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Martin Luther King
"Soap Box" Public Speaking Opportunities in College
19th November 2007
“Will you say a few words, please?”, a request likely to bring on an immediate attack of nerves and, in all probability, the triggering of the word “No”!
Yet for many, and certainly for most students in College now, speaking in public will become, for them, the norm - and an accepted part of their life.
It may be making a presentation in College, or taking part in a tutorial at university. It may be in leading a club or organisation, where the need to speak and to communicate is essential and part of the role. For some, their chosen career will involve constantly making presentations to colleagues or to clients, whilst others will be determinedly heading for professions which might be called the speaking professions: law, broadcasting, acting, an MP or as a member of the clergy even.
Far better then to take the opportunity now to get rid of the initial nerves (which everyone experiences), to get to grips with basic techniques, to gain experience and – most important of all – to gain confidence.
“Soap Box” is a group of our students who are already taking this road. An important milestone for them is the College Public Speaking Competition, which is being held on Monday 10th December, at 7.00pm, in PAC. All are welcome.
The competition will involve speakers in teams of three: a Chairman, a Speaker, and a Proposer of a Vote of Thanks. They will have 15 minutes in which to speak, with the Chairman introducing the Speaker who will speak for up to 6 minutes, and answer one question from the audience. At the end the Proposer of the Vote of Thanks will, besides thanking the Speaker, reflect on the speech and the response to the question, and the Chairman will knit all this together.
The Speaker, of course, has the chance to prepare the subject and the speech beforehand and, whilst the Chairman and Proposer can do some sensible prior preparation, they need to be able to speak “off the cuff”, to respond to what the speakers say and to the audience’s reaction to this.
Some students are forming their own teams of three, while others are opting for the role they would like to fill and will be included in teams accordingly. It is anticipated there will be a prize for the winning team and also for the overall best speaker on the night.
After Christmas, we look to try a different format and use the Parliamentary debate style. Here there will be teams of two, a Proposer and a Seconder, who will speak For a motion, with an opposing team speaking Against the motion. Speakers may find their flow interrupted by challenges from the opposition. In their summing up they may need, too, to respond to comments from the floor of the house. Again, prior preparation for speakers will be essential, but so too will the need to speak “off the cuff” when responding to questions and comments.