Public Speaking

Junior Legacy Public Speaking Competition 

On September 24th three members of the Public Speaking Club, Pooja Sabari (8 Frew), Liya Roy (8 Frew) and Remus Braiser (8 Milward) were accompanied by Mrs Naughton and travelled to Ballarat to participate in the Preliminary Finals of the Legacy Junior Public Speaking competition. We arrived at 9:30 am just in time for the competition which started at 10:00am. Both Pooja and Remus rehearsed their speech before the other competitors arrived – just to get rid of any existing nerves and feel well prepared for the competition. Students from Ararat, Ballarat, Ouyen and Nhill were also competing on the day.

Remus was first up in both the impromptu and prepared speech categories and approached the lectern with confidence, showing no signs of nervousness. He spoke about “Caring for Claude”. This speech was based on the life experience of a well known member of the Bendigo Community, Claude Critchley, who was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Remus explored the stigma of mental illness and redefined what “care” actually means in modern society. After Remus four more speakers presented on a variety of topics, before Pooja’s turn. Even though Pooja was very nervous she spoke with confidence on a difficult topic – “Lessons learned from the Holocaust”.  At the end of the speeches it was time for morning tea and an opportunity to chat with fellow competitors.

After snacks, the competitors were led into a room to prepare the 5-minute impromptu speech. Remus introduced the topic “A path worth taking.” The topic was very broad and the audience didn’t know what to expect.  Remus talked about the many paths you could take and gave the audience a different perspective about the topic. Pooja spoke on the selfless people in history and in daily life and what a path worth taking was. After that is was lunch, and we all enjoyed pumpkin soup and delicious sandwiches.

At the conclusion of lunch we were ushered back into the hall and all of the competitors were congratulated on their fine efforts and speeches. After much anticipation the judges announced the winners - Milla Searle from Ouyen P/12 College and James Mullin from Ararat College. Even though they didn’t win, Pooja and Remus both enjoyed the experience and learnt valuable tips to develop as even better Public Speakers. We are looking forward to participating in this prestigious event again in 2020!

Liya Roy

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