The importance of debating and public speaking skills are immeasurable. Public speaking and debating are not just skills but an art, which are essential in shaping the personality of an individual. Humans are social; hence expressing oneself is an essential need. How well one expresses them and how well they get their ideas across to the other person and more importantly to a large audience determine the personality of the person. Many students in our school shy away from such opportunities, and this leaves a bad impact on them.
This is the reason why we are organizing St. Michael’s Model United Nations (SM MUN) in our school. The SM MUN is a simulation of the United Nations, where students would represent the member states of the United Nations as their respective countries’ delegates. This event aims at giving our students an insight into this style of debating, and a taste of how the United Nations works. Most importantly, this would give you a chance and a platform to speak up before an audience and an opportunity to discover and polish your speaking skills.
This event would be a great opportunity for many of you to have your first taste of public speaking, and to face your fear of doing so. There are many students who are scared of speaking into the mic or are afraid of a large audience in front of them. Don’t worry neither the mic is going to bite you nor would the crowd lynch you.
A few years ago, even I was scared of speaking into the mic and that too before the large audience. Whenever I was asked to deliver the thought of the day, or gave a speech at a debating competition, I would write a really good speech. But then at the moment of speaking, my pulse would shoot up, breathing became hard, sweating would start, and my hands and legs would tremble. Nothing is impossible, they say, and so eventually I got over my fears. I took the bull by its horns; participated over and over again in the very thing I was really scared of. It took more than a year, but soon afterwards I started enjoying public speaking. I now feel really good speaking into the mic and addressing a crowd has become something natural, something I feel I was made to do.
It is said, “In archeology you uncover the unknown, but in diplomacy you cover the known.” Yes, diplomacy is an art, an art of words, where the diplomat plays with words and sentences, to manipulate the truth, to make the situation favorable to their cause, to create a win-win situation, hiding the ugly truths and presenting beautiful lies as visionary promises.
Over these few days, you would learn not only how to be a good public speaker, but also how to negotiate, how to get your ideas and vision across to a large crowd, and would get a taste of international policy making and politics.
St. Michael’s Model United Nations would now be a part of the school’s annual calendar, and would each year be organized by the A Level 2nd year students. This event is open for all students from class 9 to A Levels. The A Levels batch of 2013 would not only leave the legacy to have organized the first SM MUN, but would also leave behind guidelines for all other batches on how to go about and organize this event in the future.
–Ahmer Jamil Khan
President of St. Michael’s Model United Nations
Head Boy of St. Michael’s Convent School
Also published on the website of St. Michael’s Convent School.
Leave a Reply