For and Against

When we have the right to make a mistake, then the second time we do everything perfectly!

Our next task in public speaking lessons was to “sell” a pudlic speaking activity. Sounds interesting, right?

I got the public speaking ability called "For and Against". This public speaking activity encourages flexibility; the ability to see a topic from opposing sides.

A speaker has 30 seconds to talk 'for' a topic and then another 30 seconds to speak 'against' it.

Examples of the topics:

• money is the root of all evil;
• a country gets the government it deserves;
• 'green' politics are just the current fashion;
• pets in apartments should be banned;
• marriage is essentially a business contract;
• poverty is a state of mind;
• euthanasia is unjustifiable;
• global warming is media hype;
• cloning animals should be banned;
• animal testing is immoral.

As you can see, this ability looks exciting and extremely interesting!

In the first lesson, we prepared a performance in front of an audience, "selling" this ability. We had only 20 minutes to prepare our speech.

Here's the video of my first speech:

I was very worried, you could notice it :)

Due to the excitement and constant peeping into the notebook, I believe that part of the audience didn't catch the essence of this ability. So sad :(

A week later, we again talked about our public speaking ability. A week to prepare - and now my speech becomes interesting and even understandable to everyone!

Look at my second speech:

Without a notebook in my hands, with a smile on my face, I communicate with the audience and talk about my "product". Amazing!

Do you think this public speaking ability is needed for speakers? Would you "buy this product" for your performance in front of an audience?