Public speaking is the number one fear of human beings. Although most do not realize it, having a one-on-one conversation is a form of public speaking. When you tell a friend about yourself or an event, you tell it from the heart. In these conversations, you almost never rely on notes. Keeping this in mind helped every camper tackle the difficult task of delivering a speech during the AYC speech sessions.

On the third day of camp, the boys gathered outside the dining hall and the girls stayed inside for speeches. To warm up campers, the session began with Tabletopics. In Tabletopics, the topicsmaster asked a question and called on someone to sum up the answer in under a minute. Questions ranged from, “What is your favorite type of sandwich?” to “What negative presence from the world is the most challenging?”

After Tabletopics, campers delivered Icebreaker speeches. These two-minute speeches were designed to introduce the person and to allow everyone to become comfortable with speaking in front of a group. Some of the more experienced speakers walked boldly to the front of the group and used little or no notes. As always, there was a small amount of nervousness and insecurity in those who were speaking for the first time. Some speakers used humorous comments to help “break the ice.” Despite the usual nervous fidgeting, pausing, or repeatedly saying “um,” everyone fought their way through and did exceptionally well.

“I was so nervous my leg was twitching,” said one participant after the Icebreaker speeches, “but I felt confident that I did a good job.”

On Wednesday morning, July 21, campers again headed to their speech locations. This time, campers had to make a speech about an interesting experience. A faint tinge of nervousness filled the dining hall during breakfast. Most campers wanted to go first to get their speech over with because they knew that those who give their speech later have to be nervous for a longer period of time. Once finished though, the speaker felt relieved!

The boys’ speeches were all interesting, and some were even educational. For example, a few of the international campers detailed what life was like in other countries. For the girls, many of the speeches were humorous, while a few were rather serious.

One could think that the purpose of Ambassador Club is to merely develop our public speaking skills. There is, however, a much more important component. One minister stated that if you undergo public speaking training, you will have a head start on the path toward leadership. Delivering speeches and participating in Tabletopics helped better prepare all of God’s youth at AYC to become future leaders.