This essay is completely fictional.
It is true that public speaking builds confidence, but it is also true that to be able to speak for what you believe when no one else does builds character.
There
have been a number of public-speaking competitions that I took part in. The
feeling I would get when I would be up on stage, delivering paragraph after
paragraph of researched and prepared work, would be worth a million dollars. I
would know that what I’m saying is true and I had reference of other scholars
who have stated the same the thing to support my arguments. There was an inter-school
debate competition that I worked day and night for. My topic was in favor of
the government policies of our country. Every day I would practice my speech
and modify it here and there, trying to make it perfect. The day of the
competition, as I went up on stage and I looked around at my audience, I knew
that they would fall under the spell I would create by my practiced lines and I
was confident that I was one of the best speakers among the other candidates. I
had felt great and a little foolish as well. I felt foolish because it seemed
as if I was an actor, entertaining the audience. I would bring out emotions of
encouragement, inspiration, etc. for our government, no matter that my actual
feelings about it were the opposite. This event didn't do anything for my own
personal beliefs, but just built my confidence in how to speak in front of an
audience or public.
Being
able to speak in front of a large crowd is significant in connecting with
people outside of one’s comfort zone. However, when one speaks for what they
truly believe in when no one else does, builds one’s character and one not only
achieves confidence, but also obtains a following. This is what my father
taught me. I never really understood it until I went for the debate competition
that I mentioned before. He said this not just to me, but to my siblings as
well. None of us understood it until we all were given an opportunity to speak
up for ourselves when no one else did. My brother had an opportunity like that.
He was a freshman in university and was getting his bearings in his academics
and social life. The transition from school to university takes its toll on
everybody and my brother was in the same boat. He had his midterms and in one
of the exams, my brother was accused of cheating. My brother said that he
didn’t cheat, but his friends did not support him. They weren’t sure either. My
brother was called in front of the disciplinary committee and he clearly stated
that he didn’t cheat. The confidence he exuded at the time confused the
committee, even though a faculty member was a witness to it and he brought an
almost convincing story. My brother was not fazed. In the end the committee dropped
the accusation against him. The truth was that a friend sitting behind my
brother was cheating, and because he did not want to get caught, he blamed it
on my brother.
Not
only did my brother face a challenge with confidence, but he also believed in
himself and was not deterred when an entire committee thought he was guilty of
cheating. There have been similar circumstances in which many get beaten down
for not being able to speak for what they believe, let it be something about
themselves or about the government policies of our country. My advice to all is
to speak up, before it’s too late.
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