Great Speeches

My favorite personal success story is how I overcame shyness to become a champion debater and public speaker. I was reminded of this while I read Great Speeches for the Young Orator, one of the books my wife brought from their house when she moved in, which I again read just because it was on my bookshelf.

I recall back in high school when Mrs Cervantes, my social studies teacher who never hid from the class that I was her favorite, once told me that even though I was intelligent, I was never going to be successful unless I learned to express myself confidently - "makapal ang mukha" was how she put it. I never spoke unless it was to offer an answer to questions no one else could answer. I had read a history of the world in 3rd grade and even encylopedias, but what good was all of that knowledge if I did not know how communicate well?

It was not easy, but as I recounted in the post prior to this, I began this journey of self-mastery by enrolling in a Dale Carnegie course. Then when I entered UP, I signed up for the UP Debate Society even though I had never seen a debate before. I went through the application process and I passed. The first year was frustrating because those with high school debate experience did better during the tryouts to represent UP in debate tournaments, but I learned quickly and soon began topping the tryouts. I broke into the semifinals and finals of national and international tournaments. Finally, I became national champion in my third year. Then I made it to the top 16 teams of the world championship. I ended my fourth year with another national championship.

I am proud of my debate achievements, but I still see myself as a beginner in the lifelong study of rhetoric and oratory. I will continue to study Lincoln and Churchill, and observe Obama. More importantly, I will live my life and learn from it to earn the right to speak about it.