By Year 7 student Aarit Sai Ramayanam
On a cold evening on Tuesday May 12, myself and three other Manor Lakes P-12 College students went to Hoppers Crossing Secondary College to compete in Wynspeak, a speaking competition across the Wyndham district.
It was an exciting and memorable experience. I competed alongside Pearl Sadhiwal (Year 9), Neha Kottakota (Year 10) and Aotayea Samuelu (Year 12).
Lots of students from various schools and different year levels came together to perform. It was great to see everyone supporting and giving feedback to one another.
I loved listening to everyone talking about interesting ideas from parenting to claw machines.
Preparing for the big day took a lot of work. I practised my speech a lot, asking my teachers, parents and friends for advice. I applied that feedback and made sure I was expressing myself well, making eye contact with the audience and sounding confident.
When I started practising in front of a mirror, it seemed like a piece of cake, but the difficulty increased each time the audience became bigger, which started with my parents as audience/judges.
We all gave our best shot, but unfortunately did not win the competition. Nevertheless, the participation and feedback from judges and peers provided an abundance of learning, experience and joy, which mattered the most.
All participants loved the experience. A few did it for the first time, while few already had experience in public speaking. There were people from other reputed schools including Bacchus Marsh Grammar, Alamanda P-9 College and Werribee Secondary College.
One speaker shared, “Had a lot of fun, made new friends and built on my confidence.” Another participant said, “It was great, it made me get out of my comfort zone. Great feedback from the judges.” Hearing these opinions showed how the competition isn’t just about speaking and winning, but giving it a go and making friends along the way.
Overall, the speech competition was a fantastic experience for all. I will remember this day for years to come. It taught me the importance of confidence, communication skills, stepping out of my comfort zone and, last but not least, not everything is about winning.
A huge thanks to Mr. Webb and Mr. Pace for helping us with our speeches and cheering us on the day.
