With all the bad public speaking that politicians foist on us every day, let’s celebrate the five Coronado High School students who participated in their local Rotary Club’s Four Way Test speech contest. Two of them advanced to the next level, while all five are to be praised.
Each student gave a brief, prepared speech. They applied the Rotary Club’s Four Way Test to assorted contemporary topics. The students chose to talk about such varied subjects as artificial intelligence, suicide among autistic teens, and climate change. Each speech applied the Rotary Club’s Four Way Test.
First, it is wonderful to see students learn to use
public speaking to talk about the important subjects and controversies that
face us today.
Second, in a world where people often laugh about ethics, all five speakers proudly focused on the Rotary Club's moral principles, exemplified by the Four Way Test. Business executive and Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor developed the Four Way Test to encourage honest business practices. After much deliberation, he settled on these four principles:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all Concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Rotarians today adopt the Four Way Test as their ethical guide. The speech contest encourages young people to apply those simple ethical principles to public issues. What better use can public speaking serve?
Congratulations to all five students—and to the many, many other students who participate in Rotary Club speech contests across the land. Well done!
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Congratulations to the Lincoln East High School Speech Team
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P.S. For several years, I served as a judge for Rotary
Club Four Way Test speech contests in northern Ohio. It was an inspiring duty.
by William D. Harpine
Copyright © 2024, William D. Harpine
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