Public Speaking

On this past Sunday afternoon, the kids and I went to see a public speaking competition for students in grades 2-8. A local branch of the Canadian Legion sponsors a few competitions each year -- public speaking, essays and poetry. This past Sunday was one of those contests.

The local schools have students in each class prepare and deliver a speech. The speeches must be between 2.5 and 5 minutes in length; if they exceed 5 minutes, the children are automatically disqualified from the competition. Each class selects a "winner" who then attends this local contest as the class representative. My niece was there as the contestant from MGES - Grade 4. Her speech was about global warming and its effects on our planet.

Right before she began her turn, I tapped my son and said - "If you think you're going to laugh, look at the floor." Just the night before, when she was practicing her speech, my son distracted her and made her laugh. My brother sent him out of the room. Now, as she stood at the front of the room, I suddenly worried that I had made a mistake attending with the kids. What if we made her laugh? What if we made her nervous? What if...what if...what if.... The only thing that was really clear was that there was no turning back. Leaving moments before she started her speech would surely be more off-putting than sitting and listening. We stayed.

She was great. She hit her points, she didn't stumble. Her voice was clear and crisp and we could easily hear her at the back of the room. It was hard, I think, for her to wrap her mouth around terms like carbon dioxide and photosynthesis, but she managed. It was clear that her Dad (my brother) helped her write the speech. I mean, in comparison to the other children it was clear. After all, other kids in her category spoke about camping trips, pet ponies, and sleepovers. I'm thinking he helped choose the topic.

She won. She now carries on to "regional" finals. She will speak again on Sunday afternoon. I think we'll go and cheer her on.

Reminds me about a statistic I heard at a work function suggesting that public speaking is our most common fear. Seems most people worry more about public speaking than flying, or insects, or even snakes. It causes people to experience sweating, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and even fainting.

I wonder if, as kids, we appreciate public speaking because it fulfills our need for attention. Perhaps only after years of socialization do we dread that same attention because of our realization that it also brings the risk of rejection and embarrassment.

I wonder if my niece will ever grow out of public speaking?

Hopefully not before Sunday.