From words to the stage - Middle School Round Square's TEDeD 2022

1 July 2022

By Ronit, Grade 8 Student, UWCSEA Dover Campus

Round Square is an organisation, a collective comprising hundreds of schools worldwide, including ours. The aim of the Middle School Round Square committee is to provide opportunities to students interested in improving their public speaking skills and give them experience in presenting to an audience. It also connects us to students from other member schools in different countries and regions of the world as a way to develop our sense of internationalism.

This year, we accomplished those goals by using the Round Square network to connect with other schools around the globe and collaborate in a global project, culminating in our Middle School TEDEd event.

I am sure that everyone reading this article has heard of the organisation TED. I’m equally sure that you’ve all seen videos of speakers presenting on Youtube, or perhaps even watched them live and that being able to give a Ted Talk was an opportunity reserved for the hyper-successful. What if I told you that you could become a TED presenter in school? Round Square is an activity that allows you to do just that.

Going up on stage and presenting to a large audience is always a daunting feeling and no easy task. That feeling is only multiplied when you’re giving a Ted Talk. The weight that the name TED carries in the modern world is astounding, and the title of Ted Talk gives any speech a sense of unparalleled importance. That’s why preparing one is that much more pressurising. There is a responsibility you feel, which dictates that no matter the circumstances you cannot afford to mess up. To me and my peers in the Middle School Round Square Committee, just walking onto the stage and taking the mic felt almost ethereal. I don’t think I’ve ever had a more stressful 7 minutes ever, but 11 other speakers and I, that day, got through it and gave it our all. In the end, it was all absolutely worth it. I refined my presentation skills greatly through the process of making and giving my talk. Preparing to give it revealed many of the flaws that I had and gave me a chance to correct them. It developed my script-creating skills as well, as I got excellent feedback from my parents, peers, and Mr Dura, who led the activity and I guarantee to any of you that decide to participate in this activity next year that you will undoubtedly improve your public speaking skills significantly. Of course, we have to credit everyone who worked hard to put the entire event together.

Though I, myself, was particularly attracted to Round Square for the speaking opportunity, there is so much more than simply speaking that is necessary for it.

This year was the first time that such an event was held in Middle School, and as such, I suppose that my peers and I will be considered the veterans of the committee next year. As a way to step into this role, I would like to give my personal advice to anyone who decides to try the MS Round Square Committee as one of their activities next year. Firstly, make sure you want to get involved in an activity with students from school and other parts of the world, and if there is a TED event and want to present, choose a topic that is meaningful to you. For my talk, I decided to talk about the global refugee crisis. I chose this because my grandfather was a refugee when he was young. As a result, it was a topic that was special to me, and my talk became something that I felt personally connected to and cared about on an emotional level. This connection gave me a determination to succeed, a drive and motivation to make the best, most inspiring talk, and make the biggest possible impact. I truly believe that I would not have succeeded in creating my talk had I not had that extra motivation. Secondly, it is important to realise that you can never be too prepared. After you’re done constructing a script and creating a slideshow to go along with it, you need to make sure to properly practise your presentation. I have seen many excellent presentations with a lot of potential ruined because the speaker did not properly memorise and practise the script. Practise it in front of your parents or friends, and ask for their feedback. Also, make sure to practise your movements and hand gestures as you speak. These can take away a lot from your speech if not done right, but add great value to it if well thought out.

Ultimately, the most important thing to know is that no one should ever feel under-confident in their ability to present, or scared due to their lack of experience in public speaking. Even just preparing a speech requires tremendous time and effort. Actually delivering that in front of an audience afterwards requires an incredible amount of courage, which many people lack. Anyone who criticises you for your performance on stage, has not had to feel that pressure, or go through your struggles.

Stepping onto the stage is already a feat. No matter what happens from there, it's okay.

I walked away from the stage after my talk with the best feeling I could have possibly imagined. I would like to thank everyone who made this incredible experience possible, and I would like to thank Mr Dura for guiding us through everything. I hope that this article has interested some of you in trying your hand at making a presentation, as a part of next year's Middle School Round Square Committee!

Find out more about the Round Square committee here.