Jirah C.

Lacbay

President Duterte is known to ignore prepared speeches and go

extemporaneous. Some might say that words are just words and that concrete deeds
on the ground are more important. Sure, but we also need to hear about them first.
As a president of our country, he should treat his public speaking engagements with
more seriousness and care, especially on those occasions when he is addressing
international audiences. What he says has a weight and gravity that is far above
ordinary discourse.
Duterte’s tone towards China is in stark contrast to the language he has used
against the United States and these statements were creating unnecessary
uncertainty towards our relationship with the US. His speech was unclear with the
purpose of the conference. He praised China by belittling or insulting the USA. As I
listen to his speech, I, myself, got confused of what he is trying to relay to his
audience. The speech was lengthy and he kept on beating around the bush. The
facts that he provided were not related to the topic. He also has no basis on some of
the information he conveyed about America (i.e. the huge debt of America to China).
It was also noticeable that the tone of his speech was too arrogant. He talked as if he
is sure about everything. On the other hand, you can see that he was natural with
the delivery of his speech. By cracking jokes and sarcastic statements, he captured
the ears of his listeners. But still, he cannot avoid to speak Filipino and use improper
language which might cause confusion. The highlight of his speech was the ending
part. It was a remarkable way to finish his speech for it will determine the future of
our country.
Delivering a speech is talking to an audience. Content is important, but so is
the sound of the words, the length of the sentences, and the tone of voice. President
Duterte should be clear on what he intended to say that no other meaning can be
misunderstood by the audiences, especially critics. There are four big reasons for a
speech, says author George Plimpton: to inspire, to persuade, to entertain, to
instruct, also, to inform. A good speaker
I believe the President can do more to advance our country’s foreign relations,
as he obviously intends, if his speeches and statements are carefully crafted and
checked, before they are publicly said.

P.S. Please check the grammar and dagdagan mo if kulang pa. Mas bongga
pa nga yun mga words na ginamit mo kesa sakin eh. Hahahaha