#Projects
THE GREAT COMMUNICATOR
How to gain confidence at public speaking and become better
in the art of speaking?
The Debate Club project was launched in our Moscow office in early 2017 and has been rapidly
gaining popularity ever since. Our survey of participants that took part in the 10-weeks long
pilot project indicates that all the respondents who regularly took part in the Club’s meetings
have firmly rated their presentation, argumentation and critical thinking skills as above average.
The project has won a high appraisal from Oliver Kutz, and the Club’s sessions will now be held
on a regular basis.
It is common knowledge that professional success in any area is strongly dependent on
our ability to connect with people, formulate our position and substantiate our opinion – all
of us are practising these communication skills on a daily basis in our contacts with clients,
contractors, and colleagues in the office. As Rene Descartes once said: Determine the precise
meaning of words, and you will save mankind from half of the delusions.
Gleb Usachev, Key Account Specialist and an initiator of the Debate Club
project: "Firstly, I would like to thank my team for putting the confidence in
me. Without your support I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere. I am delighted
to see that my idea has won your backing and I believe that the project has
a great potential, because engaging in debate is, indeed, the most efficient
tool for developing strong communication skills. Traditional training forms are
becoming increasingly outdated and no longer deliver expected results. In our Club,
we are continuously honing the same skill week after week. As a result, people are constantly
'on combat alert' and prepared to deploy the acquired skills promptly and whenever necessary,
and also to demonstrate their ability to use critical thinking and active listening skills in real life.
"Our competitions use the American format: three versus three. After the subject of the
debate is announced, the participants have 15 minutes to get ready by considering and
stating all their arguments. This preparation time is usuallly insufficient and it is this kind of
pressure that triggers critical thinking. You have to focus and present your arguments in a
way that would be clear to the judges and the opposing team, and on very short notice. Then
the teams return to the meeting room and speak in turns trying to persuade the judges that
their position is the only one that is right. To do so, they have to show both eloquence and
public speaking skills and the ability to structure arguments in support of their point of view."
As a matter of fact, the history of debate clubs goes back to the 20th century and UK
universities, such as Oxford, Bristol and Cambridge. Today, this trend remains very popular
with students. European and world tournaments are held on an annual basis and bring together
top debaters with outstanding reasoning skills.
A determined interest shown by our colleagues and excellent results achieved suggest that
the Debate Club could be launched as part of the Cluster with an Imperial Tobacco debate
tournament to be held at some point.
It would be fair to say that club members have successfully demonstrated their newly acquired
skills during the interviews and have been succinct and confident in stating their opinions.
What are the club members saying?
Nadezhda Orekhova, Retail Audit Manager: "The debate
club helped me improve two skills: first, to formulate my
arguments in a manner that no weak points can be identified.
And second, to spot deficiencies in opening speeches."
Mikhail Pakhomov, Management Accountant: "I am
grateful to the Debate Club for teaching me to better
structure my speech, to express myself clearly and develop
convincing arguments."
Anna Klyushina, In-store Standards Execution Specialist:
"The Debate Club helped me build up confidence. Moreover,
it’s an excellent opportunity to socialize with my colleagues
in a less formal setting."
Lyubomir Panov, Regulatory and Government Affairs
Specialist: "I’d like to mention the two most critical goals
set by the Company in pursuing the project. First, to improve
our reasoning skills, irrespective of the debated subject or
point at issue. And second, to teach us the art of winning
over opponents."
Anna Kovryga, Communications Manager: "I think that
the Debate Club has made an impressive contribution to
the development of its members, as it helps them open up,
become more confident at public speaking, express their
thoughts clearly and concisely and argue their points in a
logical manner."
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