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LUMEN | PROGRAMMES
OMG Challenge Winner
Conquers His Fear of
Public Speaking
By Marc Leong Weng Mun
From struggling to recite the pledge on stage to becoming SJI ’ s first One Minute Gem ( OMG ) Challenge Winner for Year 2 , Owenn Phua has certainly come a long way in honing his public speaking skills .
Owenn Phua Yan Zhi from ML202 , the first winner of the SJI OMG Challenge ( Year 2 ) has not always been a confident speaker .
One of his earliest encounters with public speaking was in primary school where students were given the opportunity to recite the National Pledge in one of the four national languages . However , on the day that he was selected , he was tasked with reciting the pledge in Tamil , a language he was not familiar with . Hence , he stuttered and paused throughout his delivery . This was one of the few experiences that resulted in him losing confidence in public speaking .
Fortunately , this personal obstacle was changed when he joined SJI .
The opportunities to deliver speeches in preparation for the OMG and other events in front of his classmates improved his speaking skills vastly . Hence , his numerous experiences in SJI have helped him develop into the confident speaker that he is today .
Buoyed by his success in the OMG segment in January 2020 , he was ready to take on another challenge - The OMG Challenge . The challenge requires competitors to come up with a ‘ One Minute Gem ’ or one minute speech about a topic which would be given just ten minutes before their turn to present .
Owenn revealed , “ This is actually a serendipitous incident . I was with my best friend at the canteen when I bumped into my Year 1 English teacher Mrs Mishaelle Chua who informed us about this OMG Challenge . As soon as I heard about it , I was intrigued , especially since I had participated in the first OMG of 2020 .”
“ Speaking off the cuff enhances one ’ s creativity , quick thinking and confidence . I participated in the OMG challenge in hopes of developing these skills .”
On days where he does not have the opportunity to practise public speaking , Owenn continues to improve his public speaking skills by watching videos such as parliamentary debates and TED talks which showcase presenters using wide and precise diction and vocabulary to convey their messages . However , his learning does not stop there . He continues to learn from their body language . Whether it is posture or hand gestures , he picks up these little details in hopes of making himself a better speaker on stage .
Upon entering the competition , a concern Owenn had was being given a topic that he was completely unfamiliar with “ There is never nothing to say even if the topic is very difficult . Think of something relatable and deliver it . It is