Meet our Topical Talk skills
During the Festival, we’d like you to demonstrate important skills in your discussions. Showing these in your responses will not only make your comments more interesting, but will also earn you stars, which might get you awards!
We’ll be looking for the following skills in your responses:
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Listening
Receiving, retaining and processing information.
If you’re good at listening, you’ll be able to follow instructions and ask the right questions to make sure you truly understand what people are telling you. You’ll also learn how to take great notes and spot when someone is trying to change your mind or use a specific tone to get their point across.
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Speaking
Transmitting information or ideas.
If you’re good at speaking, you’ll be able to share your ideas clearly with friends and groups by using facts, gestures and the right words for your audience. As you get better at this skill, you will learn to handle difficult topics sensitively and speak in a way that engages people, eventually becoming a leader who can negotiate and inspire others.
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Problem-solving
Finding solutions to challenges.
If you’re good at problem-solving, you’ll be able to find the information you need and come up with several smart solutions by looking at the pros and cons of each one. You will also learn to spot patterns and causes, which helps you build solid plans to fix tricky issues and keep learning as you go.
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Finding solutions to challenges
Using imagination and generating new ideas.
If you’re good at being creative, you’ll be able to imagine new things and combine different ideas to make something even better than before. You’ll also learn how to test your ideas with quick versions called prototypes and keep an open mind so you can turn your wildest thoughts into real, successful inventions.
We’ll also see if you can demonstrate your knowledge of the news, including:
- Knowledge of important news events and discussions – for example, the topics and discussions from your Topical Talk classroom lessons
- Knowledge of the how people find the news – for example, television, radio and social media
- Knowledge of the context of news stories – for example, understanding why people from different countries react differently to the same story
- Knowledge of the most common themes that shape the news – for example, power, justice and scarcity
Comments (21)
Deal is a fun place where people just help around you can visit around places but it cost money so yeah I prefer you do buy the place you come to then have fun in it.and if you come into deal it’s either a deal or no reason but it doesn’t matter at least you can read,play outside,or do stuff which is fun and I’m normally a inside not outside but I guess being outside isn’t that bad then doing nothing really (im done with my speech now bye fishies)
Listening attentively helps to understand points of the topics. And commenting helps to share idea's on different topics and conversations, the reason for this is because we make different choices for the topical talk and we combine all our ideas to achieve the topical talk's goal this year.
I strongly agree with your points inspired_planet. Yes, commenting helps us share our ideas and come together to be able to achieve our common goal which is the topical's talk goal.
I also agree with your opinion.when we share our opinions others,it is natural to make some mistakes, beacuse everyone makes mistake .at the time, we should try to understand our mistakes and correct them,so that those mistakes do not negatively affect our future life
when we share our opinions here, we are mainly express our feelings. sometimes we can not express our feelings clearly in front of everyone.but when someone points out to mistakes,we are able to understand them.differtent feelings and opinions from different people make our thinking stronger.
therefore,we should always read others 'opinions,improve our way of thinking,develope our language skills,and strengthen our imagination
Can i ask something?
So i am new in topicl talk and Struggling in here.
I have some questions please tell me about them....so it Will also help some beginners
1) how to earn points here?
2) should i ask many question i want here to get more knowledge?
3) how to get in the leaderboard?
(please if you know then tell me)🥺
heyyyy everone😜
Hi, I believe that every skill represented in this global stage is just as important as the next one, but if the choice was left to me, I would choose to be a good listener. The listening skill strikes me at a personal stage because it is one which I have been trying to master for a very long time. A good listener is firstly someone who pays attention to what the person who is speaking to them has to say, and secondly, holds on to information, just long enough for them to critically analyse and respond back to the person which they are conversing with.
The listening skill is a skill which needs to be mastered by a lot more people, I feel that most of the population of the world is unheard and under appreciated, and this is simply because not enough people hear what they have to say. Many ideas are simply brought about by a person who heard and believed in the idea. The most critical listeners are good at coming up with respectful and encouraging replies, which keep everyone in the society motivated.
I want to become a good listener, so that can share the joy and love to those who feel down.
THANKYOU.
Interesting points - can you explain a bit more about why you say "most of the world is unheard and under appreciated".
Hello Eva,
So what I mean when I say that most of the world is unheard and underappreciated is that most people have nobody to look upto to express themselves properly. A lot of people have fantastic gifts, talents, and skills, which they can share with the world, but these gifts often end up being undiscovered simply because no one was there to listen to their dreams and ambitions. Many people face a lot of challenging problems every day, and they go about quietly without anyone knowing. If those kind of people only had a single person who they could at least share this burden with, they would feel a little bit better. I said most of the population, simply because the number of listeners is very few. The amount of encouragement someone could receive only if people heard their goals.
Most celebrities, footballers, and actors all had someone who listened and encouraged them to keep on going. A recent story of college basketball player Brandon Dwyer, just helps me to explain it better. Brandon was just a normal bench Division 1 college basketball player, sharing his dreams on social media. Until people began to listen to him and encourage him. He attained over a million followers on TikTok simply by starting a series where he had to score 1 point. He was always backed by his audience, and despite going 2 years without a single game point, in 2025 he scored his first points. This is just to show that listening can go a long way.
THANK YOU.
I agree with you on this especially the part about platforms or people to talk to. We all have dreams and talents just waiting for us to put it in play. You might just need a social media page or a close friend to encourage you. After all, a problem shared is a problem half solved so try and talk to someone about your dreams and how you want it to play out. One thing you just have to be mindful of is who you discuss it with. Let it be someone you trust so as to prevent backbiting of any such. Also for the social media, you must have a firm mindset because, with all the internet love also comes hate and that hate could really take a toll on some people.
Thank you.
Most of the world is unheard; in this context, it means that the people do more of the speaking without carefully listening to other people's views. And it is underappreciated because they do not understand the worth. I mean, how good it is to listen to other people's views because you might not know the worth of their opinions or suggestions.
Thank you.
listening is the process of receiving interpreting and responding to verbal and non-verbal messages. , listening enhances communication poor listening skills could also be the start of most conflict in our world today not being able to listen or respect one's decision always leads to an issue.
According to The Myers-Briggs Company" managers spend at least four hours managing conflicts per week on average, with poor communication being the biggest cause of conflict".
Being a good listener goes at equal terms with being a good commentator. Listening properly helps You to understand the other person's point of view and their opinions, and commenting properly helps to eloquently distribute your ideas and properly explain your points to the other's understanding, as lack of this can lead to an irrelevant argument.
I think that all the skills that are mentioned in this festival creates a strong and ample base for building a bright future. All the comments really developed my thinking and understanding towards Global perspectives. If I became some professional person in the future, I will definitely remember about the topical talk and I will Forever carry the skills and benefit benefits I learnt in the festival. This festival reminds me that skills matter more than marks. All the four skills really help me to think global issues in a biased perspective and this seems to be the one and only great platform to show case my skills. I will definitely ensure that I not only apply the skills in the festival, but also in my entire life. According to me, Topical Talk transforms young children to charming future leaders with a motive of seeding skills in young minds!
I agree because... it helps thinking well
Listening skills are more important because they help to accurately receive information when communicating with others, they are important part in communicating in work place. Listening skills also aids in responding correctly to questions and being a good commentator. Having good listening skills helps in building relationships, learning new skills and performing effectively. Thank you.
Hi everyone,
All skills are important, but I believe the most important is listening because in my opinion,it helps us understand each other, hear other people's opinions, learn other people's beliefs and culture and it also helps us to know other people's perspectives on different topics and why their point of views differ from ours.
Creativity can help one find interesting ideas about a topic. Topics I find in topical talk are compelling and they need answers that is as compelling as they are so one needs to think critically about the questions and create an engaging response. What is the value of a conversation if it is not engaging and educative?
Listening as common as it may be is a very rare skill which to be honest a lot of people lack. If you are able to listen, you will be able to comprehend and understand instructions given to you and other people's opinions on certain topics. Problem solving too is a very essential skill. As young as we may be, we should start grooming ourselves to become problem solvers and help eliminate some issues we might have in our today's world. Speaking too helps you share your opinions and views to others who may or amy not agree with you.
I think speaking and creativity is important because when you speak you need to make sure it makes sense. Also creativity because you can express how you feel and what you think it can make you feel captivating and it can bring interest into peoples minds. We can all think differently and have different thoughts and opinions but we should always accept others.
Creativity is a skill achieved through habitual practice, inquisitiveness, interest and embracing defeat to cultivate creativity and cultivate new ideas. It involves combining and applying existing familiarity to solve problems and challenges.
Creativity as a skill in this festival helps us to think and nurture new ideas; it helps us to collaborate and work with people from different backgrounds in order to generate new ideas.
Creativity is a skill that encourages us to use strategies like brainstorming to visualize ideas.
Hi,
This is my third time participating in this wonderful program. While I was looking through my past topical Talk comments from previous years trying to sort out what exactly earned me stars, I realized it was sheer determination that worked for me. The best of my comments basically screamed: This is my opinion. This is my voice. I want it to be heard.
Sure, I kept repeating words, because I was younger, but that didn't matter too much, since this is a competition about students sharing their views, not having the most eloquent language. I also noticed how problem solving was always appreciated. I think that is because we live in an uncertain world, where there are more questions than answers. For example, no one knows if we are truly going to defeat global warming, or if AI might take on most of the jobs, leaving people in a precarious position, or even if we will manage to save the endangered species of animals. However, people are looking for a way to improve things. I highly appreciate that the Topical Talk Foundation cares to learn what the youth has to say. It is a way to move forward. In addition to that, I believe constantly trying to search for the bright side, instead of sinking in the darker one means that whatever happens next, people will not cease to search for ways to improve, such as planting more trees, taking the bus instead of the car, hiring a human to design a logo or buying jackets that are not made of real animal fur.
I agree because its a beautiful place where people go for fun
you can celebrate your birthday party there
and other people go there for other important things
I think is not really by age but by maturity if a child is not matured he or she may be forced to vote for the wrong person just for his or her selfish benefit , reducing the age is not all about the voters point to be increased and the population more ,but if it is the matured they will no what voting is all about . It is about wisdom, especially in Nigeria.
I agree because... truly some people are forced to vote because of their tribe or religion and other aspects
I think is not really by age but by maturity if a child is not matured he or she may be forced to vote for the wrong person just for his or her selfish benefit , reducing the age is not all about the voters point to be increased and the population more ,but if it is the matured they will no what voting is all about . It is about wisdom, especially in Nigeria.
Personally, I believe that creativity stand out to me the most from all five options.
Creativity has a high importance towards this competition. I believe creativity isn’t only a matter of personality but the ability of showing other people your true potential in your work and how ambitious you are in your learning.It can also influence other people to develop ideas from your perspective and tweaking them to make remarkable results.
Infinite possibilities.
It also makes sense to start with an imagination in your head and adjust it to your liking when you start a project , conversation or dilemma. We can do anything as long as we have an idea and be more unique from over people.
If we didn’t have the power to control creativity the world will be very much boring and plain with no colour at all.
Overall , I think that all the five skills are very important for this challenge and should be equally respected.
Bye Topical Talkers
listing careful help to understand what the topic says and comment in courage, share ideas of different thinking and combined to make one sense that will help us and society to solve problems.listen and read careful before any comment
I think that creativity is the key of livelihood because it makes way for rare ideas and shines light in our daily lives by helping us solve problems.
it is a slow and steady motion that leads to a victorious end, it those not take no for an answer rather it turn the table around bring positive ideas, it involves observation, the courage to always make things right and always seeing the in every failure there is success.
some of the topics learnt in class is mostly revolving around creativity because without creativity the ability of progressing in life will be very hard for example a teacher is to teach some set of student a topic but because the topic is too boring, the teacher chose to transform the topic into a game and this made the children more willing to learn, that teacher had just exibited the act of creativity.
This means that as young individual we should embrace the act of creativity in our different homes, work places and social environment because it will contribute in our daily lives.
Hello topical talkers,
I think by listening we can understand opinions and by speaking we can get our own opinions out there which can help other people understand others perspectives! lastly by being creative we can tackle challenges!