Why We Love Singapore So Much?

Sometimes people ask me why I moved to Singapore with my family from the US when so many people are trying to move into the US. Well, here are some of the reasons why we love Singapore, The Garden City:

1. 20% taxes MAXIMUM and that is only after (I believe) $320k in income. Another figure I saw in the paper was that 95% of the taxes in Singapore are paid by the top 5% income earners of the country.

2. SAFE. In the USA, 1 out of 3 women gets raped in her lifetime (FBI stat). In South Africa, it is .85 rapes per woman on average. In Singapore, it’s 1 in 10,000. I have a bride and 2 daughters…

3. Ease of transportation. Buses, trains, taxis everywhere and cheap

4. First world clean and modern. All the conveniences. Brisk economy, plenty of entertainment and the arts, green city and cheap beach resort holidays within a 1 – 2 hour flight or 45 minute ferry ride.

5. AMAZING food of every imaginable kind

6. Our children go to local schools which are rated #1 in the world in Maths and Science (USA is 19th in math, 27th in science). Cost is $11 SGD per month (US $7) I’ve paid over $20k for schools in Minnesota, USA as a single guy through property tax when I had no kids and got nothing for that. Education is NOT free in the USA. EVERYONE pays whether they have children or not. Is that fair?

7. MUCH of the business in the world is here in Asia and is GROWIG. Within a 5 hour flight of Singapore there are 2.5 billion people, 1 Billion of which speak English

8. There is true religious freedom here. Unlike the US and many countries in the ‘West’ where you cannot MENTION God in schools or the platform, Singapore as a country celebrates the major religions. Christians get Christmas and Good Friday, Chinese  get 2 days at Lunar New Year, Muslims get Hari Raya and Hari Raya Pusar and Hindus get Deepavali and Thaipusam. (Atheists get every Sunday off.) For these holidays, they decorate PUBLIC streets and buildings, put up shrines, process through the streets and do whatever that group wants to do. Now THAT is religious freedom.

9. Banks here charge 1.6% to 5% interest on mortgages AND from your first mortgage payment, 30% goes to the principle. Your LAST mortgage payment, 30% goes to the principle. SO.. in the first 5 years, you actually pay down your mortgage.

10. The government is not just DEBT FREE… they have BILLIONS in assets. SMART!! The USA pays about a third of every tax dollar collected for INTEREST on it’s debt. Another 1/3 goes to military. Only 1/3 of USA tax dollars goes to schools, libraries roads, etc. As more people are in government in the USA than in manufacturing (since 1998), government salaries outstrip those of manufacturing, taking the lion’s share of that non interest, non military 1/3.

11. Unlike the USA Social (in)-Security where the money we paid in for our retirements went into a general fund and is now completely underfunded to the amount of $107 Trillion, in Singapore, they have CPF (Central Provident Fund) and it’s invested in safe market securities and people can choose investments from a pool to manage that fund for higher returns. They can withdraw a portion from it to pay for their home and when they retire, get 50% in a LUMP SUM and the rest meted out in monthly amounts. Awesome retirement safety net.

12. True, transparent jurisprudence. Quick and speedy trial. Commit a crime and in 1 to 3 months the sentence is handed out. No juries swayed by emotional arguments but a legal team who knows the law. Appeal a judgement you think is unfair without proving just cause and your penalty can be doubled (don’t waste the court’s time!) As a result, the courts are not clogged like in the USA where it can take 3 years to get a final decision.

13. Healthcare is subsidized by the government and is very cheap but not free so there is little abuse. If you want to get to the front of the cue (line) and willing to pay a premium, you can.

14. The people here are respectful of their neighbours and do not curse and swear in public. We take our children out on public buses and local coffee shops and ‘pubs’ (public houses) and we never have to worry about the language used at the adjacent seat or table. This is a country of truly dignified people. Not perfect… but people I respect for their values of honesty, integrity, saving and industry.

Trust me, I can go on. An American wrote me recently and I felt the need to explain to him why we chose to live in Singapore and just got started writing. If you are Singaporean or expat living here, I hope you agree with me. If you are from outside Singapore, I hope I did not offend you as I’m sure there are dozens of great reasons why you like or love your country of residence. For my family and I, we really enjoy this environment and see it as the perfect place to raise our children. No matter where you live, remember to appreciate what you have and to do your best to make it the best environment for you and your family. God bless you all.

Smile Maker: Bragging or Admitting

A Texan was boasting to an elderly Singaporean one day, “When I drive around my ranch, it takes almost a whole day.” The Singaporean just said, “Alamak!… I used to have a car like that in my 20s.”

Got comments or questions about why we love Singapore so much?  Just leave your comments here.

3 Key Public Speaking Touch Points

When speaking to an audience, consider the touch points. These are points when you touch their hearts. Even if you are sharing a highly technical subject, do not forget you are STILL talking to human beings. We ALL have hearts and emotions. In sales, we say they ‘justify’ with logic, but ‘buy’ with emotion. In public speaking, this rule applies too. They come for the data, but they remember the story. They remember the time you touched their hearts, their emotions. These are touch-points.

Public Speaking Touch Point #1: As our example, let’s say you are speaking to engineers, VERY data-intensive people. After 10 slides of data, they are tuned-out from your words and are thinking deeply about the data you have presented.

Instead of giving them another 10 slides of data, at the end of the first 2 slides, ask them a question requiring them to reflect on their past. Something like, “Do you remember the first time you were taught XXX? Was it in secondary school, poly or university?” The interactive question wakes them up and simultaneously gives them an emotional response to the current information. It also aids memory as it connects past, present and future to make a memory that lasts (We cover this in our courses in public speaking and training in great depth.) This touchpoint is an emotional connection to their past, usually a warm and pleasant feeling from their life.

Public Speaking Touch Point #2: Later, ask them to share their greatest frustration with the subject matter or some problem they have incurred with it. This brings out a very powerful emotion of anger or frustration. After recognizing their frustration or anger, either share the solution for them (ideal) or at least empathize with them and you win them over… another key touch-point.

Public Speaking

Public Speaking Touch Point #3: Finally, at your close, rather than just summarize your presentation, ask THEM what were the most important points of the talk. If you are afraid you will get silence, take a tip from our Facilitation Skills programme and ask them to write down the 3 most important take-aways from the speech. Ask them then to quickly share their 3 points with someone next to them in less than 1 minute. Then simply ask, “How many of you had a similar point to a partner, please raise your hand.” All the hands raised are ‘volunteers’ to share their points. The audience summarizes FOR you. They are engaged and they believe the message more as it comes from their colleagues. The touch-point is the BELIEF in what you shared, not just the data itself.

There are dozens of touch-points in a great presentation and literally HUNDREDS of ways to make them. These are just 3 key touch-points you should incorporate to make your next presentation not only memorable, but one where the information gets USED. Enjoy connecting with your audiences using touch-points.

Got comments or questions about public speaking touch points? Just leave your comments here.

Career Success : The Four Compass Points for Raising Your Career

Michael Podolinsky, trainer and certified speaking professional of Podolinsky International shares with Human Resources on what he feels are the four key “compass points” that can help you achieve success in your career.