Speaker’s Edge hones skills
MBA students had an opportunity to outtalk their peers during Speaker’s Edge, a lively two-day public-speaking competition in January.
Speaker’s Edge is a breakthrough approach to teaching students to analyze, structure and deliver compelling presentations to optimize their influence in classic business situations. The competition is intense, the experience is fun, and the results are amazing.
The goal is to take students who may start out being completely terrified of public speaking and coach them to become more comfortable speaking in front of large crowds, ultimately embracing their speaking styles. With coaching help from UM speech instructor JoAnn Edwards and alumnus Randy Harrington, along with his team from Oregon consulting firm EASCI, the competition gave students a chance to show off their talent to more than 60 judges from around the nation.
The three presentation categories were the Marketplace Pitch, Informative and Ethical Dilemma. During the Marketplace Pitch, students present their best ideas for a product and/or service. In the Informative presentation category, students choose between communicating complex information, showcasing their abilities to communicate technically complex information to a nontechnical audience, or communicating process information. In the Ethical Dilemma category, students are given a case citing a dilemma of ethics within a business setting. Students have 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech that addresses how they would effectively respond to the ethical dilemma.
Megan Vickery, who won second place in the ethical dilemma presentation, said this training is an integral part of business education, and she believes she will use the lessons from Speaker’s Edge throughout her career.
“This competition, more than anything, gave me confidence in terms of my public-speaking abilities,” said Vickery, a Dallas native.
“Speaking in front of large groups has always been a daunting task for me, but now I feel comfortable in my abilities and presence in front of a group. It also taught me that people respond best to sincerity, so the more that you can let your own passion and personality shine through in your speech, the more engaged your audience will be.”
Garrett Ozbun, a native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., took third place in the ethical dilemma and the marketplace pitch presentations. Speaker’s Edge helped him reinforce the idea that, at the end of the day, every audience wants to be entertained.
“If you can make an audience smile and have fun, then your speech content is automatically seen in a better light,” Ozbun said.
Ozbun practiced his speeches by writing them out until he had the material memorized. Then he practiced with notes in outline form, and, finally, with no notes at all.
“Business equals communication,” he said. “The more responsibility you have in the business world, the more you are in front of people and have to communicate ideas effectively. I think good verbal and written communication skills are the most important assets to have in the business world today.”
Speaker’s Edge has been featured on the SEC Academic Network, an Internet outlet designed to promote academic endeavors of Southeastern Conference universities. Speaker’s Edge sets the bar for MBA programs across the country by taking seriously the importance of graduating future leaders who possess excellent communication skills.
