Many collapse in fear when facing an audience.
Not these contestants though. Occasionally, palms were sweaty, knees weak and arms at times heavy but they pressed on. What the audience witnessed firsthand in the first Semester of PF2023 acts as the first inaugural speech competition NYP PFP has seen. Though there was speaking onstage, too there was speaking backstage. Matter of fact, back way prior to Week 8, with PFP-led conceptualisation and materialisation to formulate a piquing occasion. Alongside setting the stage, both metaphorically and literally, for showcasing the skill set of those deemed worthy, the tale of Speech Competition ‘23 leaves one awe-struck and ‘jaw-dropped’.
The Competition Organisation
This speech competition was not something miraculously spawned out of thin air, but rather organised by the language ambassadors of Semester 1. Crowd control ensured the audience were ushered to their respective seatings; Aesthetics decorated the venue with baby blue balloons, to verdant plastic seaweed spread across the stage; Backstage crew verified equipment integrity so contending champions can deliver their speech without a hitch; and lastly the MCs of the competition prepared an entertaining programme flow for the crowd to enjoy making sure every item is completed within the allocated time.
Boohoos
In an ideal world things would go to plan but we do not live in an ideal world; hiccups were aplenty. Assembling a team of PFP students from varying schools in one location for rehearsals and tech runs can be challenging. Some team members finished classes at 1pm while some at 5pm. It became a hassle to find a suitable day let alone timing whereby everyone can rendezvous and help. Even such timings were limited, as the planning of the speech competition was around the peak ICA season for PFP students.
Contestants
These participants were not chosen based on luck, but rather their distinct performances during their speech ICA. A top scorer from each PFP class would be voted to possibly represent their school, and those chosen were further simmered down to the final seven. Making it to the linguistic battlefront was already excellent, but the real test was surviving the impromptu segment. This portion was truly the survival of the fittest, as those who remained after the prepares speech segment had to stick their hand into a sea of prompts, and latch onto that word. They were only given one minute to plan. At the end of that minute, they were pushed onto stage to deliver their impromptu speech to the crowd.
It was an amazing feat and one that all the contestants were able to accomplish with awe inspiring skill.
PF2322’s Chng Hun An Jordan (SBM) and PF2313’s Ang Wei Jun (SEG) both battled hard and earned their third and second places respectively. As always, there can only be one champion and that title went to PF2332’s Muhammad Iqbal Bin Amran (SIT). Expressing his tale about past regrets and his eventual learning experience resonated with not just the audience but judges as well.
The judges had to give kudos to the contestants for putting themselves forward and “facing the firing squad” as one of the judges, Mr. Mike Cheong, said.
The judges knew that this was the first time most of the contestants were walking onto a stage to showcase their public speaking skills.
Valour; feigned, and still reigned
Conclusion
As an inaugural event the PFP speech competition was no doubt one of the most notable events for PFP 2023. Though it came with its set of unique obstacles our PFP mates had to clear, it is intriguing to dive into how this entire competition played out. Will you be like the author, who shrivelled up in fear before even muttering a word during his ICA1 speech, or will you be one of the contestants who wanted to shrivel up as well but picked up the microphone instead and started speaking.
Austin Ho 
Hani Marsya