第七届全国英语演讲比赛冠军得主演讲稿

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 way into

another 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 know where to 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 publ

ic speaking. since in th