Polish Is Not the Same as Trust
A student can speak with proper structure and perfect pronunciation, and the room still does not quite believe them.
I have seen it in my own public speaking workshops. As a former MOE PE teacher who coordinated student leadership, and now as a trainer working with schools, I have come to a simple view: polish and trust are not the same thing. Communication education should not produce louder voices. It should produce clarity, conviction, and positive influence.
In October 2026, our Foreign Minister, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, explained at the Milken Institute Asia Summit why Singapore refuses to choose between the superpowers. In his words: "I will refuse to choose, and whilst I will be useful to you, I will not be made use of." He wants Singapore to hold "a clear, steady, principled, consistent position". To me, that is trust built by consistency: the position stays the same whoever is in the room, and the actions match the words. That is exactly what we should look for in a student speaker.
So when a student speaks in your school hall or in your classroom, the question is not only "did that sound good?" It is "did the room believe them?"
Do Schools Pick the Most Polished Speakers?
Some people say schools simply choose the most polished students. I would push back on that. In my experience, schools have a robust set of checks when they choose student leaders: rounds of interviews and a proper filtering process.
Where I feel more weight can be placed is this. Sometimes a little too much emphasis goes on how well a student communicates ideas, and not enough on whether they follow through. Leaders do need to communicate with clarity, so that emphasis is not wrong. It just should not outweigh responsibility.
Three Checks for a Speaker People Believe
These are not a formal model. They are three things I look for, whether a student is giving a class presentation or speaking to their CCA.
1. Look at them. Is the student looking at the people they are speaking to, and building a human to human connection?
2. Lean in. Does the student show that they genuinely want to connect with the listener?
3. Follow through. Do their actions match what they promised to do?
Polish still matters. But these three are what make a room believe.
The One Public Speaking Tip I Would Give Any Student
If I could give a student only one tip, it would be to lean in.
Leaning in when you answer signals that you are genuinely interested in the people you are speaking to. It shows you want to connect with them, and that connection is what builds trust. Articulation, enunciation and pronunciation are all important, but on their own they do not make anyone believe you.
Picture a Secondary 2 student taking questions after a group presentation. Instead of standing back and reciting, she leans in towards the classmate who asked and answers that person directly. That small move does more for her credibility than another round of rehearsing her script.
When the Words Are Right but the Room Is Not Convinced
I once ran a public speaking workshop for tertiary students preparing for their internships. At the end, selected students came to the front to practise what we had covered. Most were not yet polished, but one spoke relatively well. His words had a proper structure, his ideas were well rounded, and what he said made sense.
Yet it did not quite land. There was a lack of eye contact, and I could sense that the people in the room did not quite believe him. It came across as a lack of conviction.
Research points the same way. A 2017 McGill University report on a study of vocal tone found that actors who spoke in neutral tones were perceived as even more trustworthy than those putting on a confident tone. A put-on confidence does not buy trust. Connection with the people in front of you does.
What to do: when a student presents, watch where their eyes go, not just how smoothly they speak. If they are speaking to the slides or the ceiling, ask them to look at the people in front of them, one face at a time.
Trust Is Built After the Speech
When I taught PE in an MOE primary school, whether I trusted a student had nothing to do with what they told me in the moment. It had to do with whether their actions backed up what they said they would do.
If I asked a student to pack up the equipment and they said yes and did it, my trust in them grew. If they said yes and did not, that trust began to dwindle. It does not have to end in success every time. Some things are beyond a student's control. But when they attempt it and follow up with action, trust still grows.
Dr Balakrishnan, quoting George Shultz, put it simply: "trust is the coin of the realm." A student earns that coin the same way a country does. Same word, same action, whoever is watching.
What to do: give one student a small task they have said yes to, and check whether they follow through. It works at home too.
Where Student Leader Selection Can Place More Weight
When schools choose students for the prefectorial board or the student council, communicating with clarity is a key leadership skill. But communication is also a skill that can be taught: give students opportunities to speak, give feedback where necessary, and use proven techniques to improve their speeches.
In my MOE years, quite a number of students who held a leadership badge did not measure up when it came to the responsibility. And I came across students without a badge who stepped up and did things they were not even asked to do.
What to do: the next time your teachers shortlist student leaders, add one question to the discussion: when did this student last follow through on something without being reminded?
Your Plan for the Next Seven Days
Step 1: in one class presentation, watch the eyes, not just the words.
Step 2: teach one student to lean in when they answer a question, and notice how the room responds.
Step 3: give one student a small task they have said yes to, and check whether they follow through.
Then keep a short note. Whose words matched their actions?
Polish gets a student heard. Connection and action are what get them believed.
Questions Teachers Ask
What is the best public speaking tip for students?
Lean in. When a student leans in as they answer, it signals genuine interest in the people they are speaking to. That wish to connect builds trust faster than perfect pronunciation.
Why do some confident student speakers fail to build trust?
Polish without connection can come across as a lack of conviction, for example when a well-structured speaker makes no eye contact. A 2017 McGill University report found that a put-on confident tone did not make speakers seem more trustworthy than a neutral one.
How can a teacher tell whether a confident speaker is also credible?
Compare their words with their actions. Give a small task they have agreed to and see whether they follow through. Trust grows when the action matches the promise, even if the outcome is not always a success.
Should schools stop weighing communication when choosing student leaders?
No. Communicating with clarity is a key leadership skill. Ernest's view is that responsibility, follow through and being proactive deserve more weight, because communication can be taught through practice, feedback and proven techniques.
Read Next
This is part four of our Communication Mastery series. Part three looks at how to listen so a teenager keeps talking, and our communication programmes for schools put these checks into practice.
Helping Students Speak So Others Believe Them
If you are a school leader or a teacher who wants students to be believed, not just admired, tell us what you are seeing. We will tell you honestly whether we can help.