Michael A. (Year 9, Melton) was the Junior Runner-Up in WynSpeak this year, which allowed him to compete in the Rotary Public Speaking State Final. On Tuesday 18th June, he participated in this state final and placed runner-up in the Junior section again! We asked Michael to tell us about his experience.
How are you feeling about your recent success?
I am very thankful that I was able to have the opportunity to progress all the way to the State Finals this year, and I am very excited about and looking forward to competing in WynSpeak again next year.
What was your favourite moment in each competition?
In the first round of the competition, I really enjoyed the moments when my jokes made the audience laugh. In the WynSpeak Final, I liked making use of my new prop, an elephant hand-puppet, to add to the interest of my opening story. At the State Final, which was held at the Parliament House, I really enjoyed the Impromptu speaking topic that I was given and the special tour of parliament that they gave to the winners and runners-up.
What topics did you speak about in each competition, which was your favourite to speak about?
My topic for the Prepared Speech section stayed the same throughout: "How to make and deliver a successful speech." In the Impromptu sections, I spoke about Sustainable Technology advancements, what inanimate object I would speak to if I could and finally, what my funniest dream was, real or imagined. This last topic was my favourite because I got to talk about rhinos falling out of the sky onto grand pianos.
What are your future goals in public speaking?
I plan to use my gifts for public speaking to eventually become the President of the United States of America (or probably just a university lecturer).