The Best Thing That Happened During The Worlds

I know I’ve already talked about how bad the 28th Worlds Universities Debate Championship was as far the Pinoys were concerned, but if there was  one positive thing that came out of it, it’s certainly this one. Aside from debating, there  is also a public speaking competition that runs parallel with the rounds. During the down times and tab collection in between rounds, public speaking rounds are held in rooms to whittle down the speakers to the lucky ones who would be entertaining the crowd for the championship dinner (the night before the farewell dinner).

 

Public Speaking is a loose term used for the art of  working a crowd through a four-minute speech. You can literally do anything you want as long as you entertain people and make your concept work. I’ve seen people crack jokes, tell stories, sing songs, dance and make impressions while trying to win the Public Speaking final so I guess there’s no hard fast rule in what type of approach a speaker should take. The goal is to get the crowd  and judges on your side - and for the most part, all it takes is a great sense of humor and at times (especially in tournaments here in the country), a great deal of self-deprecation and willingness to be humiliated.

It is not a simple case of stand-up comedy. Unlike stand-up, public speaking requires a participant to talk about a certain topic that he/she randomly draws. Of course, one can have prepared material that he could incorporate into his routine but the speaker should definitely talk about the topic and keep his jokes  and anecdotes relevant.

 

I’m no greenhorn when it comes  to these  things. I’ve made the finals of the public speaking competition of the National Debate Championship and since all the other finalists were either unavailable for the worlds or simply too chicken to sign up *cough* Robert *cough*, I thought it was but proper for me to hold the Philippine flag up high amidst the challenge of the Worlds. Yes. It was a lofty ideal with the end of self-gratification and of course… getting my own TV SHOW! Aside from that, I also wanted  to use the finals as a GRAND WAY to advertise this blog. Believe me, I was wearing Atheista shirts, shirts with Atheisa stickers on them and giving out business cards with that URL. If I had the mic during the finals, I would use the four minutes to whore my URL at least 10 times…. per minute!

 

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It’s voluntary to join these things. It’s a pleasant counterpoint to the rigors and stiffness of actual debating. The tone is also different. Instead of being aggressive and stern, public speakers need to be more personable, engaging and most of all LIKABLE! Of course, I didn’t have problems in those departments!

 

Round 1

 

I was very lucky from the beginning. The rooms for public speaking usually has around 8-10 people from which three will advance  to the next round. Fortunately for me, a lot of the people in my room pulled out during the last minute leaving me with just four other people to compete against. The other guy in the room was another participant from UP Manila (Don Stanley Dalisay) so that greatly improves the odds of at least one of us getting through to the other rounds. Barring the very sad possibility of being the two eliminated speakers after round 1, there was a statistical reason for us to believe that at least one of us was going to advance.

 

I was among the  last people in my room to speak. My topic - How to adjudicate while asleep.  Clearly, this type of topic leaves the door wide open for improvisation and tongue-in-cheek humor. Though I can’t really say that I was truly in the zone with this one, I thought I was  funny enough to beat at least two of the other speakers in my round. It was coasting time for me. I didn’t inject much of my material because I knew I was going to need those reserves later on.

 

Unfortunately for the other Pinoys in the competition and Don Stanley (who was in my room), none of them advanced to Round 2.

 

 

By the second day of competition, the list of those who made  it to the next round was posted near the convening area and I got a fairly good amount of congratulatory remarks for being the last Pinoy standing. Right… this means war. Onward we go for my own TV SHOW!

 

 

ROUND 2

 

Because I had the best teammate ever, someone from UP Manila actually watched me for Round 2. I knew it was going to be tougher but I was definitely more comfortable and at ease now  considering that I’m coming in very much prepared for the task at hand. I was in a room of  nine speakers that would be cut  to five after all the speeches have been delivered. It was a diverse room - almost all participating continents were represented (Africa,  North America, Europe, Australia and Asia).

 

I was again lucky to have gotten such a wide open topic - my most unforgettable debate experience. Since my teammate was already there, I might as well talk about him and make him my punchline, right? haha. Aside from talking extensively about that particular time when he had to use the restroom in the middle of a round (of course, that never  really happened), I also went on a barrage of otherwise-corny-jokes-but-they-worked jabs while reminiscing about that dastardly Taiwan debate.

 

How desperate where the jokes? They were so desperate, I wouldn’t even write them here. Rest assured, the people in the room loved it and it got them in stitches! Honest! I floated  the first  of the jokes to see if  I should go with it, but after seeing them lapping up the corny test missile, I went all out ala Shock and Awe.

 

Robert thought my manner sucked, but my speech was enough to be in the top five. Gee, thanks Robert. How nice of you to say that. *and my cup of sarcasm runneth over* According to Robert, I developed an irritating accent during the course of the tournament and I kept of shifting into that during my speech.

 

And as luck would have it…

 

 

Round 3

 

Yep. After Over 120 participants got cut to 50 in Round 2 and after those survivors were further whittled down to 25 for the semifinals, I was still standing. OK,  THIS IS IT!  I was seriously getting the feeling that the Finals was definitely within reach and all I need to do was to be the best speaker in my room.

 

Well, it was obvious that it wasn’t going to be easy. I don’t think I topped either  of the two rounds and I’m sure the rest  of the  people in that room would be bringing their A game. The fact that the judge that made me advance from Round 2 to Round 3 was also going to be doing the judging was also a bit of a curve ball. I also drew NUMBER 1 - meaning I’ll be the first to speak. Everyone will see my speech and gauge what they’re up against and if you’ve been watching competitions of any sort, you should know that  people who go first NEVER/RARELY win.

 

On one hand, it’s great that she’s judging because it’s safe to say  that she likes my style.

 

On the other hand, I will not be able to pull the things I used from Round 2. I will have to start from scratch. It will take a lot more to impress and excite her.

 

Round 3 was the day when the debate rounds hit fever pitch so it was quite understandable that no one from UP Manila watched this crucial round. Luckily, Alex Loh Weng  Keen was just outside and he gamely went in to show moral support (Thanks Alex! I appreciate  it!).

 

I had the strategy in my head already - I’ll milk the fact that I’m the last Filipino standing to death and contend that our great country deserves a representative in Finals.

 

My Topic: GREAT THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES

 

Ahhh… Perfect!

 

I’m kicking myself for not recording this speech. I think this was one of my finest speeches as a public speaker and I would’ve wanted to have a copy of it. I set up the speech as I’ve planned it. I defined great things simply as Filipinos - the resilient and indomitable race that just perseveres through the toughest  of times.

 

I started off with the obvious joke.

 

The last thing that I want you to think is that the term Filipinos and “small packages” belong to the same sentence. *room explodes with thunderous laughter*

Unlike you guys  (and this is me talking to a predominantly Caucasian room), we’re very confident in that department.

*laughter again, pause for laughs*

Those primal and utterly unoriginal jokes  set the stage for my egomania - my three-minute spiel on how well we Filipinos bounce  back from adversity.

I also took this as a chance to forward the stature (pun intended) of Filipino debaters.

Unlike most of the people in this room, Filipino debaters are not geeks, nerds or weirdos. Back in the Philippines, WE ARE ROCKSTARS!  (watch my band tonight!)

Most of us may be less  than six feet tall, but who are the guys shooting hoops? I guess you guys just use your height to reach the books at the upper shelves of your library.

Maybe it was already overstepping the boundaries of good taste and light-hearted ribbing, but it was pride talking. I was not going to go down without a fight and in the end, I think I had a fighting  chance to make the finals.

 

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Unfortunately, Sharon Ohayon from  the University of Alberta (in Canada) advanced to the Finals. She delivered a speech that reflected hints of Jon  Stewart’s political satire and candor. She did great- but I would’ve loved to have had a chance to speak in the Finals.

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