Eloquence Contest: Our Students Speak Out!

This year, a new student eloquence society ‘ESC’Eloquence’, launched its first contest. Eloquence competitions are increasing in popularity throughout France and the association wanted to host its own. The final of this 1st edition was open to the public and took place last Thursday, 23rd February.

Learning to Speak in Public with ESC’Eloquence

ESC Eloquence’s main objective is to help students to improve their public speaking skills, gain confidence in themselves and in their ability to defend their opinions.

ESC’Eloquence organizes various activities throughout the year including:

Workshops to practice and perfect the “debate exercise”,
“Coffee Break” format to meet and exchange with professionals,
Eloquence contest

The Importance of Eloquence in a Professional Environment

Eloquence is none other than the art of expressing oneself with ease, being capable of moving and convincing listeners. It is also a skill that can make a difference in professional life: presentation, interview, meeting…

If, in the business world, listening is essential, knowing how to make yourself heard is primordial. Mastering the codes of speech allows you to express your ideas clearly, ensure that your audience listens attentively, and highlight your ideas and knowledge effectively.

Eloquence Contest: Four Finalists

Four finalists played with words and competed in verbal jousts in the school’s Auditorium before a panel of experts. Alone on stage, each contestant had to give a talk about one of the topics below, defend their opinion and use a maximum of oratory techniques to rally the audience to their cause:

“EVEN ON THE HIGHEST THRONE IN THE WORLD YOU’RE ONLY EVER SITTING ON YOUR ASS”

“DOES THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORLD REQUIRE THE TRANSFORMATION OF ONESELF?”

Each performance was assessed by the jury, both in terms of content (structure of the speech, arguments, vocabulary, etc.) and form (gestures, management of rhythm, management of silences, etc.).

On the Podium:

1st: Thomas Rocthelin, pre-master student

2nd: Emile Fauque, third year Bachelor student

3rd ex aequo: Paul Fidanza, third year Bachelor student

3rd ex aequo: Rabby Dombaxi, student in the second year of the master’s program.

A Special Thankyou to the Members of the Jury:

Emmie Allegretti, a student in the final year of her Law degree. She is president and founder of the public speaking association Eloquentia Clermont-Ferrand.
Henri Lion, CEO of 2 companies. He set up his first company at the age of 18 and gives numerous conferences to talk about his career and entrepreneurship in general.
Anthony Morère, creator of the “Académie des Commerciaux d’Elite et des Communicants d’Exception” (ACE²). Within this association, he is a speaker on the art of persuasion and negotiation,
Thibault Ferrand, Managing Director of “Seasons Car”, the B2B distributor of French-made removable fittings for mobile vehicles.

Did you Know:

At ESC Clermont BS, community life creates links and memories. Students who are involved in associations share strong moments and common experiences.

Associations are real levers for the emergence and development of our students’ skills. The actions needed to bring an association to life are very similar to missions to be accomplished in a company: management, budget management, event organization, decision making, commercial canvassing, communication, etc.

A Real Bonus to Enhance your CV and Boost your Independence!

Involvement in an association is also an excellent way of developing your soft skills and reinforcing theoretical notions learned in class.

Some examples of associations and missions:

The Integration Weekend (WEI) is the most important event in the life of an association: both in terms of participants and the missions to be carried out.
The Sports Office organizes dozens of footballs, rugby, volleyball, and handball matches and training sessions… This year, two teams came first in the French championships!
The ‘Pôle Huma’ Society organizes several events during the year: clothing and food collections, litter walks, or evenings to raise awareness among students on various subjects…