What makes the EPS debate great? (Senior Division 2016)

Every year, The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) is organizes "The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups Standard Chartered Hong Kong English Public Speaking Contest. Since its start in 2004, the contest has reached out to over 409 secondary schools in Hong Kong, with the accumulated number of participants reaching 19,614.

Brilliant leaders in the art of public speaking have emerged. Today, we look at the 2016 Senior Division Winners of the contest, and what public speaking speaking skills we can learn from them.

Senior Division

Kicking off a good start

The fact that the senior division topic hinted more towards a social issue saw contestants take a different approach to starting off speeches. Getting into the issue of corruption, we saw few bring the issue straight up, while others made use of a question or story, which is a very useful technique in public speaking.

1st runner up Bakhita Fung took an interesting spin on the introduction, “We all enjoy yummy cookies, red packets and mooncakes as festive treats. But in the cases of Timmothy Tong 48,000 tax dollars was spent on such items during his time at the ICAC.”

Content

All senior finalists agreed corruption needed to be dealt with. Bringing up prevalent cases in recent years, all touched upon the severity of the issue.

In explaining the issue, Merit awardee Gregory Wong tackled content very well, explaining the different ways a corruption case can rise, as opposed to simply reiterating the importance of prevention. “ The root of the problem lies in the fact that the ICAC is only led by the ICAC commissioner and Chief Executive. ICAC investigators wouldn’t want to be known as the disloyal employees who blew whistle on their boss.” he said, later calling for an independent committee to be set up.

Although, with all finalists agreeing corruption was to be dealt with, it was a matter of who best inspired the audience in their call for action.

Champion Ian Ga-jun Wong used an excellent statement, likening “Corruption, Scandal, Outcry” to “Lights, Camera, Action”. Saying a movie never comes into play until the action part arrives, encouraging citizens to do their bit in taking action.

2nd runner up Olivia Bray went into the background of the ICAC, expressing her beliefs on the importance of equality in Hong Kong. While, 1st runner up Bakhita Fung said it’s we see this slip as an opportunity, not a catastrophe. Many at times, people deliver the same message, but it’s the approach you take in speaking that matters.

Language - physical and verbal

Movement of hands was seen from our young leaders, as they called on audience members to group together in the fight against corruption.

Facial Expressions? The fact that corruption was a serious topic saw most candidates keep a serious face throughout their speeches, yet 1st runner up Bakhita and Merit Awardee Shazia kept a smile on their faces, something judges definitely look forward to in your speech.

Taking the issue into a more verbal context, the senior finalists made excellent use of volume and pausing and tone to convey their messages. For example Champion Ian’s volume drop as he went on explaining the Rafael Hui scandal, and how “no one seemed to care”.

Finally, the use of acronyms and attention-capturing statements often capture the attention of audiences well. Rhyming words prove useful, as much as trying to gather inspiration from news headlines. Some excellent examples from our senior finalists included “retune our moral compass”, “step the rot of corruption in our fragrant harbour” and “What makes a state great?”.

The Guiding Question for the Senior Division of the Grand Final was as follows:

The 2016 Index of Economic Freedom once again ranked Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy for the 22nd year, based on the measurement of ten components, including business, trade and financial freedom. However, the authors of the Index expressed their concern about one factor, and that was freedom from corruption, citing that Hong Kong’s score on a scale of zero to 100 has declined from 84 to 74 over the past four years. While this is still well above the global average, do you think this is a cause of concern?

Do you believe that Hong Kong is turning a blind eye to corruption by becoming complacent and how would you ensure that the city’s anti-corruption efforts continue to be some of the best in the world?

For more information about the contest, visit www.leadership21.hkfyg.org.hk/eps/

Champion Ian Ga-Jun Wong