion dance performance, a symbol of success and prosperity. After that, the guests were ushered to the 6th floor auditorium for the event, with great food (there's so much great food and drinks!) and huge round of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

After the opening speech by the GM, the first segment was the Lo Hei. Instead of counting 1,2 and 3, I called out "Tai Kay" and everyone went "Huat ah!". All tables started tossing the Yu Sang and words of blessings were shared.

The fun & games segment was awesome. The crowd, with a good mix of races and ages, participated spontaneously and that brought about lots of entertainment for everyone. Also, there was a Karaoke segment where 3 singers belted out Chinese New Year songs.

Every segment of the event was filled with so much jokes and laughter. All these could not have been possible with everyone at Deluge. Thank you~!

Happy New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Flower Garden Mall @ Albert Mall Complex

The stage and the backdrop

Organizers of the event

God of Wealth

闪亮姐妹－佳佳和思思

罗翊绮

The Balloon Master - Mr Handsome

Event: 雅柏花卉展
Date: 22, 23, 29 & 30 January 2011
Time: 3.30 - 9.30pm
Venue: Albert Complex / Fu Lu Shou Complex

Style! Emcee:

This event, as part of the Chinese Lunar New Year Celebrations, is organized by Kampong Glam and Kampong Glam Citizens' Consultative Committee, and supported by YourSingapore (an initiative by Singapore Tourism Board). The event was held over 2 weekends, packed with a kaleidoscope of performers, from singers to magicians, to dancers and award-winning lion dance performance!

As we all know, Albert Complex, Fu Lu Shou Complex, Bugis Village, the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple are all part of Singapore tourist attraction and definitely a place where there are lots of people and tourists. It came as a good surprise that although the show was hosted mainly in Mandarin, there were tourists from different nationalities within the audience and enjoying themselves.

I had a great time hosting the event over the 2 weekends, and meeting some of the very popular local singers and performers. The interaction with the audience was candid and spontaneous and I can see that many of them came back to support my show for all 4 days! Thank you everyone! Despite the rain for the last 2 days, many turned up and filled the hall. It was very heartwarming to see all of them enjoying themselves, smiling and laughing heartily.

Wishing everyone A Prosperous and Blessed Chinese New Year!

64th MIDS & 1st MDEC Commission & Graduation Ball

Event: 64th Midshipmen & 1st MDEC Commissioning & Graduation Ball
Venue: Grand Hyatt Singapore
Time: 7 - 10.30pm


Style! Emcee:

It's indeed a great honour to see another successful batch of graduands! You guys have done yourselves proud. Keep up the good work!

The team spirit, the bonding, the commaderie, were beyond words can describe. It goes to show how much the entire team has gone through together during the 9-month course. The laughters, the cheers and encouragement during the awards presentation really described the closeness of the friendships that were forged.

It was a great pleasure being the emcee for your event. I wished the night would go on, and I could listen more to the performance by MMDC. Thank you gentlemen!

The lady partners came in their best, making the evening complete. Many of them were all dolled up, and sat beside their partners whom invited them to be part of the celebration for their remarkable achievement.

Everyone had a good time and laughed to their hearts' content. I gave our fantastic as well as booby prizes. The evening was completed with the Best Division Award, and the countless photo-taking sessions for memory keepsake. Finally, everyone got together and sang the song "If We Hold On Together"

To all my guests, I wish you all the best as you embark as proud graduates of the program.

Cheers!

Pre-event instant photo print-out

L'Occitane Staff Party 2011: Rock & Roll

Retro lighted signboard showing the way to the biggest event in town!

The stage display

"I'm dancin to the Jailhouse Rock"

谢谢大家的支持！

Rocker-styled Richard

"And the winning team comes from this table!"

Smile!

The energetic L'Occitane rockers!

The famous saying goes,
You won't know how high you fly until you spread your wings.

I say
You never know how high you will be until you get off your chair!


You guys are fantastic!
See You Next Year~!

Dynasty Travel Shanghai Night Annual Dinner & Dance 2011

Date: 18 January 2011
Venue: Grand Hyatt Singapore (Grand Ballroom)
Paxs: 300

Style! Emcee:

Tonight is a jubilant celebration for Dynasty Travel. They have successfully achieved S$100 million in sales, a huge milestone and a symbolic moment. Congratulations on the achievement~!

The event kicked off with balloon grandeur and the VIP popping the balloons one by one to commemorate their remarkable achievement. Guests and staff dressed up to the theme and the entire ballroom was transformed into the look and feel of the 40s in Shanghai!

The staff was impressive and devoted time to putting up a great performance. With limited time to choreograph and practice, the outcome of their Shanghai Musical was a resounding success.

The fun and games segment was something not to be missed. The invited guests were totally spontaneous and awesome in the stage games. I couldn't believe it~! Sometimes as the saying goes, "Still Water Runs Deep". When the invited guests started dancing to the music and giving their level best in keeping up to the challenge, everyone just went excitedly crazy, with fanatic applause!

With the great achievement to kick start the evening, the CNY Yu Sang Lo Hei, excellent speeches by the management and the guest speaker, the fun and games, the lucky draw; the event wrapped up on a high note with the company's mission and corporate cheer. Well done Dynasty Travel! :)

Endress+Hauser Staff Party 2011

Venue photo taken in the day. Scenic view all around!

Event: Endress+Hauser Staff Party 2011
Date: 13 Jan 2011
Venue: Skydeck Imbiah Sentosa

Style! emcee:

First of all, I have to say that although this is an outdoor setting, but the scenery and view after sunset is splendid. The venue is breezy and feels extremely comfortable and windy. Definitely a great place to knock a few ice cold with friends while enjoying the panoramic view and the breeze.

The crowd turned up for dinner after taking part in a team event at Desperados, in Sentosa. For those whom have not been there, Desperados is a cowboy virtual shooting simulator, where you are mounted onto a horse and trying to shoot some targets.

When the dinner event started, the Managing Director was very spontaneous and agreed to appear as the Colorful Man Transformation to kick-start the event and that raised everyone's spirit.

After the long service award, which I am very impressed by the Managing Director's sharing of the contributions by the recipients. He gave a detailed account for each one of them, which was very personalized and impressive!

As an emcee, this event presented a very good challenge for me. I completed a marathon game segment of an hour and the half. The outcome was good: The crowd took part in the games and everyone had a laughing good time!

We wrapped up the event with a loud resounding toast to wish everyone well for 2011 and also took a group photo for memory.

Thanks guys~!

In my Hawaiian attire, all ready for the event! :)

Featured in Lian He Zao Bao 联合早报 (11 January 2011)

Style! Emcee:

I was informed that I was featured in the local Chinese newspapers as an emcee hosting an event for Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans at the Countdown Party 2011 held at Tiong Bahru Park. The aim of the event is to welcome our non-Singaporean employees/ students/ visitors and integrate them into our local community, making them feel at home and a part of Singapore.

2万多人跨种族文化国籍一起倒数新年

[Close-up] Style! Emcee Richard in action!

Great Eastern Sales Kickoff 2011

Event: Great Eastern Sales Kickoff 2011
Venue: Singapore Expo Hall 5
Time: 1.30pm - 5.30pm

Style! emcee:

This morning I woke up at 5.30am to practice my dance routine even though we were told to report at Expo Hall 5 at 9am. I wanted to make sure my steps are clean, sharp and neat, decided to forgo some sleep and went to the fitness first gym dance studio to polish up my moves.

Well, as a firm believer of practice makes perfect, I went through the routine at least 10 good times, pushing myself to improve and ensure that I look great on stage. I remembered the choreographer always telling us not to mark out steps but to give it "full out" with our heart and soul so that we will know our routines better.

I was fortunate to be selected during the audition to be among the good dancers. The rehearsals were pretty hectic and packed back to back daily. As the level of the dancers was quite high, I had to make sure I pulled up my socks and put in double the effort to do it well!

IT'S TRUE.... AS LONG AS YOU PUT YOUR HEART AND SOUL INTO IT, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.

I felt happy with my performance and I got good feedback from the choreographers. Happy!

Apart from my dance item, I was also the lead singer for the event's theme song. It was so cool singing to a crowd of 2000 paxs and with 60-80 back up dancers. The feeling is awesome and majestic!

Looking forward to the video and also my next big event!

OTO Bodycare Fitness Challenge cum Countdown 2011

Getting ready for the event

"Join us in the OTO Bodycare Fitness Challenge!"

"I have got great prizes to give away..."

Caught in action by the audience!

Event: OTO Bodycare Fitness Challenge cum Countdown 2011
Venue: Tiong Bahru Park
Time: 8:30pm - 12:00am

Style! Emcee:

I had a wonderful time hosting the OTO Bodycare Fitness Challenge, held at the Tiong Bahru Park as part of the Countdown 2011 Celebrations.

While on my way to the venue, rain started pouring in and it was quite worrying, thinking if the rain continues at this magnitude, nobody will turn up for the party. Thankfully, the weather turned out fine and the crowd came pouring into the park.

From 7.30pm onwards, the fitness challenge was very popular with young and old alike. Each team comprised of one Singaporean and a non-Singaporean. The purpose is to engage the community of non-Singaporean and make them feel at home. For the OTO Cruncher, the team has to do the maximum number of crunches within a minute. Take a look at the photo of the cruncher machine below. It is totally different from a normal crunching machine where you lie face up. But in this case, you lie face down and move your knees toward your chest.

I tried as well! And guess what? I managed to complete 104 crunches within a minute. Not bad for a first timer. From the photo above, the knees are placed between the lower 2 set of rollers and the arms are placed on the handle bars, gripping the handle bars similar to riding a racer bike.

Initially people were so shy and embarrassed to try. But given the lure of the prizes (total prizes given out was worth over $6000), many stepped forward and took the challenge. There were senior citizens as well as young kids, all stopping by to giving a try at the challenge.

Due to the overwhelming response of the contest, there was people trying to sign up even after we have closed the registration at 11:30pm. Given their enthusiasm, the organizing committee decided to extend a final round of 5 teams after the countdown was done.

During the final round after the countdown, the Guest of Honour, Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, and MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, visited the OTO booth and gave his support to the contestants sweating it out for the top prize.

For everyone at OTO Bodycare whom I worked with for the whole event, Happy New Year~!

Group photo - OTO staff at the event

Radio 1003 - 下班来聚会

Event: Radio 1003 - 下班来聚会 Date: 23 Dec 2010 Venue: Settlers' Cafe (North Canal Road)

Publicity Banner

Radio 1003 DJ Jianwen and myself Everyone posing for a group shot

style! emcee: A great evening of making new friends, board games, good food, great fun and lots of laughter! To all my new found friends, wishing you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. See you all soon~! Cheers, and toast to all my readers. Love you all! Richard