Youth Talk

I used to hate public speaking. Or any form of public interaction, to be quite honest. It wasn’t that I suffered from a stutter or didn’t know what to say. In my head I would rehearse potential speech topics in the hopes of being able to maintain a conversation with total strangers.

Nevertheless, despite all the efforts I made, I would always fall short when it mattered most. The words were literally at the tip of my tounge and yet I’d always find myself awkwardly staying silent and avoiding eye contact.

It is indeed difficult to describe this feeling to those who are naturally outspoken and confident. Simply standing up in front of a class can be torture, what with you assuming everyone is judging everything you say and will ridicule you at any small slip of the tounge.

For years I tried improving myself. I tried everything ranging from acting classes to simply trying to force myself to speak: all of which failed.

It was around four years ago when I saw a school notice promoting our Model United Nations (MUN) Conference. I had always maintained a passion for politics and international relations and seeing no harm in trying I decided to sign up.

That simple action was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

Representing Indonesia in the G20 was nerve-wrecking and yet I gained so many valuable skills.

Seeing confident people struggle with public speaking made me realise how even the best of us can be affected.

Simply from taking part in one MUN I was able to improve my self-confidence, public speaking as well as make many new friends from different schools.

That one experience motivated me to continue my MUN journey and I have now taken part in 11 MUN conferences, four times as a chair (the senior student in charge of each council).

Just a couple of month ago I applied and was selected to serve as my school’s MUN director. The director is the most senior position one can hold and responsibilities, include organising the entire conference and supervising the organising committee. So, if your school has been invited to participate at ChrisMUN 2016, please do give it a shot. You might end up being pleasantly surprised and have a great weekend experience.

The conference takes place on September 23 and 24. Please do check out our website at https://www.chrismun16.org or contact us at chrismunbahrain@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Now, who said self-promotion was bad?