I have been influenced by a speaker. The speaker I was influenced by was a man by the name of Mr. S, who runs a non profit organization called Youth Focus that puts on several talent and scholastic competitions a year. He was one of the best speakers because his speaking made everyone in the room feel as if he was speaking directly to them and we could all relate very well to him. When I was Miss Santa Clara County in 1999 he was the head of the organization behind the competitions. As Miss Santa Clara County I attended a week long competition to run for California’s Young Woman of Achievement. During our week long stay we had an intensive two day training session which focused on mainly communication and how we could continue to impact our societies through our continued involvement and volunteerism. One thing that always stuck out to me was how fulfilled and encouraged I always felt after these conferences. We were given little ribbons one day that said Who I Am Makes A Difference, because no matter where you are in life or what you are doing you can make a difference in others lives. His speaking is so memorable because it showed so much compassion and care.
I think one of the worse speakers I ever heard was Miss Teen South Carolina 2007 at the Miss Teen USA pageant. It made me cringe as I listened to her answer a fairly simple question. The question was: Why do you think one fifth of Americans can not locate the US on a world map? Her reply; “I personally believe that US Americans are unable to do so because uh so many people in our nation don’t have maps and uh I believe that our education like such as South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the US should help the US or uh should help the South Africa and the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for our.” The main thing I remember about her message was that I just wanted her to stop speaking. It is literally painful to watch her speak. As a person watching this you feel so awful seeing someone make such a fool of themselves. Needless to say she didn’t win Miss Teen USA. Here is the link to the horrible speech if anyone is interested in viewing it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww
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Hello Capone's Mom! Why do you think Miss Teen South Carolina's speech, or answer to the question, was so bad? What could she have done, what tactics could she have used, to make the speech/answer better?
ReplyDeletei like that you named an ordinary person who touched your life as a speaker who has influenced you. oftentimes i think of well known public figures when i think of folks whose speech/communication has influenced me. i always have to remind myself to think local, think of the everyday, sometimes ordinary interactions i have with people. it's always a wonderful feeling to be moved by what someone is saying because of the authenticity and passion of their words.
ReplyDeletei remember the debacle that was miss teen south carolina and was left dumbstruck. i'm not a big fan of pageants but i think her response suggests the difference between presenting a prepared speech and thinking on one's feet. it would seem that rhetoric was not her strong point.
I think it was such a bad speech because it was a very general question and she completely did not answer the question that was asked. Being in the position of representation that she was in should have afforded her a coach or some sort of training. I know when I used to compete I had every answer for any possible situation ready because I had an acting coach who taught me how to speak extemporaneously. I think for that reason I am even harder on the girls I see because they know what is coming and should prepare for it.
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