SE to sponsor contest

    An upcoming speech contest on SE Campus will explore multiculturalism and offer students the opportunity to improve public speaking skills, the contest coordinator said.

   “Being able to communicate effectively is the backbone of our society. It is imperative that in today’s society we know how to effectively communicate across cultural lines,” Stephen Brown, speech and drama chairperson, said.

   The multicultural speech contest will be in the C.A. Roberson Theatre, Thursday, Nov. 14, at 3:30 p.m. Speeches should range from between 5 to 8 minutes.

   TCC students who are enrolled in a speech course this fall semester may enter. There are no entry fees for the contest or for viewing the speeches.

   “Multiculturalism has to do with cultural communication. It is communication across an individual’s gender, background or ethnicity,” he said.

   All people possess different cultural influences, which play a major role in their upbringing and consequently the methods that they choose to communicate by, Brown said.

   “You do not communicate the same with every person. Based on things like gender and ethnicity, you change the way you communicate with that person. There are certain questions that an effective communicator asks themselves when they speak,” he said.

   The multiculturalism speech contest is the second on SE Campus. Last year, 12 students participated.

   For more information, contact Brown at 817-515-3385.