Each year, EDC aims to highlight the oratory skills of its students, their ability to express ideas, their ideas, clearly and convincingly. This year, Havin Yildrim won first prize, and Anaé Sainte-Rose was a finalist, thanks to her sincere and profound speech. The two young women shared a common goal: to make their voices heard with conviction.
Havin Yildirim wins the Concours d'éloquence for the second time
Before joining the EDC, Havin had already gained experience in oratory, at the age of 15 she took part in another eloquence competition, organized by the Evry court, which she won brilliantly.
Alongside her schooling, Havin took four years of drama classes, during which she learned to set her voice, manage space and master the rhythm of a speech. Havin also appeared as an extra in a number of audiovisual productions, which exposed her to other forms of expression. “I've always loved defending ideas. Theater has taught me to occupy space, to use silences, to convey more than just words,” she explains.
For the first round of the Concours d'Éloquence, she worked on the highly topical subject of “Should there be limits to progress?” She drew on her references, structured her ideas and drafted a text that she fine-tuned right up to the day of the test.
Her objective: to present a clear, well-argued idea, without overacting. She made it through to the final, where she faced an improvisation test on a set topic: “Do we still have time to take our time?” Her performance earned her first place.
“The secret is not to stress, stay true to your words and don't be afraid to improvise. What helped me was all the experience I'd accumulated beforehand. But to be honest, the other participants were incredible. Everyone gave 100%,” confides the winner.
Anaé Sainte-Rose's heartfelt speech
Anaé Sainte-Rose left Martinique at the age of 17 to study in mainland France. With her baccalauréat in her pocket, she moved to Paris and joined the EDC, attracted by the luxury management program. The young woman acquired the skills she needed to launch her own swimwear brand one day.
Selected by Dean of Faculty Rachid Rhattat to take part in the eloquence competition, she sees it as an opportunity to step out of her comfort zone. The subject she was assigned, “Should dreams be preferred to reality?”, directly echoes her background.
“When I was accepted in Paris, it was a dream. But the loneliness quickly set in. I wrote this speech for myself, and for all those who, like me, have chosen to leave to move on,” she recounts.
“A beautiful text is not enough. You have to bring it to life, like in the theater” she adds.
The competition that forges tomorrow's leaders
The EDC Paris Business School Eloquence Competition is part of the “Eloquence et plaidoiries du manager” course, an 18-hour program directed and led by Rachid Rhattat, and other speakers such as Maître Eric Luthi, Criminal Lawyer, and Johanna Morillon, Professional Coach. Alongside them, students learn how to speak, construct a speech and manage their emotions.
The jury for this year's competition, chaired by Zoé Duvauchelle (producer, actress, artistic director), included a wide range of personalities: Johanna Morillon, Moustapha Kamara and Eric Luthi (lawyers), Yassine Rhattat (winner of the Lysias competition), and Wilfried Camus, finalist in the very first edition in 2015.