Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

A sincere speech
By Renu Warnasuriya
From ‘the importance of school vacations’ to ‘world peace’, the Young Speakers’ Contest is the ideal opportunity for young people to, “speak about something they feel strongly about,” says Dilrukshi Fonseka, the 2002 winner of the All-Island Best Speakers’ Contest, organized by the Colombo Toastmaster’s Club. The requirements are that the topics are, substantially original, not defamatory and not against the law of the land.

While around 560 people, ranging from 12 - 18 years of age entered the competition, fifty percent of them qualified to compete by participating in the compulsory orientation programme. Held on December 28 for the Central Province and on January 4 for the rest of the country, the programmes featured experts from the field of communication who shared their views with the contestants. The rules of the contest were explained in detail and the programmes also included demonstration speeches by Dilrukshi.

The preliminaries were held on January 3 at Hillwood College, Kandy, for the forty contestants of the Central Province, and on January 11 at the Lyceum International School for the other 220 contestants, who were expected to deliver a prepared speech of about 4 to 6 1/2 minutes.

The 28 semi finalists will meet again on January 18 at Lyceum International School, where they will give a prepared speech as well as an impromptu speech of about 2 to 3 1/2 minutes. The impromptu topics will be given by the judges and the contestants will have a minimum of twenty minutes to prepare.

Content, Delivery and Language are the three main categories the contestants will be judged on. The content should be both original and meaningful and should be put across in an effective manner. When it comes to delivery, body language and voice is very important. Furthermore, a good speaker should show interest and confidence in the reactions of the audience. The appropriateness of the language and the correct use of grammar and punctuation make up the rest of the points. Ultimately, what makes the difference is that all in all the speech should be interesting and thought provoking for the listener.

“Have a good time and be sincere, because the sincerity comes through,” is what Dilrukshi has to say to all young speakers. She went on to say that the competition was an unforgettable experience for her and that it is a “great thing” that they are opening it out to even younger speakers.

On January 25, the seven finalists will compete for the Lyceum Challenge trophy and grand cash prizes at what is expected to be a night of slick speaking. The finals will be held at the BMICH from 5.30 p.m. onwards.

Admission will be by invitation, which are available at the following places.
Lyceum International School, Nugegoda (Mrs.Indira - 2822387)
Bookland, Colombo’s favourite bookshop, Colombo 3.

Colombo Plaza Building, 50 2/7, Colombo 6 (Ms. Sulochana –4519644-5)
E-kidz computer training centre, 72, Davidson Road, Colombo 4 (2583581)
Sarasavi Bookshop, Kandy (081 2234036)

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