SUMMER LOTUS

Live each day happily but do not forget to record the moments

As I looked through my old albums, I am glad for one hobby that my family has. It is photograph taking. Though we were not rich, we would always take pictures. I remembered my dad carried this old camera box and occasionally take random shots. On weekends, my parents, two older brothers and I would go out to any part of Singapore and my dad would take pictures.

My brothers seemed to inherit this interest in photography. Later, they would even develop the photos in their own makeshift dark room. The black and white pictures were pristine for amateurs. I became one of my brother’s ‘model’ as we went out on weekends to places and he would take more photos.

Looking back, the photos evoke a lot of memories — Our family activities, the good times, the old places of Singapore that are now transformed, the fact that we were once so youthful and now getting on in age but still enthusiastic about life.

All these hobbies became very important in their future careers. Both brothers became designers of sorts. One started his own business and had to take good pictures of his products. The other sibling took good pictures for his company’s portfolio. They had no formal training but constant dabbling in this hobby brings out some sense and proportion in the art of taking shots.

Today, as I travel, I would never fail to take random shots and am very happy to use some of these shots for my articles in medium. You can even submit what you feel is a good picture to a photo competition websites, hopefully to win a TOP prize.

Our memories have dimmed but photos bring them to life. I remembered my mother in her last days while in her hospital bed. Nothing could make her smile until I took out the album about the few cruise trips we had together. She remembered the cruises, the buffet spread, the sundeck at the upper floor, the shows we had watched in the cruise theatre.

Suddenly, she smiled and said, ‘This ship is so big!’ and pointed at the high ceiling and the surroundings of her ward. We knew that she was delirious but those were happy moments for her. That was all that mattered.

The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do.” — -Andy Warhol

People change but photos are for posterity. The significant images of the past and present are forever kept in our archives.

Pictures capture the glory of my beloved home that is Singapore. From a fishing village slightly over 100 years ago to the modern city it is today with state of the art architecture, great food and culture. It is what makes Singapore a top destination in the world. Thanks to avid photographers, the many beautiful perspectives of this island country is forever recorded and appreciated all over the world.

Photographs are proof of what we had done together as a family. Looking back, I only wished we had been more discriminate in the taking of pictures as there have been many retakes, one looked better than the other. Hence It would take a long time to discard superfluous shots and I have still have a truckload so to speak. But we continue to tote our phone cameras with us.

My spouse used to emphasise that if the kids ever complained that they had a dull childhood, he would toss all these albums at them! Evidence of great family time!

Photographs are a record of our activities, progress and achievements in our lives. I have always said that in a fire, I would rescue the photo albums where possessions are concerned. They are the treasures of time and our lives.

Time has flown and will continue into eternity. But whenever I wanted to freeze time, I would revisit my albums.

Live, write, capture the moment- that is what makes life so meaningful as we evolve through the ages.

Photography shows the beauty of our world, the intellect of humans as they make life ever more progressive and leave a legacy for many generations to come.

Work on your four As. Life is always great !

So many times, I hear the expressions, ‘life is short’ , ‘ life is unpredictable ‘, ‘ I don’t need to shop anymore’, ‘I am too old for that!’ I like to think that these are cliche statements . The last statement is even uttered by an elderly patient who clearly needs dentures. When would be a good time to have dentures to eat better, I wonder.

Like it or not, we are going to grow old , stiff like an oak tree and die or suddenly be called into the next dimension without our consent. In any case,we should all make good use of this unique life that is given to us.

This aging syndrome is most keenly observed at my classmate gathering — over the years of gathering, talk have evolved from career to family to health and death and counting casualties . But I believe that we should put a positive spin on this.

How and why did we get like this ? I like to think it is the fear of aging and dying. When We were younger we lived with reckless abandon and unlimited joy . Nothing cowed us. Go and look at your old photos- how you looked so carefree and I bet some of you took risks. I did and had a good time. If I had given too much thought, I would not have tried anything.

But When you grow older , you become rational, sensible, cautious — you hear how older people fall and suffer. How older people should not be doing stuff anymore. Moreover, now that you are also exposed to too much bad news of the world. Knowing too much and forgetting how to live. You want to preserve life, you fear death hence you become too careful and risk averse.

Eating so healthily that you forget that variety is the spice of life. You stop shopping and decide that your life should just be shades of grey. Your attire reflects that! Your countenance shows that!

Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art — -Eleanor Roosevelt

Since aging is inevitable, let’s get some facts straight first.

We are all going to be old and wrinkly anyway so we should try to look better and more attractive in our own way. Shop ! Maintain yourself! Enjoy!

One thing would get better before it’s gets worse — that is the brain. Because by now, your brain has processed many events in your life and you have grown wiser without you knowing it.

Hence it is the wonderful period of time for maturing individuals.

I have given some thought as to how one could grow old happily and gracefully.

Other than eating sensibly and exercising which goes without saying; we could-

1 Spend time to improve our cognitive abilities through reading. Learn new things and skills ie. continuous learning ,\ socialise more and keep abreast of the changes around us. The important thing to develop is the brain that can put you in good stead . I recommend Toastmasters activity.

Becoming an active Toastmaster is an excellent choice. This constant teasing of the brain through table topics, the discipline to write one’s speeches is almost a panacea against dementia and depression. There is much to learn and share among your members as we are from different backgrounds.

2 Reinvent yourself — get a new look. Get a new color lipstick , do your hair. learn the latest dance called shuffling. Even guys do facial these days.

Do not stop shopping. You can still be a minimalist by replacing the non functional stuff with current ones and keep the numbers same. There are apps that allow you to exchange your old items for cash instead of binning it.

Dressing nice and neat not necessarily expensively gives you a sense of confidence and wellness.

2 Stop worrying about the children/grandchildren if u do have .

Remember my own parents used to worry about our survival because there were so many of us-my father envisaged us living on the streets — 30 years on, we are still not starving . Some of us have battled though the daily struggles ,some of us have reinvented ourselves, but we are still alive and well.

Conclusion:-children will come into our own.

3 Do some volunteer work and get in touch with people less fortunate than ourselves — then we have a lot to be thankful for.

4 Older age is a great time for celebration — duties are done; we have time on our hands and with good health- it means lots of time for hobbies even second career. Rekindle that fire in your belly and in your relationships. The world is filled with so many new innovations and new things to learn about. Meet up with old friends and let some of your enthusiastic friends rub off some of their glow on you.

How many slices of your cake have your eaten and how much is left?

We all will age. Nothing can stop the ravages of time. Given this, we might as well make the best of it and live as well as we could.

Stay positive! Work on your attitude, aptitude, appearance and association with people to make life interesting and inspire a whole new generation 。

Do not stop shopping! Do not stop dancing! Do not stop spending! Let us show the younger generation that aging is to be revered and not reviled. We can all grow old happily.

Count your age by friends not years. Count your life by smiles not tears —John Lennon

This decision brought me lots of advantages

Recently, I have develop a deep interest in the Mandarin language. From young, it was always my weakest subject although my dad was a teacher in a Chinese speaking school back in the 60s in Singapore. He came from China at a young age of 19, a bespectacled man with not many pennies to his name but looking to eke out a living in Singapore.

He spoke with an accent that makes you know straight away that he was not local but from the province of Fujian in China. Somehow, I have never developed a love for the language though half my siblings were schooled in Chinese, the rest of us in English schools. I used both languages when I spoke to my older siblings depending on their schooled language but used the dialect of Hakka when I spoke with my parents.

In school, I failed miserably in Mandarin studies. A lot of rote learning was required in learning the idioms and writing the kanji characters. My essays would always have blanks interspersed between words and the story hardly intelligible. However, I could still communicate in a rudimentary style in Mandarin though I knew it was not an acceptable standard.

Then into my fifties, I became interested in this language. It came about when I was about to treat a young patient from China who came to Singapore to work. She was carrying a thick literature book and her occupation on her treatment card read ‘cashier’ at one of the supermarkets. In our short conversation, I found that she had ventured to Singapore to enjoy her culture and way of life. Though she graduated from the University of Szechuan in design, she had chosen to experience a new life here and could only find work as a cashier. She was struggling with English.

After the dental treatment, I posed her an offer. “Why not help each other ?”, I said. I could teach her English and she could brush up my Mandarin. To my surprise, she sounded keen. That was set and we became committed to meet each other twice every week in the evening at a coffee house after work.

Her name is Kai Zhen. She turned out to be an academic and a great teacher. She would bring materials for me to read. I was determined to unravel the difficulty of learning Mandarin and uncover the beauty of its words and meanings. As I read, she would correct my pronunciation. Then she would assess my understanding and often gave me analogies to help explain the idioms better. In the process, she regaled me with wonderful anecdotes of ancient China which have more than 5000 years of history. There were so many lessons to learn. She had turned me into a very eager student.

Then , it would be her turn to read in English and I would help her with the right pronunciations and explanations. It was a pleasure to have an enthusiastic student lapping up everything during the lesson. We read ‘Animal story’ and many other fables over the weeks. I have heard of the titles of the many books that she was interested but never explore them myself. We also worked through grammar workbooks so that she could prepare for her Toefl exams. We were both fired up to learn and bathe in this form of mental stimulation.

From my learned kai Zhen, we progressed into the philosophies by Confucius and his teachings from the Analects. It was an amazing time. There was so much wisdom and good thinking that one could adopt into our lives even in today’s world. I would consider this type of interaction with a friend as the most meaningful.

All good things came to an end when Kai Zhen announced that she would be returning to China to get married. Our mutual teachings lasted about one year. By then, I have felt that she had given me enough foundation to explore Mandarin on my own. Moreover, the apps that she had introduced to me were very helpful as many books could be downloaded and read free with audio as an alternative. They did not even require wifi. She was determined to continue her English learning back in China.

I am very grateful for this encounter. Even though there is a 35 year age gap between us, I learned that a mentor can be a much younger person. A good teacher is one who is learned and enthusiastic to teach. A good friend can be made if we both share the same values.

My life has been enriched by Kai Zhen because of our chanced encounter as a dentist/patient and because I had popped the question, “ How could we help each other?”

All attempts at mutual education is to help us grow. It widens our vision — Robert Kennedy

This mutual benefit should be practiced more often. Find yourself a great teacher who is kind, generous and knowledgeable. Meanwhile, brush up your own skills whether in art, culture or anything else that may be of interest to others. Then exchange the information gladly. Life is so much more meaningful because of this interaction.

Too often, people avoid talking about death but it does bring a lot of insights about living your life.

Death is something most people fear. It is a taboo subject to talk about too. It means the end of life, the cessation of everything you love and love doing. It means everything else is in vain and the world carries on without you.

Imagine if there is no death. Life would just be like the endless sea with no end in sight. There is no need for reflection, for adjustments to our errors done as there is always tomorrow. We would just float along like driftwood.

Death however visits us, anytime and anywhere. It is like a thief in the night that may suddenly sneak up on you and take you along with him. Or it may leave you in a state of limbo, slowing consuming you by the minute.

The cycle of life completes without you even realizing it unless you contemplate death more regularly. It is not a bad thing to do. Rather than regard it as negative thought, it actually evokes critical thinking, sharp emotions and necessary behavior to put our lives on track. Instead of being swept along by personal ambitions, world events and individual tragedies, when you give death a thought, you may just live each day more aligned with the values that you view as important.

It is paramount to treasure time. Not engage in idle gossip, vengeance and ill thoughts for you would never be able to turn back the hands of time once they are gone. That is why the saying “Youth is wasted on the young”. Not many have attained the wisdom that may come with age but if they do, they would certainly live a much more fulfilling life.

The prospect of death tells us clearly that life is finite. It is impermanent and unpredictable. Since the Grim reaper is not predictable, the only way to beat it is to live life to the fullest so that when it comes, you could say, “Hey, take me . I am ready”.

In Shakespeare’s words, ‘Death would have lost thy sting’ . It gives urgency to us to live meaningfully. That begs the question ‘what and how to live meaningfully. ‘

By my own understanding It would mean , live each day with joy and zest, do your work with pride and accomplishment. It means love those whom your cherish and spend time with them while it lasts. It means leaving for others the lessons you have learnt so that they can go on and fulfill their own lives and purposes. It means the practice of positivity to the end and leaving the world a better place.

Death teaches you to be brave. It is because of fear that many people do not venture outside their safety zone- no sports, no travel , no risks taking. Common reports of lives being taken unexpectedly happen all the time-someone could choke on his food, another fell on the pavement, hit his head and passed on, somebody dies from flu or even an insect bite. So it would behoove yourself to have some courage to live and play. Everything has risks. Do not live with regrets.

When I looked around me and I see old people such as those on life support or wheel chair bound, I would wish that they had lived their lives with no regrets and I am sure some did. The best opportunity would be to ask them ‘what would you have done differently before this’ but it may sound impertinent. I believe that they had fulfill their lives in their own ways.

Death makes us ponder what is important. Life is impermanent but if few people contemplate about it , it is often because they do not think that it would happen to them; not yet at least not so soon.

On the New York Times National Best selling list for more than four years, the book ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’ was a fantastic read. The best issues about death were discussed between a dying professor and the author, his former student and they were well documented. It is a true story based on Mitch Albom’s 14 visits to his own Sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz who was dying from ALS, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. They met on every Tuesday where Mitch received a lot of wisdom and insights from his former professor.

Here are some of the many worthy quotes that were life changing from his Tuesdays’ encounters until his professor’s passing.

• “Don’t cling to things because everything is impermanent.”

Though this is a truism, many of us hold on to our possessions till our last breath. As we grew older, some may feel insecure if they are unable to relinquish them and this causes unnecessary anxiety and pain. There should be a gradual letting go of your attachments as this leads to an increasing sense of freedom.

• “The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”

Death is inevitable. At the end of your life, you could look back with satisfaction or feel nothing. Knowing that the latter is not what you want, you would then live each day with more intention, fervor and grit so as to achieve your full potential. Do not live life waiting for the weekend or you have wasted it. “An unexamined life is not worth living” — Socrates.

• “Accept who you are; and revel in it.”

You have to be authentic. Trying to be like someone else or live to other’s expectations is foolish. Release your own genius so that in the natural scheme of things, you will be able to achieve happiness your own way.

• “Death ends a life, not a relationship.”

The professor places much importance on relationships and love and these were what sustained him and ultimately gave the most meaning. Make time for your loved ones now and the memories would forever be etched in your minds. He said, “ The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love and to let it come in.” You would live on in the hearts and minds of all those that you have touched though physically you are no longer there.

• “It is not just other people we need to forgive. We need to forgive ourselves. For all the things we didn’t do. All the things we should have done.

At the end, you should not be afflicted with remorse and regretfulness. Forgiving is a great strength that puts all ill feelings at rest. The past is no longer important. It is a negative emotion that serves no purpose other than annoying yourself. Forgive and be free.

Most important, thinking about Death should impart lessons about living. One should not die in vain or live in vain for that matter. View death from a positive perspective and you will live differently.

To learn fast depends on your own desire to find out more and on successful interaction with others.

To learn fast depends on your own desire to find out more and on successful interaction with others.

In my late fifties, I started to travel solo to the anguish of my family members. They did not see why I would take risk. In fact, most of them would limit their travels. With the ongoing bad news around the world, there was no affinity for travel and venture outside his or her comfort zone.

I saw it differently. I wanted to see for myself what it was like to be all alone in a foreign country meeting people some of whom might become my friends or just acquaintances for that encounter. I wanted to find out if I could survive on my own if nobody was willing to talk to me or help me.

I did that on one of my scuba diving adventures in 2014. I signed up for what I felt was a reputable dive cruise company organizing 7 days of scuba diving in the paradise destination of the Maldives. On arrival at male airport, I was received by the cruise leader and the first thing he did was point to my birth date on his guests list — yes, I nodded, DOB is 1958 and I was the right guest on their dive team. He seemed unbelievable that a mature Chinese lady would come alone to join their team.

Once on the dive cruise boat, I met others, all of them younger than myself. It was not without some obstacles or so they seemed to me anyway. Nobody wanted to buddy an older person presumably due to poorer or slower motor skills. After the orientation dives, where they could judge our scuba skills, I was given the choice to buddy with a dive photographer. Now, if you are an underwater photographer, you must be a very good scuba diver to be able to carry that heavy equipment , beat the currents sometimes and maintain steady buoyancy to shoot good pictures. So, I knew I had scored quite well for their ‘test’.

I chose to buddy with the guide instead as I did not want to be waiting for my buddy while he took pictures. Moreover, with the guide, I would have the privilege of seeing marine life firsthand when he pointed any findings to the dive team.

As I have always believed, if you want to be good at something, then who you surround yourself with is important. I asked questions. I faltered initially in some dives such as in descending as it was generally not smooth and quick descent for me. I quickly found out from my guide that I had remaining pockets of air in my buoyancy jacket which I could release faster by pulling the tab and also keeping my body straight on descent and not just by letting air out with my body inclined forward. Error corrected and I never had a slow descent again.

Generally, my air tank consumption was good but from my guide, I learned the art of properly breathing to maximize air use. A long drawing in of the breath and then slow expiration goes a long way to keeping my air tank always adequate. I watched how he was so relaxed in the water, the strokes of his fins, precise and sure that I improved mine many times more. My air gauge rarely goes into the ‘red zone’ which would signal ‘time to ascend’ and ‘preparation to end the dive’.

On dive cruises unlike resort dives, every piece of equipment is the diver’s responsibility. We checked our own depth computers, air tanks, buoyancy jackets, masks, fins, etc. Nothing was left to chance. That was very good training for personal responsibility and discipline. Buddy system makes one watch out for your partner too. One difference from a resort dive is that the dive cruises ventured further to more remote and beautiful corners of the dive destination as the dive cruises are ‘moving hotels’, covering more exotic dive sites and returning to base at the end of the trip.

Scuba diving (sports in fact) built self esteem, self confidence and calmness. To be able to enjoy the sport, we need to be properly accredited. In any contingency, I have learned to be calm and collected so that I could figure out what to do next.

At one dive, my spare regulator leaked air profusely causing a brief panic. As my buddy had swam ahead , she was not aware of my predicament. I calmed myself and gently tapped on the regulator which eventually stopped leaking. Apparently, it was stuck. Then I caught up with my guide to explain with hand signals what happened and he saw to me that everything was in order before I joined my buddy again. Yes, buddy may stray away sometimes. Dependence on oneself is paramount even in a partnering system in scuba diving.

Learning could only be possible because I had made a solo travel and chose a skillful guide who was generous with his knowledge. Had I traveled with another friend, we would probably be buddy to each other and not learned anything new.

Travelling on my own had helped me to push my social boundaries. Being an introvert and not naturally smiley in my disposition, I made it a point to reach out to others and showed interest in being their friends. In the process, I discovered people who are more disinclined to social interaction other than with marine life. But I was not disheartened. It was nothing personal, some people were just not into making friends and were into scuba diving to escape from the harsh realities of the working world.

The friends that I did make, I learnt much from them. Some were good at underwater photography, some were good at computer software skills. I acquired knowledge about things like drop box, adobe, even settings of the of a DSLR camera for underwater photography that prove to be very useful for my travels.

The different personalities with their corresponding cultures enthralled me. The Chinese Nationals were generally a boisterous lot, definitely more outspoken than my countrymen of whom I was the only one. The Italians I met were also quite expressive but the Norwegians and French seemed reticent. Germans were more cliquish it seemed. It may be the language barrier.

From other dive cruises, I have mingled with Korean divers who had a great underwater photographer for their own guide. One of the lady divers who was in her fifties inspired me. She was an avid traveler, continued to ski and scuba dive even though she was quite badly hurt in one knee. From her, I came to know of a very mobile knee brace that she installed around her knee. This contraption kept the knee in position without letting it be dislocated again. Kudos to her for her ‘never die’ spirit as she continued to enjoy her sports.

On one trip, I was the only Asian in the whole team of about 16 guests. A very funny incident happened. During the dives, most of them were wearing wet suits. As I have dived in the Maldives several times and comes from sunny Singapore, I find the temperature of the waters in the Indian Ocean very agreeable to my body unlike the chilly waters of Australia or even some parts of Bali.

So, when some of the foreigners (Italians, Norwegians, Germans, Swedes, British)noticed that I was only wearing a lycra top and gym tights for scuba diving, they were curious. On the next dives, most of the men shed their wet suits, choosing to use T shirts and some even bared their bodies before donning their dive equipments. They finally got comfortable in their own skin, so to speak and realized the fear of cold was in their own heads.

For an introspective person like myself, I have come a long way to break the ice with strangers. During breaks in between dives, I took the initiative to introduce myself and my country. I had a session with the Swedes and a British where I drew mandarin characters and explained how the Mandarin kanji words came about and the meanings behind them. It was an interesting interaction for us. From these trips, I made a friend from Germany and she subsequently invited me to be her dive buddy for our next trip to Palau.

I am glad for these deviations in my life paths. It takes courage to go solo and look out for yourself. But I find that it is really up to one to reach out to others to establish a friendship. The world is not as cold as it seems to be sometimes.

Travelling solo piqued my senses. I have become more alert to the surroundings and this is good for my personal development in areas of self awareness, mindfulness and self confidence. You would be surprised how a sedentary person when exposed to a new environment would be awakened from his comfort zone to discover that he has more mettle than he thinks especially if he gets into trouble.

Notwithstanding all the opportunities that you are given in life to travel as you wish, it is important that one must put in effort to ensure safety first. This involves knowing what you are doing, being prepared in the case of contingencies, self responsibilities, self care and not being naive to situations. Establishing good rapport with people always help.

The world becomes increasingly exciting when one is more open to others. Being genuinely interested in other people, making friends, gaining knowledge earnestly to better ourselves and sharing with others is what makes any trip worthwhile.

Use the rhetorical elements to your advantage and deliver a powerful and impactful speech!

Why are some speakers so persuasive and convincing?

Why do you feel swayed to their point of view halfway into their speech?

Why do you feel that they are able to put their arguments across so succinctly?

Besides delivery manner which constitutes 30%, content 50% which have been elaborated in the previous article ‘Why some speakers engage the audience’, this article focuses on language use which is 20% in significance yet it is of paramount importance for effective speech making and writing. Grammar, word choice, pronunciation are the important elements for a very robust content and delivery but a very useful boost to further your content quality is to use figures of speech.

A figure of speech is a language or literary device where words expressed are not literal but to suggest an image to convince your audience. It is a delightful way to express yourself. It may be a single word or a phrase. Used correctly, it can emphasize, clarify or embellish both written and spoken language.

It can make your speech music to the ears of your listeners and leave a more indelible impression on their minds about your messages. Great speakers, poets, writers and authors often employ these rhetorical devices to capture their readers and listeners’ attention. It is the secret to their success.

This writing focuses on why some speeches are so well written.

What are the common figures of speech used?

1 Alliteration-a group of words where the initial letters are the same.

‘He is a hale and hearty man’, ‘ dark and desolate’ .

Brad Henry, “ A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination and instill a love of learning.”

2 Antithesis — The use of words that are in exact opposition to each other.

Patrick Henry in the second Virginia convention on March 23rd 1775 gave a speech where he exhorted , “Give me liberty or give me death!” as his ultimatum to have the resolution passed for the Virginian troops to be delivered to the revolutionary war.

3 Euphemism– a gentle, indirect expression to substitute a word that may be considered harsh or blunt. ‘Dead’ has many euphemisms. Such as ‘passed away’, ‘passed on’. ‘bite the dust’, ‘kick the bucket’, ‘gone to heaven’, ‘ departed’.

‘Unemployed’ may be expressed as ‘in transition’, ‘in between jobs’. ‘Vertically challenged’ is used to replace ‘short’, ‘He has cold feet’ to imply he is nervous. Definitely more pleasant to hear.

4 Hyperbole– an intentional or extravagant expression to over exaggerate.

‘He looks like a million dollars! ’

‘ Don’t make me wait for an eternity!’

5 Metaphor– a term or phrase used to suggest resemblance or symbol but not literal. In short, one term IS the other unlike simile which compares similarities.

‘She is my rock of Gibraltar’ to suggest that she gives me a lot of support or I can depend on her for anything.

‘Our past is now water under the bridge’ to imply that the past is gone.

6 Personification– the attribution of a human trait to an animal, object or abstract idea.

‘Following the stock market crash, his fortunes have taken flight.’

‘Words can maim so be careful of what you say”.

7 Onomatopoeia — a word that imitating a sound that refers to the object or thing and is used for dramatic , rhetorical (language) or poetic effect.

“meow, meow, we followed the sound and found Misty the cat”

8 Simile– a phrase where two unlike things are explicitly compared. It is to show similarities between two different things. This is also referred to as an analogy or metaphor. A simile is a metaphor but a metaphor is not a simile.

‘She is fierce like a lion’ or ‘ She is sweet like a rose’.

‘like’ or ‘as’ is often used.

Jack is as slow as a snail in getting his work done.

9 Pun-a play on words that is often humourous- The word may have more than one meaning or often sound alike but different in meaning.

‘I often go to the dentist so I know the drill.’

‘He does not like Indian food but he likes to curry favor’.

‘The spread of Wuhan virus has caused protests to stop in Hong Kong and many other countries. War tension has also eased between Middle East and US. The world can rest in peace, no pun intended. Here, ‘no pun intended’ is used as a word play with two meanings because Wuhan virus not only actually caused death but peace.

10 Anaphora-repetition of a word or words at the beginning of two or more successive sentences.

This may happen if you are at the wrong place at the wrong time.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom,…..” This anaphora employed by Charles Dickens in “ The Tale of Two cities” was not only interesting but had a dramatic and remarkable emphasis on the characteristics of the “time’ involved.

11 Oxymoron– a locution( verbal expression) that is self contradictory. It consist of two words.

Examples are ‘bittersweet’ , ‘clearly confused’, ‘seriously funny’.

12 Paradox– a statement that seems contradictory but can be true.

“Less is more”

“I can resist anything but temptation” Oscar Wilde

“ What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young” George Bernard Shaw.

‘You have to be cruel to be kind’

‘More haste, less speed’

13 Idiom– an expression that means something other than the meaning of the words. Idioms are frequently used.

“ Hold your horses….I am coming now” “

“He is a hard nut to crack” to mean that he is a difficult person.

‘ To pay something with an arm and a leg’ would mean it is expensive.

14 Irony– a statement made that contradicts reality.

‘He posted on Facebook to tell the world he does not use Facebook’

‘She advises everyone to stay strong while tears well up in her eyes’.

15 Chiasmus– Two sentences are balanced against each other with the words reversed.

We eat to live and not live to eat.

We work to live and not live to work.

16 Repetition– This is a rhetorical device that uses the simple repeating of a word, a phrase or full sentences even a poetical line to emphasize its significance and make them more memorable.

“ Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow”.

17 Anadiplosis– This has a typical pattern of repeating a word; it ends at the first sentence and begins at the next sentence.

“The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story!” By David Franzoni on the movie “ Gladiator movie”.

The Power of Three in speaking and writing

The Power of Three is also known as the Rule of Three. It is about using three words or three phrases and this is optimum number. Somehow, ‘three’ is the magic number of times that have rhythm, emphasis and rhetoric that make the points listenable and stick in the audiences’ minds.

The Bible: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind ( power of three)

Churchill: “ I have nothing to offer, but blood, toil, tears and sweat ( power of four !)

Lao Tzu: I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

Triad of the Power of Three have been used since time immemorial. If the three words or phrases rhyme, it would be better. Add alliteration, that would be marvellous! This is the wonderful play of English words and make life worth living just listening to a great speech or reading good writing.

But in reality, this could mean a winning argument in a court case so these elements of speech content if applied properly have great power to help a client win the case, with evidence presented of course. It could mean a successful appeal for action by a speaker to the audience at an event.

Good speakers and script writers employ the use of figures of speech and the power of three to create an interesting, powerful and impactful content. Politicians use them to win votes, comedians use them to entertain and the man in the street can use them to amuse himself and others. They are engaging, intellectual and memorable.