We’ve gathered examples and writing tips for those preparing to give a 3-minute speech. We’ll help you prepare effectively, from organization to delivery. Check them out for a successful speech!
All-hands meeting presenter 3-minute speech
Good morning, everyone.
First, I’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all of you.
Because of you, I’ve been able to keep going.
The words ‘you are not alone’ have always been a great comfort and encouragement to me.
When I first decided to start studying again,
my daughter discouraged me, saying it was embarrassing.
One day she was researching her parents’ educational backgrounds,
when she told me that I was ashamed that I had only completed elementary school, the feeling of self-doubt returned.
But I started studying,
I started studying for my GED in between my business,
a secret joy filled my heart.
The day I wrote and read the entire alphabet for the first time,
I silently choked back tears.
All that excitement and tears,
This year, I passed my high school GED.
Through this long journey of learning, I realized.
Learning never ends,
and that it creates an intense desire that even late age and shame can’t stop.
In the book Bumshin Park wrote for his daughter, A Metaphor about a Young Deer
there’s a sentence like this.
“Some flowers bloom in April, while others bloom in May.
Love can start anytime. Life is long.”
In this sentence, the word “love” is replaced with “study” for me.
The learning we’ve been passionate about is like a late bloomer.
It’s a harder, more arduous journey because it’s late in the season,
it bloomed more beautifully and maturely than any other flower.
If you’re like me, and you’re hesitant or ashamed or
I want to tell you this.
There’s never a right time to learn.
No matter when you start, it’s the best time to start.
Now that I’ve passed my GED, I’ve set my sights on college.
I want to specialize in social work, a field I’ve been interested in for a long time,
and share that knowledge with others.
Thanks to all of you who have the same aspirations,
today I can dream bigger.
I would like to thank you once again,
I would like to end my story.
I sincerely hope that the flowers of learning will blossom here.
Season’s Greetings from the Leadership Specialty Instructor
Hello, everyone.
I’d like to extend a warm welcome to all of you who have joined us for the Leadership Summit.
November is coming to an end, and 20__ is only one month away.
As we approach the end of the year, work gets busier and busier, which can lead to heightened sensitivities and conflict among team members.
In fact, even if it wasn’t this time of year, creating a work environment where employees can reconcile conflicts and bring out the best in each other would be a major challenge for any leader.
Today, we’re going to talk about the role of leaders in creating that harmony.
To get us started, here’s an anecdote.
The president of a company went to a wise man for advice.
“In any organization, there are some people who don’t play well with others – how do I motivate them to work with the team?”
The wise man answered the boss’s question with the story of a pot.
“A pot is made of very thin iron to harmoniously connect the opposing elements of water and fire. The pot doesn’t try to force the inherent qualities of water and fire to change, but it helps them to work together to produce great results. Water remains water and fire remains fire, but they help each other to accomplish a perfect task.”
This story symbolizes the role of a great leader.
Director Sam Mendes, who won an Academy Award for Best Director for his film American Beauty, also had this to say about the secret to getting the best performance out of an actor.
“Every actor has a different personality. I just touch their shoulders and let them know that I understand them and respect the way they act.”
Sam Mendes’ efforts brought out the best in his actors, and the results shine through in the masterpiece that is American Beauty.
You play a similar role as a leader in the field.
You’re a coordinator and facilitator who understands employees with different personalities and backgrounds and helps them reach their potential.
Of course, it’s not always easy to understand people, care about them, and manage conflict.
But if you’re willing and able to make the effort to truly understand your people, you’ll be able to create harmony in your organization like a pot of gold.
My sincere wish for all of you here today is that you become capable leaders who maximize the capabilities of your people in your respective positions.
Thank you.
Recreation Instructor 3-minute speech
My topic today is “How to open the door to your heart.
There’s an old saying that goes, “You know the water, but you don’t know the man.”
It’s really hard to read people’s minds, especially when it comes to recognizing the love they have for you.
“Does that person like me? No, he’s just being nice to me because he’s a nice person, no way…”
I’m sure you’ve thought this at one time or another.
But if you’ve ever been in a relationship, you know what I’m talking about.
You know that you have to be the one to open the door.
Have you ever been the one to open up?
If you open the door to your heart, then the other person can open the door to your heart and see what you’re really thinking.
We all want to win someone’s heart.
Politicians want to win the hearts of voters, entrepreneurs want to win the hearts of consumers, and actors want to win the hearts of audiences.
It doesn’t matter how brilliant you are, if you can’t win the hearts of others, it’s hard to get by in the world.
When we say we’re social animals, we don’t just mean we live together, we live by giving and receiving hearts.
An anecdote comes to mind.
Two businessmen who didn’t get along met in a French restaurant.
They ordered a lobster dish, but before the meal came, they were served water with lemon.
One of the businessmen drank the water cold, even though it was meant for washing his hands.
The other businessman was embarrassed, but didn’t say anything, and drank the water himself.
After the meal was over and they parted ways, the secretary of the businessman who drank the hand-washing water spoke up in the car.
“Mr. Chairman, that water was hand-washing water.”
The surprised chairman asked.
“Then why did the chairman drink that water too?”
The secretary replied.
“He probably didn’t want the chairman to feel uncomfortable.”
After that, the two businessmen built trust and the contract went smoothly.
Because the door to the heart had already been opened.
Any door can be forced open.
But the door to your heart can never be forced.
That’s because the handle is on the inside.
It’s impossible to get into someone’s mind until they open the door from the inside.
If I open the door to my heart first, people’s hearts will also open and I can create a good relationship with them.
Opening the door to our hearts will increase communication and empathy at work and in society, and break down walls of misunderstanding and mistrust.
The philosopher Hegel once said.
“The handle that opens the door of the heart lies only on the inside of the mind.”
People, it’s your choice to close or open your heart.
No one else can force you to open or close it.
If you have closed your heart to someone because of past hurt, resentment, or hatred,
the only person who can open it is you.
And that concludes my presentation on How to open your heart.
Thank you.
Recreation Instructor 3-minute speech
Dear employees!
Today I’m going to talk about conversational techniques that will help you get intimate with your customers. Intimacy is an important key to creating a relationship with your customers that goes beyond just a conversation. It allows you to deepen your relationship with your customers and drive long-term results based on trust.
What do you think are some of the ways you can create intimacy with your customers? To create a warm and friendly atmosphere with your customers, especially in the early stages of a sale, you need to take the time to get to know them. To make your customers trust you and feel comfortable with you, you need to go beyond just delivering the words and make an effort to understand and empathize with their feelings.
Two ways to engage your customers!
The most important ingredients for captivating customers are constant attention and genuine intimacy. Today I’m going to give you two practical ways to create that attention and intimacy.
First: Make your customers feel comfortable and important
In order to make our customers feel like they matter, we must first make sure that we ourselves truly matter to them. This can be done by noticing small details in their conversations, or their tastes and tendencies, and offering sincere compliments. For example, complimenting a customer on their choice or expressing their success in a positive way goes a long way.
It’s also important to smile naturally or make friendly gestures to break the ice. It may feel awkward at first, but it takes conscious practice and repetition to make these expressions natural and make them a habit. Consistent effort is the foundation of building trust and liking.
Second: Look your customers in the eye and listen to their thoughts
Maintaining eye contact and listening during conversations with customers instills a deep sense of trust in the other person. I personally make it a habit to look the other person in the eye and focus on the conversation. This sends the message to the other person that I am fully focused on them.
This focus goes beyond just listening to what they’re saying and helps me understand their feelings and what’s going through their mind. You need to practice reading not only what they are saying, but also what they are feeling. This takes the conversation deeper and makes it more authentic, beyond the typical business conversation. Customers will notice the difference and trust us more.
Change through action!
So far, we’ve talked about two ways to get closer to your customers, but the most important thing is action. When you put what you know into action, that’s when real change begins. Earning your customers’ trust isn’t just a theory, it’s the result of repeated practice and experience.
In closing, I’d like to ask you this question: “What is one small change I will make starting today?” Just as small actions add up to big results, today’s change will create incredible trust between you and your customers.
I want you all to become experts at creating trust and intimacy in your conversations with your customers. Let’s take action together and create better relationships.
That concludes my presentation, thank you.
Recreation Instructor 3-minute speech
Dear colleagues,
Today I’d like to talk to you about conversation techniques that will help you create intimacy with your customers.
So, everyone, how do you build a rapport with your customers?
It’s important to spend enough time creating a warm and friendly atmosphere, especially in the early stages of a sale. The biggest secret to winning the hearts and minds of your customers is constant attention and genuine intimacy.
Today, I’d like to share with you two effective ways to create intimacy.
First, put your customers at ease and make them feel important.
In order to make your customers feel important, you must first make yourself feel important.
To do this, try offering sincere compliments based on what you know about them or things they value.
You can also utilize positive gestures, such as smiling or laughing softly, to help customers feel at ease.
The more natural these attitudes are, the more effective they are, so you should consciously practice them and try to make them come naturally.
Second, look the customer in the eye and listen to their thoughts.
During a conversation, try looking into one of your customer’s eyes and focusing on it. This will not only make a strong impression on the customer, but it will also help you understand their thoughts and feelings more deeply.
As you listen to them, try to read their emotions as well as their words.
By empathizing with your customer’s emotions, you’ll be able to have a deeper conversation. When customers feel understood, they’ll drop their defenses and trust you.
Wrapping up
These are two ways to build rapport with your customers.
Most importantly, practice what you preach. I hope you’ll be the kind of employee who earns your customers’ trust by not only understanding with your head, but also acting with your body.
Thank you for listening.
Flora and Fauna Seminar Instructor 3-minute speech
Hello, everyone,
I’m Mr. ○○○, a lecturer in the flora and fauna seminar.
Autumn has arrived, and the leaves are turning red and yellow.
The sky is high and blue, and the wind is cool and clear.
It’s a beautiful time of year, so why not head out to the mountains in the suburbs to enjoy the fall foliage?
What’s the first tree that comes to mind when you think of fall?
Personally, my favorite is the maple tree.
I’m sure many people think of ginkgo, but I’d have to put my hand up for maple because the red color of its leaves reminds me of fall.
Today, I’m going to talk about the maple tree because it fits the season and the theme of the seminar.
The maple tree is a symbol of Canada, and Quebec in particular is world famous for its maple forests and maple syrup.
The syrup obtained from maple trees is much sweeter than sugar cane and is a great topping for desserts like pancakes.
In Quebec’s sugar maple forests, the thin sap is harvested every spring. Farmers use a special knife to cut a small hole in the bark of the tree and place a “faucet” inside to draw out the sap.
A bucket hung below the tap collects the sap, which is then boiled to remove impurities, leaving a sweet syrup.
This process is done by hand, mostly on family farms, and maple syrup is one of the most important industries in Quebec.
Today, we’ve focused on maple syrup rather than the characteristics of the maple tree itself.
General information about maple trees can be easily found by doing a quick internet search, so we’ve tried to keep this seminar interesting for our participants.
Now that we’ve talked about maple trees and maple syrup, we hope you’ll enjoy the video we’ve created to showcase the beautiful maple forests of Canada.
If you get a chance, why not try your hand at maple syrup harvesting in Canada?
Thank you.
Flora and Fauna Lecturer 3-minute speech
Good afternoon, everyone.
I’d like to welcome you to the Flora and Fauna talk.
I’m sure you’ve come here with a great interest and fascination for nature and flora and fauna. When I was your age, I used to collect data on all kinds of rare animals and plants, and I used to get a thrill every time I discovered something new. I’m thrilled to be here today to share some of those fascinating stories with you.
Are you a fan of dolphins?
Today we’re going to talk about the unique characteristics of dolphins.
What do you think of when you think of dolphins?
You probably think of positive things: a mammal of the sea, cute looks, and a gentle nature. But did you know that dolphins are also very driven animals? Dolphins don’t get a good night’s sleep, but that doesn’t mean they don’t sleep.
Dolphins need to be awake and conscious at all times to breathe. But sleep is essential for animals, and dolphins solve this problem in a very ingenious way.
Their brains are divided into two hemispheres, just like ours, but dolphins use each hemisphere independently. For example, for eight hours, both hemispheres are awake, then only the left hemisphere sleeps, then the right hemisphere sleeps for eight hours each. This allows the dolphin to get a full night’s sleep while still being able to breathe.
While one hemisphere of the brain is resting, the dolphin moves its body, but with minimal activity. This makes dolphins unique creatures that can survive a lifetime without sleep.
When I first learned this, I felt a little sorry for dolphins. We enjoy the feeling of waking up refreshed after a good night’s sleep, but dolphins don’t get to experience that.
There are so many fascinating creatures in the world that we didn’t know about. Even well-known animals like dolphins have secrets we don’t know about, and we’d love to continue our journey with you to explore and understand more of our planet’s rare animals.
We hope you enjoy this video and discover more about the fascinating world of flora and fauna.
Thank you.
3-minute seminar speaker for an animal protection organization
In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, a pig named Major gathers the animals and proclaims.
“Comrades, our lives are miserable, painful, and short. We are born, we work to survive, and when we are no longer useful, we are killed. Comrades, let’s drive out the humans. Let us revolt!”
This passage is a political satire in which the author uses Karl Marx as a major character to illustrate the exploitation of the working class.
The history of animal cruelty dates back to ancient Greek scholars who dissected mammals alive.
The 13th-century theologian Thomas Aquinas wrote that “man is under no obligation to show mercy to animals because they are not men,” and the 17th-century philosopher René Descartes argued for the dualism of mind and body, saying that “both man and animal are but machines, but only man has reason and feels pain.” He dismissed animal screams as nothing more than the creaking of a machine.
Since then, animal cruelty has taken on countless forms, including chaining bears to be mauled by dogs, fighting dogs, bullfighting, bullfighting, rodeos, and more.
Animal protection laws were first proposed in the UK in 1800 to stop these abuses, but they were met with strong opposition on the grounds that they would deprive the working class of their traditional pastime. It wasn’t until 1822 that the Cattle Handling Act was passed, and a decade later dogs and cats were also protected.
The reason animals should be protected is simple: they can feel pleasure and pain, and they have significant thinking and emotional capacities, including self-awareness.
In his book Animal Liberation, American philosopher Peter Singer argues for the elimination of species discrimination and, along with Italy’s Paola Cavalieri, is pushing the United Nations to adopt a Declaration of the Rights of the Great Apes. Jane Goodall and Richard Dawkins are also on board.
Take the case of the pig recently buried alive: pigs are known to be emotional animals that dream, distinguish colors, and “sing” in response to the soft moonlight, just like humans.
Dr. Donald Broome of the University of Cambridge, UK, tested whether pigs are self-aware: He held a mirror in front of eight pigs and found that they initially recognized the pig in the mirror as another pig, but soon realized it was themselves.
Then, when food was placed in the mirror but not smelled, seven of the eight pigs moved towards the food within 25 seconds, which is evidence that pigs are capable of self-awareness.
I vowed never to eat bossintang after seeing a dog being slaughtered in a horrific way on TV as a child.
Bossintang lovers argue that this should be seen as a matter of tradition and culture. But if we look back at modern history, universal values have changed, with the breakdown of racism, misogyny, and today, homophobia.
We are now on the threshold of speciesism. The zeitgeist is changing.
Thank you for listening.
3-minute speech at a lecture hosted by an animal protection organization
Good evening, everyone.
I’m sure you’re all in this room because you have big hearts.
This year, we’ve seen a number of shocking incidents of violence and abuse against vulnerable beings, particularly animals.
Just the other day, a cat was brutally abused to death in an apartment building. The crime itself was horrific, but the perpetrator’s excuse was even more shocking: He was drunk and needed someone to take out his anger on, and he saw a cat.
I couldn’t help but be outraged by this incident. This is not just a case of animal cruelty, but a symptom of our society’s disregard for life.
To address this, we need to change our mindset.
As you may know, the Earth is about 4.6 billion years old, but humans are only 3 million years old. In that short time, we have used our superior intelligence to take over the planet and rise to the top of the ecosystem, but we forget. How many lives we’ve taken and how much nature we’ve destroyed in the name of development and progress.
Throughout history, human recklessness has been repeated countless times.
For example, during the invasion of the Americas, the Americans massacred the buffalo, a staple food of the Indians, in order to claim the continent, and to do so, they razed the grasslands on which their lives depended. As a result, the buffalo, which once roamed the continent, were driven to the brink of extinction.
We often pride ourselves on being rational and intelligent beings.
But if you stop to think about it, even non-rational animals don’t kill senselessly: they instinctively hunt only what they need, eat sparingly, never take a life for fun, and never instrumentalize a noble life for leather or ivory.
Human arrogance must end.
The earth no longer exists solely for humans, and our ruthless development and destruction is causing increasingly severe weather and natural disasters.
Buddhism emphasizes the precept, “Do not kill a living being.” It’s a teaching that comes from a heart that respects life and recognizes the connections we don’t know. That spirit of care and togetherness is exactly what we need right now.
Fortunately, in the wake of this incident, more and more people are working to change the law. It is very important to have strong legal sanctions in place, but we need to move away from anthropocentric thinking, and only then can we truly find a way to coexist.
Despite dazzling technological and economic advances, human life has often been a forbidding prospect from the perspective of the planet.
But you in this room are different. As intelligent human beings, I trust you will live your lives with love and respect for life.
Thank you for listening.
3-minute speech by a novelist at a reader talk
Good afternoon, everyone.
I’d like to thank you all for joining us today.
It’s a bit awkward and embarrassing to be on stage as someone who usually only holds a pen.
I hope you’ll bear with me if I fall short.
Today, I’d like to share a bit about my novel and my story as a novelist.
My novels have been dismissed by some critics as “novelty literature”.
They say that my novels are not about grand narratives or grand storylines, but about small, everyday stories.
I’ve also been criticized for “lacking scale”.
Do you think so too?
Do you think only big themes like the turbulence of history, the majesty of fate, the greatness of nature, or the food chain of real-world politics are worthy of literature?
I would say absolutely not.
If you ask me a hundred times, I’ll answer a hundred times: “They’re wrong”.
Fiction, by its very nature, is made up of small, insignificant stories.
Isn’t that the essence of a novel?
If you think about the meaning of the word novel, you realize that its roots are in small stories.
This doesn’t mean that the ordinary people I portray in my novels are ‘insignificant’.
Rather, I wanted to tell the stories of ordinary people, people who were neither exceptional nor special.
Because I believe their stories are truly human stories.
Because it’s the stories of ordinary people that allow us to connect with our readers on a deeper level.
Because in their lives, we can see ourselves, and face truths that speak to all of our lives.
There’s something I’d like to share with you today.
It’s great to read the big names and the literary prize winners.
But sometimes I encourage you to listen to the everyday life around you.
For example, the small talk of the lady next door, the sounds of small arguments in the neighborhood, the events big and small that happen in the alleyway.
After all, isn’t this the real story of our lives?
The simple truths of life are hidden in the mundane things we pass by without a second thought.
They’re like precious jewels that everyone knows, but not everyone finds.
They are the source of inspiration that helps us understand life and makes us feel deeper.
Let’s think of the fairy tale “The Blue Bird” here.
The blue bird that the main characters searched for all over the country ended up in the cage of their home.
This story reminds us of something we often overlook.
Happiness, joy, and life inspiration are not far away, they’re right around the corner.
What I’m asking you to do is this.
Listen just a little bit more in the ordinary times that are passing by right now.
And make your life an extraordinary stage.
You’ll find new meaning and shining moments hiding in there.
I hope my story today can inspire you a little bit.
Thank you very much for listening.
3-minute reading club speaker
Good morning, everyone.
Our book club is so active online and offline because of all of you.
I used to think I was a well-read and well-written person, but meeting you has opened my eyes to a new world.
I remember being stunned for a while, realizing how ignorant and complacent I was in the face of your erudition and breadth of knowledge.
I’ve heard that the best way to learn to read is to pick books that are slightly above your level, as you have advised.
This resonated with me because it’s not overly difficult to read, but it also gives you a great sense of accomplishment when you’re done.
Looking back, I think people around me didn’t know what to make of my prolific reading.
But I learned from my encounters with you that reading a lot doesn’t necessarily mean you know a lot or think deeply.
Putting your good advice into practice has helped me think deeper than I ever have before, and that has allowed me to grow.
So, I’d like to share a piece of advice with you today.
When you read a book, don’t feel compelled to find answers to the questions it asks.
The questions in a book don’t necessarily have answers.
You should ask questions within the book, and you should ask questions outside the book.
If you don’t ask questions, the reader will never rise above the author’s level.
On another note, I once heard a parent say, “I’m worried about my child who likes people more than books.”
For people-pleasers, reading alone can be difficult.
In this case, it’s a good idea to gather a group of like-minded people around you.
If you don’t want to start a book club from scratch, another option is to go on a book-related road trip or watch a movie about a work of literature.
You’ll have more fun sharing thoughts and stories along the way.
It’s a real pleasure to share our common interests and talk with you.
I sincerely hope that our circle will be enriched by more sharing and communication.
Thank you for listening.
Reading Club presenter 3-minute speech
Hello, everyone.
The year is coming to a close. I wonder if you’ve been able to accomplish the goals you set at the beginning of the month.
I’m happy and proud to be standing in front of you today, having accomplished my goals.
In fact, my goal was to not have to be diligent and not have to put in a lot of effort. I didn’t set a huge goal because I’m not a very persistent person, but I can’t say it was a small goal because it made a big difference in me.
The goal I set was to “share the books I read with others”.
It brings me great joy to recommend books to people I know.
It makes me wonder why I didn’t do this sooner.
I’m an omnivore when it comes to reading, and part of the fun is figuring out which books to recommend to whom. As a result of my recommendations, I’ve been told that one of my seniors has a bookshelf full of books I’ve recommended, which makes me feel very proud and rewarded.
In fact, I had a habit of writing my name at the front of the book when I finished it, a habit that has lasted since childhood and was made even more enjoyable when my brother, who majored in sculpture, gave me a stone stamp with my name on it. After finishing a book, there was great happiness in the simple act of stamping the front cover.
Recently, however, I stopped doing this.
I wanted to give books as gifts a little more freely.
For the upcoming New Year, I plan to gift a book with a postcard tucked inside.
It’s a small gesture, but I feel like this give and take will make my life more generous.
Thank you for listening.
Book club presenter 3-minute speech
Good afternoon, everyone.
Today I’m going to talk about used books.
These days, used bookstores, or used bookstores, are almost extinct and can only be found in college towns.
These days, used bookstores are literally just dust, and they seem to be doing business with the internet.
There’s a unique vibe you get when you first walk into a used bookstore: the antique feel of the worn wooden shelves, the faded colors of the paper, the rustling of the pages as you flip through the pages – it’s more than just a place to sell books. It’s more than books, it’s the marks of people and the switches of time.
It’s a place where every time you open a book, you discover the history of its readers. Fold marks on the corners of the pages, old movie tickets used as worn bookmarks, and even pencil notes from someone’s past hint at the age of the book.
Like thrift stores of all kinds, used bookstores are places of the past, with their low prices, musty book smells, out-of-print rarities, and cramped aisles with tightly packed shelves.
It’s a great way to pass the time, and you can feel that rush of excitement when you stumble upon a book you’ve been wanting.
Books in a used bookstore have a past, a present, and a future.
Sometimes, when I find an old book I love at a used bookstore, I try to imagine what it might have meant to its previous owner: Did it accompany a student to graduation? Or was it a treasured book that was gifted to someone?
It seems that the little marks on books tell us stories beyond the words.
Of course, today’s online bookstores tempt us with their convenience and affordability. Online bookstores’ deep discounts, one-click checkout and delivery, and the rise of dinosaur-like big-box stores have made used bookstores seem like a dinosaur, both on and offline.
But used bookstores aren’t to blame.
After all, there’s always a chance that a room full of bargain-basement books will turn into a collection of collectibles.
We’ve all been there.
Perhaps our addictive nostalgia for used bookstores has less to do with their liberal arts value and more to do with the fact that they’re a cheap hobby, a bibliophile’s hobby, and a hobby that’s been seeded with intellectual vanity.
That’s actually my hobby, too.
But buying it, putting it away, thinking that I’ll read it someday, and just looking at it. Isn’t that the beauty of collecting books?
Used bookstores are amusement parks where nostalgia and memories are bought and sold.
Especially in today’s fast-paced, digitalized world, used bookstores seem to remind us of the aesthetics of slowness and the warmth of analog, where books are not just a commodity to be consumed, but a part of our lives.
I encourage you to stop by a used bookstore and bask in the nostalgia of the past.
Thank you for listening.
3-minute talk manuscript
It occurred to me today. It felt like a month was flying by like a day.
As we approach the last month of the year, I find myself reflecting on how I’ve lived through the twelve seasons. I’ve also been reminded of the warmth of books as I’ve been bombarded with new releases every day.
I read an article in a magazine that analyzed the titles of new books published this year and found that the most common words used were “I” and “mine,” which is a stark reminder of our increasingly personalized and fragmented society. Interestingly, titles containing the word “we” also ranked highly, perhaps as a way to overcome this personalization.
In terms of emotions, “love” was the most popular word, followed closely by “happiness”.
A few days ago, I heard that pre-sales of the iPad in Korea hit 50,000 units, and I thought about how this cold, sleek machine has captured people’s hearts – perhaps it’s the ability to entertain them with a variety of content, and the convenience of storing and retrieving information so easily.
For some reason, we’ve become more and more accustomed to our electronic devices, even experiencing anxious and nervous withdrawal when our phones are away from our bodies for even a moment. They say there’s nothing softer than human flesh, but the truth is that we feel more intimacy with machines than we do with people.
E-books are also a big deal in the publishing world. The era of downloading books to your iPhone or iPad and reading them has arrived. Or maybe I should say, the era of “viewing” rather than “reading” has arrived.
In fact, I still prefer paper books to e-books. There’s just something about the sensation of the rustle of a paper book at your fingertips.
Tolstoy once said, “Find a good teacher, or a good book, and your life will be changed.” If our lives can be enriched by a good book, whether it’s an e-book or a paper book, then I think the digital age is compelling enough.
However, there is also a downside. While the development of electronic media has made our lives faster and more convenient, it has also meant that we have fewer and fewer opportunities for deep reflection and thought, especially for young people. Reading in adolescence is a great help in forming proper values and expressing one’s thoughts in a logical way. However, when I hear the silver words, slang, and abbreviations used among teenagers these days, I worry that the Korean language is being lost.
It is said that the national language is the spirit of a country, and if our words and writing are deteriorating, I wonder if our spirit is also deteriorating.
As the titles of books published this year show, even in a digital world, people still want to be loved and want to be happy. As a singer once sang, “People are more beautiful than flowers,” and I believe that nothing makes us happier than the warmth of love between people.
Thank you for listening.
Reading Fellowship presenter 3-minute speech
Good morning, everyone.
I’m so excited to announce that our book club has expanded beyond online and is meeting in person this year. I’m so grateful to see so many of you here.
There’s something that makes me sad these days. It’s not the changing times, it’s not the unchanging world, it’s a very small thing that really saddens me: today, another bookstore closed its doors.
The small bookstores that used to line every alley not so long ago are now mostly gone, and the ones that remain are mostly branches of large Seoul-based bookstores. Not to mention second-hand bookstores. Sometimes, when I pass by a second-hand bookstore, I feel anxious because I don’t know when it will close.
I sometimes think that at this rate, Korea will be the only country in the world without used bookstores. In the West and Japan, there are dozens or hundreds of used bookstores in every city, regardless of its size. In Korea, on the other hand, this precious cultural space is gradually disappearing.
Used bookstores aren’t just a place to buy and sell old books; they’re also home to the history and traces of the books and the people who held them. When you see a short note in the corner of a used book, or the marks on a page where someone folded it, you can imagine the time that book has passed. But these experiences may soon be just a memory of the past.
Worse yet, the children of today will never know a used bookstore, and in a world of TV, smartphones, and the internet, they won’t even understand why I’m sad.
Reading used to be seen as essential for personal growth and the future of a nation. It was believed that reading books would give you wisdom and help you become a reflective and critical thinker. But now, few people say that. Even the discussion of the problems caused by not reading seems to have disappeared.
Of course, we can’t just blame kids for this, because adults are just as much to blame. We live in a world where books are becoming less and less of an opportunity for reflection and critical thinking, and instead, everything is overwhelmed by electronic screens.
TV and the internet in particular seem to numb people’s thinking, as well as their conscience and guilt. We’re inundated with violence and sensationalized content, and we live under the illusion that buying more stuff will make us happy. Everyone is trying to find happiness in more stimulating screens, but there is no real happiness there.
In the 21st century digital revolution, the value of books is gradually being forgotten. But I want to make a small resistance to this trend with all of you gathered here. I believe that the very existence of our club can be a small step towards reviving the value of reading.
The act of reading is more than just getting information, it’s one of the deepest and most meaningful ways we can reflect on ourselves and connect with the world. That’s why I’m here today to talk about books and reading.
The value of books is timeless, and if you and I can keep it alive and spread it, maybe we can revitalize some of our dying bookstores and reading cultures.
Thank you for listening.
Book club presenter 3-minute speech
I love to underline books.
For someone who loves to collect books, I’m a bit rough with them. I’ll scribble down every thought that comes to mind, leaving blank spaces that turn black, and I’ll often fold the corners of books when I don’t have a pen to underline.
If my excitement hasn’t subsided after a pencil scribble, I’ll go over it again with a highlighter, just like in the tutorial, and if that’s not enough, I’ll draw a big exclamation point next to it to make it seem more intuitive, so my behavior may seem a bit puzzling.
My friends, who always wrap their books carefully for fear of damaging them, are horrified by this behavior.
They often react as if I’m desecrating the book.
But for me, there’s a reason I can’t help but underline a book I treasure.
It’s because I want to capture that moment when my brain goes “Aha!” and I want to preserve it.
That’s the only way I feel like I’ve really met the book.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that when I open a book for the first time in a long time, I’ll be able to recapture all the emotions I had at the time.
Sometimes, I’ll reread a book in its entirety to refresh my memory, and I’ll find that I’m moved by something unexpectedly new. Even the same book can have different “aha!” moments, and that’s part of the beauty of reading.
And that’s when I underline something new.
That’s why books are bound to get messy.
When I heard the news of Wanseo Park’s passing the other day, one of the first things I did was pull all of his books off my bookshelf.
The first thing that caught my eye were the underlined sentences.
‘The urgency to find it quickly was strangely accompanied by a sense of despair that I would never find it’
‘Once I got myself in a good position to cry, the desire to cry and the tears dried up.
These sentences resonated with me even when taken out of context.
It’s clear that they touched my heart even when I read them.
There was also this one.
‘A job that’s not as practical as socking or knitting, a job that doesn’t contribute to anything or anyone, and yet I want to throw my whole being into it… I want to be a storyteller, not too talkative for too long, not too reticent.’
Next to it was my own scribble in big letters, “Me too!
I could see my aspirations as a literary young man in the forceful handwriting.
And yet, “Me too” instead of “Me too”!
As I read the underlined sentence and the doodle next to it, I felt like I was holding my own little memorial service.
I didn’t have a face-to-face meeting with Park Wan-seo, but I was communicating with her through her writing.
I think it’s a nice way of saying that reading is a habit.
The word habit itself means something that is repeated for a long time.
After all, it’s another way of saying that you read books consistently.
Why don’t you create your own special reading habits?
It doesn’t matter what it is.
It’s the act of reading that matters most.
Thank you for listening.
3-minute reading club president speech
Good morning, everyone.
It’s a new year, and I’m wondering if you’ve accomplished any of your resolutions from last year, and if you have any plans for this year. According to research, saving is the number one goal for people in their 20s to 40s, followed by quitting smoking, losing weight, and reading. What are your goals for this year?
My goal for this year is actually pretty big, and I’m not sure if I’ll be able to accomplish it, but when it comes to dreams and goals, the bigger the better, right? So this year, I’m aiming to work with members of my affinity group to build a small neighborhood library.
The inspiration for this ambitious goal started with a very small thought.
I believe that books are a food for the mind, a magical thing that enriches reason and emotion, and the desire to share this joy with as many people as possible was my starting point.
Nowadays, with the spread of smartphones and the development of the IT industry, fewer and fewer people are reading books. This is a sad reality for me and the members of my club, who know the joy of reading.
That’s why I started sharing the books I read with people around me.
Of course, I’ve had the pleasure of recommending books I’ve read to my acquaintances, but I’ve often missed out on good opportunities by saying, “I’ve heard good things about a book,” only to find that the people I’m talking about don’t have the time or money to go buy it. So I thought, why not share the books I’ve read with the people around me, and spend time reading and talking about them together?
I started talking to people who wanted to read but couldn’t afford it, people who didn’t have access to a city library, and that conversation led to the idea of creating a small space where anyone could come and borrow a book and enjoy it with a hot cup of coffee.
It was such a happy and important idea that I wondered why I hadn’t thought of it sooner.
I think the “人” character, which stands for people, conveys the truth that we should live together as a community. Until now, I think we have placed more value on buying books to keep them, and not on the value of sharing and sharing them together.
But if we share our joy, it will be doubled, and if we share the joy of reading, it will be doubled, quadrupled, eightfold.
In the upcoming new year, I plan to work with our club members to build a library in earnest. As president of the club, I will do my best to create a space where more people can share the joy of reading.
Thank you, everyone, for listening.
3-minute reading club instructor speech
After changing subways twice and passing through seventeen stations, I arrived at Nakseongdae Station.
I take Exit 4, walk a few steps, and see a name that stands out among the signs. Dirt Bookstore. The name is unique, isn’t it?
The front of the bookstore is piled high with old books, old records, and videos.
The door to the bookstore is hidden in the middle of these unorganized piles.
When I walk through that door, I see people with books, reading or browsing on one side.
I put aside my search and start looking at the books.
Books I wanted to read long ago, but never got around to, beckon,
I see books I once read with youthful enthusiasm, but now barely remember.
There are books from publishers that are now defunct, books by authors that are no longer available.
In the midst of those old, faded books, my heart begins to stir in a strange way.
It’s as if the threads of my life that have been pushed aside are unfolding again, like a wave.
It seems that books are more than just something you read, they are something special that reminds you of different moments in your life.
In particular, the times when certain books were popular, and the times when they were read avidly, become clearer as they overlap with my own memories.
A book by a mid-career journalist who once rallied society with a sense of justice stood out.
As I read the passionate words of my youth, I pause to reflect on the sense of justice that hasn’t yet worn off.
I smile to myself, thinking, ‘I used to write and think like this back then.
Just as too much of a good drug can be poisonous, so too can a youthful sense of justice.
Over time, I realized this simple truth: too much of a good thing can be poison.
Eventually, I picked up a few books and came back with less than the price of one.
On the first page of one of them, a social science book, there was someone’s carefully handwritten appreciation for the purchase.
I was struck by the youthful energy that radiated from the words.
Youth is the name of conflict and anguish.
If there was no conflict and no anguish, it wouldn’t be called youth.
Reading that book, I was suddenly transported back to my own youth.
I remember buying novels by Goethe or Dostoevsky and writing manifestos on the first page.
Those books are all gone now, but the emotion and passion of those days is still there.
Flipping through a used book feels like rediscovering a favorite meal I’ve missed.
I also remember seeing underlining on every page of some philosophy book,
and you think, ‘Why did they underline this?
It’s fun to follow someone else’s mind in this way.
It’s not just about getting a sense of the author’s thoughts through the book,
there’s something special about being in the mind of someone who read the book before you.
It’s like two lives intersecting and interacting.
Is this a similar feeling to the “chatting” that young people enjoy these days?
I started reading a book and followed the trail of someone with similar tastes to me,
I felt like a little light was shining in my life.
Small but deep, that’s what it’s like.
Thank you for listening.
Urban Development Business Plenary Speaker 3-minute speech
Good afternoon, everyone.
I’m Mr. ○○○, a representative of the Urban Development Project General Assembly.
The name of our organization is the Urban Development Business Association. As the name suggests, we are an organization that focuses on development. That’s right. We study and plan urban development, but in times like today, it is necessary to flexibly adjust the direction and goals of development to suit the situation.
The recent heat wave is becoming increasingly severe. Yesterday, people collapsed from heat stroke on the streets, and in some areas, precious lives were even lost due to the heat. This climate crisis is a reality that we can no longer ignore, but many people don’t take it seriously, sticking to their old ways and ignoring the problem.
But if there’s a problem, there’s definitely a need to address it. It’s time to take a look at the ways we’ve been taking for granted and discuss the need for change. Look out the window. Fumes from dense traffic, gray pavement baking in the heat, and vanishing greenery. Our urban landscape looks the same every day, but is it sustainable?
Cities were created in response to human needs, but their negative environmental impacts are becoming increasingly clear. One of these is the “heat island effect,” where urban development results in significantly higher average temperatures in urban areas than in surrounding rural areas. Our region has experienced rapid development over the past 50 years, with average summer temperatures rising by about 1 degree Celsius per decade – one of the most prominent examples of the severity of the heat island effect.
If left unchecked, our society may reach a point of no return. The extreme weather we are experiencing is a clear warning from nature. How long can we continue to live at the mercy of nature?
For too long, we’ve been aiming to develop our cities – knocking down, building, and changing to chart a trajectory of growth – but it’s time to shift gears to ‘development for conservation’. If we continue on our current path, our descendants may have to live in fear of extreme heat every summer.
Development needs direction and standards. It’s time to think about green development that is in harmony with the environment, and we look forward to your valuable input.
Thank you.
3-minute speech by a student in a university class
Good morning, everyone.
Do you realize how serious the ecological situation is on the planet we live on?
Today I would like to talk about the importance of water, our most precious resource and indispensable for human survival, and I would like to share my opinion on what we should do to ensure that we pass on clean and transparent water to future generations.
To be honest, I’ve never paid much attention to the ecological environment before, and as a result, I didn’t really realize the value of the resources we use and rely on all the time. But what would happen if the resources we use became depleted, or if they became polluted and no longer usable, how would we live?
Of all the resources we depend on, water is the most important.
Water covers about 71% of the Earth’s surface in the form of oceans, rivers, and lakes, and our bodies are made up of about 70% water. The water we drink and the water in the food we eat plays a huge role in transporting nutrients to every organ and cell in our bodies, eliminating waste, and maintaining a constant body temperature – in short, water is essential to life.
In addition, water is consumed in large quantities in our daily lives, including eating, bathing, cleaning, laundry, and toileting. Water is not only a source of life for us, it is also the foundation of our lives.
However, this water is becoming increasingly polluted due to our indifference and selfishness.
The main sources are domestic sewage, factory wastewater, and livestock wastewater. Domestic sewage, especially from households, contains food scraps, synthetic detergents, and manure, which contaminate the water in streams and rivers. These pollutants have a serious impact on ecosystems by reducing water clarity, causing oxygen deprivation, and producing harmful substances. With population growth, these water pollution problems are only going to get worse.
At the end of the day, we humans are the root cause of water pollution.
Water naturally has the ability to clean itself through natural cycles, but today’s extreme pollution is significantly slowing down this process. As a result, water pollution has now reached critical levels.
Folks, the resources we use will never last forever.
We all need to do our part to protect clean water, starting now. Let’s start with small efforts at home to reduce wastewater discharge and minimize the use of chemicals like shampoo and conditioner. Above all, let’s put aside the “me too” mentality and take actionable steps to save our planet.
A beautiful planet won’t be created by someone else’s efforts.
If we all work together and take small steps to protect our water environment, we can create a more hopeful and cleaner planet.
Thank you.
3-minute student speech in a university class
Good morning, students.
I’m here today to speak on the topic of “Happiness is within reach”.
Do you feel happy right now? Is your day enjoyable and fulfilling?
Personally, I consider myself a happy person.
I’m in the university of my choice, I’m doing interesting research, I have friends to share my mind with, professors who are always willing to give me advice, and a family that loves me.
But there are also people around me who are looking for happiness from afar.
Despite having their families by their side and being in an environment that allows them to pursue the studies they want, they still feel unhappy, and when I listen to their stories, they often blame their lack of material things or complain about the people around them.
Of course, everyone has personal challenges, big and small, but sometimes I wonder if we set the bar for happiness too high.
I’ve noticed that even my friends who are in better circumstances than me often feel unhappy. Of course, everyone’s circumstances and problems are different, but if we can shift our thinking a little bit, we can find happiness in the little things we don’t notice.
A happy life is all about what you decide to do.
For example, if you wake up in the morning feeling great after a delicious meal, you’re happy in that moment.
If the sun feels warm and the green trees and flowers on the side of the road look beautiful, that’s also a moment of happiness.
Of course, life isn’t always good, but people who are good at finding happiness know how to think positively and enjoy their lives.
So I want to encourage you to find happiness and joy in the small moments in life that are easy to overlook.
If you can shift your perspective a little bit, your life will become much more interesting and enjoyable.
What’s more, if you develop a sense of gratitude, you’ll naturally become a person who spreads good energy around you.
Remember, everyone,
happiness is not far away.
Look around you, believe that you already live a happy life, be grateful for the little things, and practice feeling joyful and excited about every day. If you do, your life will become more and more bright and full of happiness.
Thank you.
University Student Forum Student 3-minute speech
Hello, everyone. My name is ○○○, a senior in the Department of Business Administration at ○○ University.
Today, I’m going to talk about the success story of ‘Miracle Couriers’, a courier company in India.
Miracle Couriers is a small courier company founded in 2009 in Mumbai, India, and is considered a prime example of employment culture innovation. In just two years of existence, the company has gained global attention and is living up to its name.
As of 2012, Miracle Couriers employs a total of 68 people, 64 of whom, excluding managers, are deaf – not by accident, but by design, with the goal of creating jobs for deaf people from the day the company was founded.
The company’s founder, Druv Laksh, realized the harsh reality of the deaf community after meeting a young boy named Druv Laksh. There are about 8 million deaf people in India, but due to communication difficulties and lack of government support, it’s very difficult for them to become economically independent. To solve this problem, he set his sights on a job called courier.
Being a courier is less about communication and more about visual skills. It was a perfect fit for deaf people who have developed visual skills in exchange for their hearing loss.
After founding Miracle Couriers as a company for the deaf, Druv Lakra trained his employees thoroughly, taking care of everything from their job manuals to their attire, and emblazoned their orange uniforms with the words “We deliver possibilities” to instill a sense of pride.
Organized as they are, Miracle Couriers handles around 65,000 packages every month, earning the trust of their customers with their high level of accountability and conscientiousness. They double-check packages to prevent delivery mistakes and use public transportation to complete deliveries quickly.
Although Korea has various policies to encourage the employment of people with disabilities, the results are still minimal. In particular, it is difficult to find a company that employs only people with disabilities like Miracle Couriers. I believe that the emergence of social enterprises that support the economic independence of people with disabilities is urgently needed to realize a fair society.
This concludes my presentation, and thank you for listening.
