BMG 2019 Grammarian Issue 3

7 A REFLECTION AND ADVICE FROM JAKE PARTON (WYNSPEAK JUNIOR WINNER, 2019) What have you gained from entering the Wynspeak Competition? I’ve learnt how to public speak better. It’s taught me when to use theatrics and when it is less appropriate to do so. I am a very theatrical person, so during my speeches I would hop around left and right, and would turn my body away from parts of the audience. The judges told me to ‘dial it back a bit.’ The second thing that I’ve been able to do is improvise a lot better. During the Wynspeak competition we had a section where we were given a topic, had two minutes to prepare and then had to present for a couple of minutes. The first time I did impromptu, it was very new and very difficult, and I didn’t really know what I was doing. After that first experience, I had a lot more fun with it in the final, and I think I did a lot better. My approach is to try to go in without preconceived ideas, as speaking off the cuff can sometimes be better. What advice would you give interested students who want to get involved with the public speaking programs at Bacchus Marsh Grammar? Anyone can participate in events like Wynspeak, because you can talk about anything you want. For anyone who is interested, I say that if you have something in particular that you want to talk about, then you should sign up. It’s a lot easier to do these events when you’ve known about and have been interested in the topic for a while. If you choose to talk about something that you’re passionate about or like, it’s easier to write a speech and move forward in these kind of competitions. Other advice I would give is even if you’re not 100% confident or convinced of a topic, you need to act like you are! With debating, people are going to believe the person who sounds like they know what they are talking about, rather than the person who has all the facts and is shy and in the corner. You’ve got nothing to lose, but an amazing amount to gain. I’ll be there next year, and I’m looking forward to seeing you all there! Ms Áine Murphy & Miss Alyce Coyne