FLTRP English Public Speaking Competition 2017
Communicate properly and effectively.
Near the end of my study abroad semester in 2017, I was given a once in a lifetime opportunity to participate in a Chinese English speaking competition. At this point, I wanted to travel to different parts of China, as I had only explored different provinces located in southern China. However, this speaking competition was the perfect opportunity for me to travel north with my teacher and classmates. Although thousands of other Chinese and international students applied, only the top 300 written speeches were selected to submit a second-round video submission. From those 300 applicants, only 150 students were then selected to compete at the national FTLRP cup located in Beijing, China. 4 students placed in the top 150 at my school. Myself, a British student, and two Chinese students. We were ecstatic.
I have always loved traveling… However, I had never been a great speaker, especially not a public speaker. According to Forbes, only 10% of the population enjoys public speaking. I fell within that other 90%.
When we first hopped off the plane in Beijing, we were given one day to site see. Our first round of speeches was based on topics we had chosen for our initial video submissions. However, we had to completely memorize our scripts and were given specific time and length restrictions. Followed by that, each of the judges could ask us any question about our topic.
After this first round of speeches, our next speech was based on a randomly selected topic that we had exactly one hour to collaborate with our mentor and create an improvisational response— also memorized. Over half of my co-contestants were eliminated this round. The stakes were getting higher.
Unfortunately, I was eliminated shortly afterward. Though, I had found a great sense of accomplishment and pride in making it as far as I did. Additionally, I met a lot of amazing students and coaches, as well as conquered my fear of public speaking.
Ultimately, this experience will help me in my professional career because public speaking has given me more confidence in giving presentations and being vocal. Furthermore, I believe my ability to articulate well both on paper and in speech would be a great asset to your team.
