Getting Your Voice Loud & Clear at The Company Cebu Mandaue

Public speaking has been an effective medium to deliver convicting and moving messages. It is through this form of communication that a person uniquely embodies his or her message, their very voice becoming an instrument for human expression. As a community that highly values connections and relationships, we get how top-notch communication skills and finding the right words to say are crucial in maintaining our bonds with people. This is why we were enthusiastic to learn more about this art in our workshop last May 24, 2024 entitled, “Loud & Clear! A Workshop on Public Speaking”. 

In the cozy event space of The Company Cebu – Mandaue, workshop participants gathered to listen to Raymond ‘Jiggy Jr’ Cerna, a seasoned media practitioner. He was the former morning radio personality of Y101FM and is well-versed in the arts of podcasting, marketing, hosting, and doing voice-overs. He shared his rich experiences and learnings on public speaking throughout the years.

Captivated, the participants were all ears. They were able to reflect on how communication is not just about speaking to be heard, but about listening. In one of the key notes, Jiggy emphasized how important it is to know your audience before facing them. And as you speak to your audience, you should speak to them as individuals first and foremost, not as a crowd. This can be done by using words that highlight individuality such as “you” and “your”. This personalizes the message and makes people feel that the speaker is speaking to them personally, not collectively. 

Also, regularly speaking in public helps take off the edge in the long run. The fear of talking in front of a crowd may never completely go away – like the pre-talk jitters and general nervousness – but exposing yourself to the art of public communication will most certainly give you more confidence and experience! This will help you learn what new techniques you can try to incorporate in your next speech and also what things to avoid next time. And you know what they say about experience; it’s the best teacher.

Talk to Jiggy

Since this was a workshop, it was vital to incorporate dynamic activities that allowed the participants to practice their public speaking. For the first activity, all participants went up in front and acted as talk show hosts in “Talk to Jiggy”! It was entertaining to see how each participant took on a lively persona to conduct an exciting interview with Jiggy. 

Speech Writing & Public Speaking

Afterwards, the participants were grouped in pairs and in a trio to create a speech together in a few minutes. Each group had to select one representative to read the speech aloud in front of everyone. This allowed them to experience the complete process of public speaking from preparation to presentation. The outcome of this activity was for the participants to get to know each other better and to highlight the power of group collaboration and team effort.

The workshop ended with the participants being filled with new learnings. It was refreshing to exercise their speaking skills and sense of spontaneity with a crowd that was nothing short of supportive. We are grateful to Jiggy for being our Guest Speaker for the workshop, for the enthusiastic participants who attended, and for The Company Cebu Staff who organized the event. 

In The Company Cebu, we have the mindset of continual growth and improvement which we strive to incorporate in our culture and all our events. So, if you’re interested in joining our future workshops, consider this your invitation! We hope to see you in our workshops to come. 

Visit our Luma Calendar to stay updated on all The Company Cebu events.