Previously I have never been someone who felt comfortable with public speaking and even less so with thinking of my feet during a presentation.

JCI Reading Debating allowed me to face both of these uncomfortable situations in a safe and fun environment, where I had no fear of anyone laughing or criticising me, enabling me to push myself out of my comfort zone and improve my skill set.

The evening started with an overview of the rules and format of JCI debating by JCI London member Diana Lowe who had travelled from London especially to train us and facilitate the evening. (Big thanks to Diana).

We then ran practice debates, JCI London members Marco and Euan acting as team captains to help guide the first two teams. Throughout evening everyone, both members and non-members, had the opportunity to debate and also to have a go at scoring and applying the strict scoring rules.

I now look forward to JCI Reading being able to practice debating by running our own debates and even enter regional and national competitions.

Finally it was really great to meet Peter Reitano, a member of JCI Australia (former JCI Australia National President) who was in the UK touring round chambers before heading out to the JCI World Congress in Brussels next week, making it a truly international event for JCI Reading.