tomemarch28thwasaluckyday.itwasonthatparticular
eveningthatifoundmyselfatcentralstage,inthe
spotlight.winningthe"21stcentury·ericssoncup"seventh
nationalenglishspeakingcompetitionisamemorythatishall
treasureandonethatwillsurelystay.
moreimportantthanwinningthecupisthefriendshipthathas
beenestablishedanddevelopedamongthecontestants,andthe
chancetocommunicateoffstageinadditiontocompeting
onstage.alsothecompetitionhelpsboostpublicspeakingin
china,askillhithertoundervalued.
forme,though,thecompetitionisamorepersonalexperience.
habituallyshy,ihadbeenreluctanttotakepartinanysuch
activities.encouragedbymyfriends,however,imadea
last-minutedecisiontogiveitatry.inthecourseof
preparationisomehowrediscoveredmyself,atruerme.
ifoundthat,afterall,ilikecommunicatingwithother
people;thatexchangingviewscanbesomuchfun—andsomuch
rewarding,bothemotionallyandintellectually;thatpublic
speakingismosteffectivewhenyouareleastguarded;and
thatitisessentialtosuccessineverywalkoflife.
atamorepracticallevel,irealizedknowingwhatyouare
goingtosayandhowyouaregoingtosayitareequally
important.totaketheoriginalideasoutofyourheadand
transplantthem,sotospeak,tothatofothers,youneedto
haveanorganizedmind.thisabilityimproveswithtraining.
yetthereshouldnotbeanylossoradditionordistortionin
theprocess.thoseideasthatfinallyfindtheirwayinto
anotherheadneedtoberecognizablyyours.languageisa
meanstotransmitinformation,notameanstoobst