Passport to success

VIPKid co-founder Chen Yuan (center) with Wu Chenhe (left) and Huang Xingyun, at the 1st China Daily 21st Century National Kids English Competition. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

Straight to academia

Back in 1999, senior student and business-English major Zhan Cheng represented Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in the fourth national competition.

Zhan saw public speaking as an integrated skill that demands long-term accumulation of knowledge as well as short-term preparation.

"Actually, each day you spend on campus is a preparation for expressing yourself on the stage," he says. "So when I stepped on the stage, I had already prepared for it for around three to four years."

Even so, he made several revisions on his prepared speech. And even the night before the competition, he practiced making an impromptu speech for that part of the contest.

Zhan's long-term commitment to public speaking won him third place in the national contest. Later he gained an offer to stay on campus to be a teacher and public speaking trainer after graduation.

This year, Zhan was back at the competition again－not a contestant but a judge. The professor and vice-dean of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies observes that professionally he has benefitted quite a lot from public speaking.

"Public speaking has enabled me to make a successful transition from a college student to a teacher," he says. "It also helped me to morph from a university professor to an interpreter specializing in different areas."

A big part of Zhan's current job is related to interpreting. He says that a good interpreter also requires mastering public-speaking skills, so that he or she can convey messages more effectively in a cross-cultural context.

Zhan encourages his students to engage in public speaking. "Even if you don't participate in the speaking competitions, it's still important to learn to be a better speaker and communicator," he adds. "If so, no matter which career path you take, you are more likely to be successful."