compelled to ask, to
bang at the podium or yell at the top of your lungs, if you
have come with a poorly organized speech, a muddled mind, and
unwillingness to truly share your views?
above all, the single most important thing i learnt was that
as a public speaker, you need to pay attention, first and
foremost, to the content of your speech. and second, the
structure of your speech: how one idea relates and progresses
to another.
only after these come delivery and non-verbal communication:
speed control, platform manner, and so on. pronunciation is
important, yet of greater importance is this: is your language
competent enough to express your ideas exactly the way you
intend them to be understood?
i was informed afterwards that i was chosen to be the winner
for my "appropriately worded speech, excellent presence and
quick-witted response". in so remarking, the judges clearly
showed their preference: they come to listen for meaningful
ideas, not for loose judgments, nor easy laughters.
some contestants failed to address their questions head on.
some were able to, but did not know where to stop—the dragging
on betrayed their lack of confidence. the root cause was that
they did not listen attentively to the questions. or they were
thinking of what they had prepared.
as i said in my speech, "it is vitally important that we young
people do more serious thinking ... to take them [issues like
globalization] on and give them honest thinking is the first
step to be prepared for both opportunities and challenges
coming our way". we need to respond honestly.
a competition like this draws talented students from all over
the country. and of course, i learnt more things than just
about public speaking. since in the final analysis, public
speaking is all about effective communication. a

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