Lions South Public Speaking Competition

Following the preliminaries of the Lions South Public Speaking Competition, two videos were circulated on Facebook featuring two of the Impromptu presentations. The topics of those presentations were “Heat Wave” and “Electricity Bills”.

The responses to those videos I found very distasteful and quite callous. We really should be very sensitive and not make such embarrassing and disagreeable comments. The two students involved were young teenagers, speaking possibly for the first time in public. And let us be clear because the reaction of some persons seemed to indicate that the presentations were prepared beforehand.

The video clippings were from the Impromptu section of the Competition where they pick a topic from a bag and are given a minute to prepare, before making their presentations. It is true that the topics are usually simple and are about matters with which most of them should be acquainted. Some students however “freeze-up” and temporarily lose control, with a deep fear even before getting the topic, of what they might be required to speak on. It is not easy speaking in public even when the topic was prepared beforehand so, imagine when asked to speak on the spur of the moment on a topic that you were just handed.

The home situation also has to be considered. Was there ever any discussion at home about the alarming heat we had been having? Was the term ‘heat wave’ ever mentioned? Is there any discussion surrounding the electricity bills. Having been a judge at many of these competitions I have experienced the reaction of many of the students. Having said all of that, I must state that there are many who have performed excellently but they tend to be ones who have had greater exposure. Apart from the few top performers, sympathy and encouragement are what are needed.

The schools and organisers of the Competition are quite aware of the fall-out from the Impromptu section and must put things in place to deal with it. A lot of attention is obviously paid to the assigned topic and the prepared speech. I am not sure that the same can be said for the Impromptu part of the competition. I do not know at what point the students to represent individual schools are selected. The competition is an annual one so the schools should have it listed as one of their activities. Teachers will obviously have in mind students they would want to recommend. At the beginning of English and perhaps Social Studies classes or any other class, why not ask selected students to speak to their class on topics given to them, with a minute or two to prepare. Let this be built into the school’s schedule and become part of normal practice. Maybe Lions South should work with the schools in having workshops for the competition, paying particular attention to the Impromptu section.

There are also problems with the other sections of the competition. There are occasions on which students read their scripts although they are only allowed to look at their notes. Judges should be able to easily recognise when students are simply reading the scripts. The language used sometimes gives a clue and leads one to conclude that the particular presentation was prepared fully by teacher or a relative or friend. There are students however who over the years have performed exceptionally well and one knows that they were in full control of what they were presenting.

I do not know outside of sports, the extent of extra-curricular activities at the different schools. Are there debating societies? What of public speaking competitions within the schools? Could an hour or two be set aside one day a week, perhaps, to get students involved in extra-curricular activities? These should be important parts of the students’ education. One way of dealing with this is to cut back on the number of subjects that students sometimes do for the CSEC examinations. I am not sure why this is still allowed. Is the school seeking bragging rights? While we highlight those who have done well little attention is paid to those who have not been so fortunate. These, of course, are the ones who are begging for help. I make a final plea for us to be more sensitive and supportive of those who might not have lived up to expectations. They are mostly young teenagers and deserve our support.

• Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian