I am a believer of experimentation and innovation. Especially if it involves lights, electricity or anything gadgetry!

I’m a GEEK like that! Haha.

I’m sure you are going to find this interesting!

Happy smartboarding!

Cheers~

-Mudd-

Hi Sidekicks!

How’s your events planning coming along?

Today I’m going to share with you one of the key links to a successful event!

Like any event, having an MC (Master of Ceremony) or an Announcer is as important as having the cold drinks cold and the hot drinks hot! (Get what I mean? It’s important!)

If you haven’t already realized it yet, the MC is the face of the event! No use having the nicest décor or the best food (although this can greatly help cover things up) but at the same time having an MC that is not prepared or up to standard.

Why?

Simple. It is because the guests will judge the event by how your MC performs. Yes. Believe it or not, this is the brutal honest truth. They don’t care whether you are the most highly sought after events planner in the world but if your MC is not doing a good job, the event will be seen as a failure in their eyes.

Simply said, the host/emcee is more important than the events planner!

So invest your time and resources into getting a good MC! And if you follow the points below you might just get yourself one and also save some money!

Here are some pointers when choosing an MC or Announcer:

1.    Experience – This is important although not the main deciding factor. There are other great up and coming potential MCs out there who just need a platform to shine. The key is to be the first few to identify their talent and capabilities and you will be rewarded with cost saving! I’m sure in the long run when he/she is fully experienced you’d definitely receive loyalty discount when his fees increases.

2.    Charisma – This is straightforward. Your MC needs to have charisma! He needs to be able to connect with the guest and speak their language. This job is not suitable for someone who is shy. Only thick-skinned personalities may apply. :] And he has to be funny!!! And if it’s for a formal even he needs to be witty!!! Coz you know why? Guest wants to feel good. They already make their time coming and all they want is to feel good be it even for a rigid formal event. (e.g. a convocation)

3.    Knowledgeable – And of course your MC needs to be knowledgeable. I like to liken this to being street smart. He needs to know what’s happening around the world or at least what’s happening in the local context. This trait of an MC would be useful as it can help him to connect all the dots! (e.g. what people say, do, react)

4.    Reactive – And finally he needs to be on-the-ball, quick-on-his-feets, eager-beaver, steady-believer and go-getter. The type that thinks it’s always never enough and everything can be improved. In short, highly motivated!

So now you must be asking me, “How am I going about identifying these traits?”

One way I do it is by having a chat. Plan out what you are going to ask and talk about and lean those questions to things you want to find out bout him. Mainly the 4 traits mentioned above.

Confuse?

Here’s a quick example.

Experience – Ask how long have he been an emcee, his biggest event done and his strength. Also do mention to him that it is ok if he doesn’t have enough experience.

Charisma – This can be determined when you are talking to him.

Knowledgeable – Ask things like what is the latest movie he has watched or discuss some interesting current issue and ask his opinion. Or maybe talk about the new shopping center that has just opened. And see whether he is familiar with those places.

Reactive – Have a scenario planned. Tell him that you are going to give him a scenario and he has to react to it immediately. Example, what will he do if somebody accidentally slip and fall while walking. How is he going to not make the victim feels embarrass, what will he say, etcetera.

Got some idea? Great!

Regards,
Mudd

P.S. One other trick that I use is to look at my own circle of friends. I’m sure you have one of those quirky, wacky, noisy, fun friends around. They make good MCs! Trust me, I know. :]

Rives: Performance Poet

I just love his hand gestures and his flow of the stories and poems. Genius!

Enjoy!

Rives controls the Internet

Rives remixes TED2006

Rives on 4 a.m.

Rives tells a story of mixed emoticons

Recently, I have mentioned a lot about Mudd & Nadd with backpacks. Today I shall share with you what’s in my backpack!

These are essential items I can’t leave home without. You can say I’m a walking office!

Voila!

Starting from the Left:

1. My psychedelic Yellow Oraganiser.

2. Stationery Set (which includes the all essential Pilot G2)

3. A reading material – to keep me occupied on train rides (gotta squeeze every minute ya’ll)

4. My Black Idea Book - to jot down inspirations and notes

5. Calculator – Never know when it will come in handy (esp when meeting clients.. hehe)

6. My Internet Stick! – For outdoor surfing

7. Post it Pad – Everybody carries it!

8. Umbrella – So so important

9. And of course, Laptop!

Gotta be prepared! I will get Nadd to share her’s tmr. hehe

Happy weekend all!

-Mudd-

One thing that we realized is that walking gives us inspiration. Although we have been doing this ever since we started the business, we have come to a concrete conclusion that we love walking! (As compared to having our own transportation)

These are the reasons why we love walking,

1. We can to do it at our own pace
2. We can get to see interesting stuffs
3. We can just decide to cut through some buildings or back alley to explore further
4. We can have a pit stop at anytime and anywhere
5. Interesting finds are usually not by the roadside
6. We can have time to stop and snap a picture!
7. And if we are tired, we can just stop or take a bus for a nap!

And the reason we don’t fancy having our own transportation is simply,

1. It’s the same PIE, CTE, KJE, BKE, TPE, KPE! Boring…
2. And if you are a driver yourself, you would understand my sentiments when I say, driving in Singapore is like racing!!! Rush, rush, rush!
3. Driving is mentally draining.
4. You can’t stop anywhere. There’s this thing called a traffic light that controls you.
5. And driving usually involve from point A to point B. There’s not many chances you can go to point A.1, A.2, A.3, etc. Remember that once you are in the driver’s seat you are rush rush rush! haha
6. And it is definitely not inspirational at all.

But I have to admit, when we have events and we need to transport our stuffs, having a vehicle is very convenient. For that purpose, I would still settle for renting one. No headache on COE, Road Tax or Monthly Installments. As long as it’s economically viable to rent a vehicle, I think I shall stick to that for now.

Till then, see you on the streets! Remember, we are one short and one tall with backpacks. You can never miss us! :]

Happy Walking!

Cheers~

-Mudd-

p.s. and if you think we are crazy to choose walking as a pastime in this hot climate of ours, my teacher once told me that its proven that human don’t melt under the sun! hahaha.

How would you like to have a violinist serenade you during your event? Cool right? It’s like something out of a movie! Hahaha.

I was just surfing through the web on the lookout for such a service in Singapore, but I didn’t manage to find one! (If you do have a contact, do pass it to me yea :])

So being the opportunist that we are (hehe), we are in the talks with one of our talented close contact to do serenades on a regular basis.

We don’t want to reveal too much just yet, but his debut will be this upcoming birthday picnic we are planning on the 23rd!

So do keep a look out!

Cheers~ :]

-Mudd-

p.s. we are also planning to package up a valentine’s day picnic with an accompanying violinist. So if you are a violinist, do contact me! mudd@muddnadd.com Thanks! :]

Hi Faithful Readers!

Yes you! I know who you guys are! Haha

Thank you for always checking up on this blog and keeping updates on what has been happening with MUDD & NADD, your events planning sidekicks!

So what’s up with us?

As you have already noticed, in the Facebook group and the previous blog entry, we have just completed a Dinner and Dance for Chong Pang constituency. It was just crazy fun! And the pictures can justify to that. Right? Hehe

Anyways, we are currently planning 2 parties!

Firstly, we are planning a slumber party for a bride to be. And secondly, we have another request for a birthday picnic party by the beach!

Very very very exciting period for us. We just love running around getting the decor stuffs, planning the programme and just walk and walk and walk. I bet some of you have seen us around. We are the ones that are one tall and one short with a big black backpack!

Some might mistake us as school going kids but NO! We are sidekicks in disguise. Do holla us up the next time you see us. As promised before, we are giving away buttons! Yes buttons! Limited edition buttons! (Click here for pictures)

OK that’s for now; do keep checking on us regularly or even write to us! We would love to hear your ideas and we might just be able to collaborate on a project together. Sounds good? Email us at hello@muddnadd.com

Keep the smile on! :]

Regards,
Mudd

p.s. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year All!!!

p.p.s If you need assistance planning an event do check out our services at http://www.sgthingstodotoday.com/concierge . Satisfaction Guarantee!

While we were at our usual hangout last week, we noticed something out of the blue. And we thought it was a brilliant move by the event organizers!

The event we are referring to was “The Bull Charge 2009 – SGX’s sixth Charity Fun Run”

[Source: http://bullcharge.sgx.com/ ]

What’s so brilliant about this event?

It was held on a Friday! [20 Nov 2009]

Before some you get defensive and say that its not a brilliant idea, let me tell you why it was a brilliant idea.

1. The event was held on a Friday, which means the end of the work week.
2. The timing was good because it will not clash with whatever is already planned for Saturday.
3. Since its not on a Saturday, you wont feel dragged into it even though it’s a charity event (you know what I mean… :])
4. And since it’s a Friday, might as well end the week with a run.
5. And also since most of the CBD professionals are already independently conducting leisure runs after work (haven’t you noticed?) it will not be something awkward. It will give a chance for those who haven’t tried running after work to feel how it’s like! :]

But one thing we did conclude is that it can only happen coz the event is for a specific group of people located at the same location (CBD) with the same goals.

But nonetheless, we still think it was a very very brilliant move by the event organizers.

A total win-win-win situation!

What do you think?

Happy Wednesday!

-Mudd-

Pirates Supplies Store, Superheroes Supplies Store, Time Travel Mart?

Creating a creative environment where education is fun! And these guys have got it right!

This is a must watch if you are passionate about moulding youths!

Enjoy!

Quoted from the Video
“TED Wish – I wish that you – you personally and every creative individual and organization you know – will find a way to directly engage with a public school in your area and that you’ll then tell the story of how you got involved, so that within a year we have 1000 examples of transformative partnerships.”

www.onceuponaschool.org

Now, haven’t you got inspired to create change? I know I have.

-Mudd- :]

Hey You!

Have you ever walked into an exam room all prepared, but the moment the exam paper or examiner appeared before you, your mind goes completely blank?

That’s what most of us would call an “exam block”. Have you every wondered why they happened even though you have been preparing for the exam for weeks or months? Exam blocks have got nothing to do with how much you know about the topic. Rather, it has everything to do with how capable you are in dealing with the stresses of the situation.

The thing is, you would probably have realised that exam blocks don’t just occur in exams. You get blocks like these in many other things you do – like when doing a presentation, your first performance on stage, going for a job interview…. and the worst of all, in a first aid emergency.

If freezing up and going blank in exam is hard enough to handle, just imagine if you freeze up and go blank when the one person you truly care suffers a medical emergency in your arms.

It is funny how schools teach us everything we need to know to answer the questions in exam, but not on how to deal with the stresses of an exam.  Similarly, most first aid courses cover how to perform first aid, but they left out the most crucial part of performing first aid – which is how to deal with the stresses and paralyzing fears that stop most people from stepping forward and rendering help.

That is why Singapore First Aid Training Centre created the My True Hero Seminar. This experiential program will cover various strategies, techniques and skills critical for anyone to perform effectively in an emergency. You will practice

- How to differentiate quickly the “RIGHTS” vs “WRONGS” in an emergency
- How to overcome stepping up before a crowd and perform effectively
- How to make a split second decision that decides between life and death
- How to stay calm, focused and undeterred during chaos and panic
- How to extract your inner capacity that will help you ACT IN SPITE OF FEAR
- How to unleash, become and live as the Hero that you truly are

An ancient saying goes, “How you do one thing is how you do everything.”

The best part is that the very skills and strategies you learn at My True Hero can be applied and practiced not just for a first aid emergency, but can be used to enhance other areas of your life. You will discover and set free your tremendous potential within.

Click HERE to know more how you can sign up for this seminar.

So are you a true hero? :]

-Mudd-

p.s. The Special My True Hero Package found on the webpage is only valid while stocks last. Visit the site NOW.