The Three Great Forces that Rule the World

This is the script which I have written for the Humorous Speech Contest. I have prepared it to fulfill Project 2 "Resources for Entertainment" of the Advanced Communication Manual, The Entertaining Speaker.

I like the topic as it marries my two passions of my life - my professional knowledge and my role as a mother.

Enjoy.

===================
The Three Great Forces that Rule the World

“Ka-Ko-Ko-Ko, Ka-Ko-Ko-Ko, the sky is falling!” Henny-Penny, a farm chicken shouted at the top of her voice as she raced down the road. “Run, run for your life!”

“Henny-Penny,” Goosey Loosey, the goose living in the farm next to Henny Penny stopped her and asked, “Why do you say so?”

“H..rrr…H..rrr…” Henny Penny panted and tried to catch her breath before she let out in bullet-train speed, “See this bump on my head. I was having my lunch when a piece of the sky hit me. The sky must be falling. I need to hurry to alert the King of this critical information.”

“Wah, your bump is certainly big and bloodshot.” Goosey Loosey’s eyes widened as she examined the swell. “We should quickly tell the rest. Let me join you in this noble quest.”

Soon, two became twenty, and twenty became forty. Everyone was panicking.

En route to the King’s palace, the farm animals met Foxy Loxy, the fox who invited them to his cave which according to Foxy Loxy would protect them from the falling sky. Of course, that was not true, the farm animals became Foxy Loxy’s meal.

***
Greetings.

I have just shared with you an English Fairy Tale, Henny Penny. Of course, the sky was not falling, Henny Penny was hit on the head with an acorn while eating her lunch. There was a lot of fear and panic in the Henny Penny’s crowd. And the crafty Foxy Loxy took advantage of it.

Here it is the first great force that rules the world – it starts with the letter “F” and ends with the letter “R”. FEAR that’s right.

There are many people in the world just like our Henny Penny. They panic when they listen to the news. They think the sky is falling and we are all about to die. And this is precisely what happen what the stock market or property market crashes. This just happened as recent as in around March 2009. Everyone was dumping their shares, selling their properties at fire-sale prices. And no one was interested to buy. But now when prices are high, people are busy chasing these assets.

Why is this so? These people believe that well if they buy high, they can sell even higher. But why is there any sucker that is willing to pay a higher price for the same asset? [Pause] This is irrational right? But this is how the stock market works. It thrives on greed.

There is a story about a dog biting a piece of meat in its mouth. He was on the bridge when he saw another dog with a big juicy piece of meat in the river. He was greedy and wanted to snatch the meat as well. “Woof” he barked and opened his mouth, dropping his meat into the river. He then realized that the dog he saw was his own reflection. So instead of two pieces of meat, the dog was now left with none.

I would say many people remembered this lesson well. In around April last year, the market rallied. Some were tempted to go in to take a position while many waited. Then the many heard about their friend, Freddy making a bundle from the stock market. They wished they were Freddy but then they told themselves “better be saved than sorry”, wait a little while more to confirm that the coast was clear. Soon, every Tom, Dick and Harry in the coffee shop and even taxi drivers were talking about how much they had made in the stock market in early this year. Then many decided that this was the time. They took a huge position but then market headed south. This is a very familiar story. What happened?

This is the third force that rules the world. It is ignorance or stupidity. It is no different from believing that the sky is falling when the acorn hit Henny-Penny in my first story. Many believe that money too will fall from the sky. Like sheep, they find safety in numbers. There is no alternative to hard work. If you want to be a good public speaker, you have to practice the craft. If you want to win a speech contest, you have to invest time and effort to craft a good speech, prepare and practice. So if you want to make money from the stock market, you have to study the market, the asset that you are buying and not merely following what others are doing.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have shared with you what Albert Einstein has once said about the three great forces rule the world. They are stupidity, fear and greed.
Conquer them and you will be the one who would rise to extraordinary heights amongst the sea of ordinary men.

To your success.

Back to you Toastmaster of the Day.

***