To me March 28th was a lucky day. It was on that particular evening that I found myself at central stage, in the spotlight. Winning the "21st Century·Ericsson Cup" Seventh National English Speaking Competition is a memory that I shall treasure and one that will surely stay.
More important than winning the Cup is the friendship that has been established and developed among the contestants, and the chance to communicate offstage in addition to competing onstage. Also the competition helps boost public speaking in China, a skill hitherto undervalued.
For me, though, the competition is a more personal experience. Habitually shy, I had been reluctant to take part in any such activities. Encouraged by my friends, however, I made a last-minute decision to give it a try. In the course of preparation I somehow rediscovered myself, a truer me.
I found that, after all, I like communicating with other people; that exchanging views can be so much fun—and so much rewarding, both emotionally and intellectually; that public speaking is most effective when you are least guarded; and that it is essential to success in every walk of life.
At a more practical level, I realized knowing what you are going to say and how you are going to say it are equally important. To take the original ideas out of your head and transplant them, so to speak, to that of others, you need to have an organized mind. This ability improves with training.
Yet there should not be any loss or addition or distortion in the process. Those ideas that finally find their waysintosanother head need to be recognizably yours. Language is a means to transmit information, not a means to obstruct communication. It should be lucid to be penetrating.
In China, certain public speaking skills have been unduly emphasized. Will it really help, we are 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 knowswheresto 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. And this goes true for all communications, whatever their setting.
