Junior High School Debate – Lessons in Public Speaking

Personal Branding Podcast

“Masters today, were Starters Yesterday, so begin now.”― Bernard Kelvin Clive Today, I want to share some thoughts on public speaking, drawing from my latest book co-authored with my friend, Samuel Agyeman-Prempeh, on the fundamentals of public speaking. In the book, we discuss the basics for anyone—entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, or professionals—looking to venture into public speaking or presentations, whether for business or sales. These foundational tips will help you kickstart your speaking career. We also share our personal experiences, including the challenges we’ve faced and how we’ve overcome them throughout our 15-year journey in the field. The Debate Recently, when I announced the release of the book on one of the platforms, a friend —Gilbert reminded me of something that happened about 25 years ago. We were in our teens, attending junior high school. The story he shared with me reflects how far things have changed and reminds us that, no matter where we start, we can always rise from our failures and work towards success—especially in public speaking. Let me take you back to that time, about 25 years ago, when I was a student at Calvary International School in Accra. One of our teachers, Mr. Nduom, often organized debates between the boys and the girls on Fridays. On one such occasion, I was selected to participate. At the time, I was a quiet, shy boy, and the thought of public speaking was intimidating. Our team consisted of three boys: Cyril, Gilbert, and me. Then there were the three girls: Vera, Theresa, and Irene. It was a classic showdown—three boys against three girls. But as boys, we loved to play. When the debate topic was given, we didn’t prepare at all. During break time, we played. After school, we played some more. We simply didn’t take it seriously. The Boys Played while the Girls Prepared! The girls, on the other hand, were well-prepared. They had organized everything—each speaker knew her role, from the first to the last. Their speeches and arguments were structured and rehearsed. Meanwhile, the boys? We scrambled at the last minute, jotting a few things down on scraps of paper just before the debate started. Cyril, our first speaker, stood up and spoke based on the little we had managed to write. But it wasn’t much. Then it was the girls’ turn. Theresa delivered her speech with confidence, and it was clear they had the upper hand. Next, Gilbert, our second speaker, did his best to fill in the gaps with what little was left on our paper and added some impromptu comments. Irene, the girls’ second speaker, followed, delivering her part with the same level of preparedness and poise. Now it was my turn, as the last speaker for the boys. But by then, there was nothing left to say. Cyril and Gilbert had already used everything we had written. I stepped up to the podium, but my mind was blank, and my voice trembled. Tears began to roll down my cheeks as I stood there, overwhelmed by the moment. To my surprise, the audience applauded—not for what I said, but for simply showing up. It was both humorous and heartwarming, and we all laughed it off. To make matters worse, the entire class had gathered—a large crowd—and there I was, standing on stage with nothing to say, consumed by fear. It was a humbling experience. We lost, I learned! In the end, the boys lost, and the girls won. Looking back on that experience from such a young age, it was my first real attempt at public speaking, and it showed. We were completely unprepared, and our content was virtually nonexistent. Afterward, the teacher gave me a funny nickname, and it stuck with me throughout junior high school. We all laughed, and that nickname became part of my identity for the rest of my time there. Start Somewhere! But reflecting on this story, it serves as a reminder that we all start somewhere. We may have failed in our early attempts at public speaking, but those moments don’t have to define our future success. We can always pick ourselves up and improve. Did we engage in further debates in the future? As a team, we learned from our mistakes, we prepared, and we put ourselves in a good position to succeed. Even though we didn’t win the subsequent match, we performed on par with the girls. We learned, we grew, we moved on! Now, whenever I think back on that experience, I can laugh, because I’ve come a long way. Today, I speak on major platforms, prepare my speeches thoroughly, and even train others in public speaking. Key Lessons: That early experience brought some key lessons for all of us. First, preparation is powerful. If we had prepared as the girls did, we would have had the confidence and energy to deliver our speeches well. Preparation gives you the edge. Your preparation will include, research and writing the speech. Second, content is a command. In public speaking, the kind of content you have matters, and mastering your material is essential. You must know your content well and tailor it to your audience. If you have nothing to say, you have nothing to communicate. No content no command. Third, know your audience. Know the audience and prepare content to suit them, and vary the speech based on the audience: your style, tone etc. We don’t use the same style for all gatherings. We thought our audience was just our classmates, so we could just play around, we didn’t know the entire school would be gathering to witness it. As other students came in to watch, we knew the debate topic, but the girls had mastered their craft, their content, and their audience. They had rehearsed multiple times, while we boys barely gave it any thought. We wanted to play and have fun, not realizing how serious it was. Another important lesson here is that we should treat every speaking engagement as if it’s a world-class […]