Journalist Şaban Özdemir, Media PR Unit Manager of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Corporate Communications Department, participated in the Circle Up 25 Summer Camp hosted by Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf Üniversitesi. Özdemir, who spoke on 'Entrepreneurship and Oratory in Media,' gave invaluable advice to students from various universities and high schools across Turkey. Addressing the dynamics of the media world in all its aspects, Özdemir emphasized the power of communication in entrepreneurship. Özdemir also shared effective oratory techniques with the youth.
The Circle Up 25 Summer Camp, which brought together experienced names from the sector with young entrepreneurs, was held at the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf Üniversitesi Topkapı campus.
Journalist Şaban Özdemir, Media PR Unit Manager of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Corporate Communications Department, held an interview titled 'Entrepreneurship and Oratory in Media' within the scope of the camp. Niran Uyanık, one of the Circle Up members, moderated the interview.
A success story…
Journalist Şaban Özdemir, highlighting the importance of his life story in his career, spoke about what the difficulties he experienced had contributed to him. Özdemir said: “I want to talk about some things that are not written there, things that made Şaban who he is. When I came to Istanbul from Trabzon at the age of 13, my accent often made me a subject of ridicule. From time to time, I was excluded, marginalized. But I never gave up. As the child of a family who had worked as a welder in a shipyard, worked in garment manufacturing, and sold yufka in the market during my high school years, I stand before you today.”
The golden rule of effective communication: ‘Being able to listen to oneself’
Özdemir, emphasizing the importance of sincerity, empathy, and body language in effective communication, stated that a person's ability to listen to themselves while speaking is also crucial. Özdemir said: “One of my life philosophies has been the ability to listen to myself. If one is aware, this is a skill that can be acquired and developed. It's very important to be able to listen to yourself while speaking. Only in this way can you speak more fluently and effectively. By listening to and conditioning yourself, you can move away from filler sounds like ‘uhh,’ ‘you know,’ ‘I mean.’ I see many people who overcome this problem with this awareness. Believe me, your life will change.”
He gave important tips to entrepreneurs…
Özdemir, emphasizing that every entrepreneur is also a leader, and a leader must develop the ability to speak effectively and persuasively, highlighted the importance of the elevator pitch technique for entrepreneurs to make effective presentations in a short time, in response to a question. Özdemir listed the determining factors in such speeches as follows:
“You met a very important person related to your field of work. Time is limited. You only have 30 seconds! You must be able to quickly explain your idea, your project. Here, I believe passion is key. That is, passion and belief in the project… And offering a solution to a problem, an issue… In elevator pitches, it's important to present that problem very briefly and concisely, explain whatever you've developed, and then conclude the process with curiosity. When giving this speech, empathy, sincerity, transparency, and clarity are very important and should be considered.”
The sine qua non of communication: sincerity and passion…
Özdemir emphasized that at the heart of successful communication lies felt emotions more than technical perfection; “Much more important than those are sincerity and passion. Sometimes we say; ‘The person across from me is speaking, but it doesn't affect me, it doesn't impress me at all…’ This is related to your sincerity, it's related to speaking about something you don't believe in. A person quickly tests sincerity. The tone of voice, timbre, chosen words, emotion, body language in speech… All of these are elements that reveal sincerity during effective and persuasive speech,” he said, drawing attention to the importance of sincerity.
Answered questions from young people
Journalist Şaban Özdemir answered questions from the youth after his interview at the camp, which was attended by students from various universities and high schools across Turkey.
Following the Q&A session, Özdemir was presented with a sapling donation certificate made in his name to the Hatay Forest.
The interview concluded with a group photo session.
