NET Scheme News 2024 Summer issue 46

Creativity Confidence • Use storytelling. People love stories, so incorporate at least one. Share personal experiences or use anecdotes, to ensure your speech is relatable and engaging. • Use creative language. Instead of employing boring and clichéd phrases, experiment with descriptive language, such as metaphor, similes, and repetition to paint a picture in your audience’s mind. • Involve the audience. Engage your audience by asking them rhetorical questions, encouraging them to ‘mentally’ participate. This will make your speech more interactive and keep your audience attentive. • Be passionate. Show your enthusiasm and love for your topic. Make your speech compelling and inspire your audience to listen carefully. • Use effective body language. Your body language can also add to the creativity of your speech. Utilise hand gestures, facial expressions, and movement to emphasise key points and keep your audience engaged. • Practise, practise, practise! Know your topic well, before presentation day. Never read from sheets of paper. The most important thing is to ‘be yourself’ and let your personality shine through. Ensure you are comfortable in delivery, to make your words more authentic. • If using visual supports, such as a PowerPoint presentation, don’t refer to them too often – try to maintain eye contact with your audience at all times. • Modulate your voice and speak expressively. Don’t bore your audience. • Use good volume and a strong commanding voice, especially if you are wearing a mask. Project your voice to the back of the room. • Use palm cards as a useful back-up, especially if you are nervous. Engagement • Use a ‘hook’ to grab the audience’s attention at the beginning. Then keep up the momentum, using a steady flow to maintain interest. • Use a list in your speech, for instance … ‘let me give you three reasons – reason 1, reason 2, reason 3.’ • Stand closer to the audience. Take charge! Don’t be frightened of your listeners. • Engage humour or emotions, to encourage the audience to respond to and engage with the content. • Use a visual aid or prop to make the presentation stand out from the crowd. Create a memorable moment, eg, party poppers, singing a song, reading from a newspaper or wearing a special hat. • Finish your speech with a flourish. Make a memorable statement at the end or conclude with a strong ‘call to action’. Avoid generic, boring endings, such as,‘thank you for listening’, or ‘this is the end of our presentation’. Generic endings only waste the final chance to impress. The Joint Schools Public Speaking Competition was a momentous inaugural event that celebrated the power of effective communication. The success of the competition not only strengthened the ties between the two schools, but also provided a valuable platform for P6 to showcase their talents, setting the stage for future endeavours in public speaking. Andrew Varsalona – Blatti, NET Raimondi College Hugh Beames,Advisory Teacher NET Section The three focus areas include: 15 NET Scheme News Issue 46