St John’s College learner was awarded the best speaker award
St John's College learner, Rayan Moodley, said a debater's use of style is what makes their speech more convincing than their competitors.
St John’s College learner Rayan Moodley (15) received an award for best speaker representing Clayton at the junior inter-house debating competition.
Rayan, now in Grade 9, said he started debating towards the end of Grade 6 and was drawn to the activity because he wanted to learn how to express himself in a captivating way. “I have learnt about the power of style and how the use of big words is simply useless if the style in which you present a speech is poor and lacks reasoning. A debater’s use of style is what makes his or her speech more convincing than their competitors.”
He said winning best speaker was an achievement he was proud of. However, his job is not done, because in the debating world, there is more than one prize and he yearned to go after the other prizes.
Rayan noted that topics in debating are limitless, “My favourite types of topics revolve around economic and social issues and how to combat them. These topics allow me to express my opinions on how to better the world.”
When he is not debating, Rayan plays the piano, chess and sports.
His advice to any learner who has an interest in debating is, “Appreciate the process and stay consistent. Any activity can seem daunting at first but as time goes on you can learn to love the activity as you become better at it.”
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