Feature September 15, 2008

Intervarsity Debating Tournament. While at the University of Ottawa, Agarwal was president of
the English Debating Society and the Canadian University Society for Intercollegiate Debate.

Agarwal was not always eloquent with his speech. He struggled through high school
because of his quiet demeanour. It wasn’t until Grade 10 that his father suggested he join the
debate team.

“I was a very shy student and my father encouraged me to try debating, as he thought it
would bring out my personality,” Agarwal said. “As it turns out, I really enjoyed both public
speaking and talking about national and international issues.”

Debating helps people learn to express themselves fully and politely. It is not as free-
wheeling as speeches can be because there are rules that have to be followed.

Agarwal has it down to a science.

“T always try to focus on the rule of three. I always have three arguments and my
arguments are broken down into three parts: headline, explanation, and example,” he said. “This
helps my presentation stay focused and I keep within the times. I’m generally a fast talker so I
can only do so much, but I always try to take deep breaths and pause between my sentences.”
Accessibility is key
Speech anxiety is common and is not something to be ashamed of. The majority of students
passing through university must give a speech or presentation at some point during their degree
and it’s better to go at it with a new sense of confidence.

The power to freely and clearly express oneself can be found in every person and our fears
of sounding foolish, insincere, or unintelligent can be relieved.

“It’s not a question of taking a shovel and extracting the fear of [a shy person] and after
that they’ll be fine,” professor Mroz said. “But if you have somebody who is gentle and soft-
spoken, you have to find the best way for them to communicate credibly. You don’t want to turn
everybody into an aggressive person who is going to be extremely extroverted and communicate
in an extremely assertive way.”

“It’s more a matter of finding the appropriate expression for each individual person,” he
added.

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

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