On Judging Others

In a local speech contest with a singular judge, someone, who was not told about the modality, was asked to give an inspiring speech for some minutes. He ended up speaking for 10 minutes and in English. Unknown to him, he was judged based on his ability to speak Hausa and time management of 4 minutes. What kind of comments would most likely describe his performance? Horrible and those of close adjectival correlations.

Some questions would soon pop up: are those criteria the right ones for public speakers? Is the knowledge base of the supposed judge credible enough to make him preside over the contest? What if the person is re-judged based on how motivating his words were, his brilliance, boldness, and professionalism? Would the remarks change? I should think so.

Here are some pertinent lessons: Make your expectations known to others. Ask for feedbacks: they help us improve. Question your assessment base: what tools and knowledge are you using to judge people-- imagine judging a Ronaldo on only speed like Ussein Bolt. Believe in yourself and God-given abilities: rejection in one place is not rejection in all places. Work on your intelligence: cultural, emotional, and social; they help you understand terrains and people.

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