A hatásos nyilvános beszéd tartása egy olyan készség, ami szinte minden szakmában nagy előnyt jelent, de ritkán nyílik rá alkalom, hogy ezt megtanuljuk.
Az Engame Akadémián fontosnak tartjuk, hogy olyan készségeket fejlesszünk, amik a közoktatásban kevésbé kerülnek fókuszba, így alakult meg tavaly tavasszal a Gavel Club, és ezért hívtuk életre a középiskolásoknak szóló, angol nyelvű, We Own the Future – Diákszónok Konferenciát is. Az eseményre bármely középiskola tanulói jelentkezhettek, végül 11 diák került kiválasztásra, akik a Toastmasters Magyarország szakmai mentorai segítségével hónapokig készültek a konferenciára. A szónokokon kívül vendégelőadók és workshopok is színesítették a programot, melyet a Közgazdasági Politechnikumban tartottunk január 28.-án.
A következőkben Osváth Júlia, Sophomore évfolyamos diákunk angol nyelvű beszámolóját olvashatjátok, aki a konferencia egyik szónoka volt.
The selection
The selection of the speakers started at the end of November. To hand in our application we had to submit a draft of our speech idea, a selfie video about our chosen topic and a motivational letter, in which we explain why we want to be a part of this conference. The good news came at the beginning of December; I was selected to be 1 of the 11 students, who had the chance to give a speech at the Public Speaking Conference.
The first time the performers met each other was on the 17th December. We had a three-hour long session, where we were introduced to the basics of public speaking by two of the future mentors. At first we played fun games to simulate different situations. For example we had to talk simultaneously with our pair, to learn how to focus even though the other isn’t listening to us. Then we got to see a professional giving a speech and collected the things that make a good performance. At the end we looked at a presentation about public speaking.
Mentoring
We started to turn our ideas and the draft we’ve submitted earlier into actual speeches with the help of our mentors. I had individual mentoring sessions which gave me the opportunity to really focus on myself and my speech. At the beginning I only had a brief idea of what I wanted to talk about, what’s the message I’m trying to send to my audience. These got clearer and clearer with every meeting with my mentor.
My topic was how to cancel Overshoot day. I wanted to highlight that global warming is a big issue and that stopping it takes effort from all of us. My mentor taught me that telling stories is crucial, in order to make it interesting for everyone. The first outline of my speech was dry with lots of dates and data. I needed to add personal examples to bring the topic close to the audience.
By the middle of January I had finished the text and started to work on the performance. This means that my family had to watch me do my speech twice a day. Believe me, at first that wasn’t such a pleasant thing, since I couldn’t finish 3 sentences without starting to laugh. But I knew that I had to make this work, so I kept trying and eventually I was able to deliver the whole speech.
Then we had a final rehearsal with all the performers on the 21st of January, where we got to listen to what the others were working on. I was truly shocked how good and professional the speeches turned out to be.
The conference
A week flew by, and the 28th of January was here. The day of the conference. The performers arrived at the venue an hour earlier than everyone else, to look at the stage and to get used to the environment. Pretty soon the audience also arrived, the first guest speaker (Tanulom magam- Attis) performed and it was already our turn. Even though I was quite nervous I managed to really enjoy the other speeches. When I got on the stage all the nervousness went away, and I had an awesome time while performing. Afterwards my friends, family and teachers came to congratulate me. That was truly an awesome feeling.
This was a great experience for me since I not only improved in public speaking, but I also made new friends. I advise everyone to take the opportunities they come across, even if they are afraid, because it will likely turn into a special challenge and a life long memory.
Ezúton is köszönjük Násztor Péternek a konferencia szakmai vezetőjének a rengeteg munkát, a Toastmasters Magyarország mentorainak a felkészítést, a Közgazdasági Politechnikumnak a helyszínt, a HVG könyveknek pedig a könyvjutalmakat!
