Impromptu speaking to knowing ears

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 250, 12 July 1988, Page 8

Impromptu speaking to knowing ears

The Ruapehu International Training in Communication club held their Impromptu and Humorous Speech contests in June. Eight members took part in the impromptu speeches where they had one minute t o choose a topic from three given. They then had to speak from five to seven minutes on the chosen topic. The topics, all song titles, were prepared by Margo Webb, an ex-I.T.C. member.

The judges were Judy Doyle, visiting teacher and John McCartney, Head of English at Ruapehu College. Both said they were impressed with the standard of the speeches. Winner Margaret Cornwall spoke o n "When I Grow too Old to Dream". Mrs Doyle said she developed her theme well, using varied pace and effective language. Keitha Journeaux was second with "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" and Fay Eves third with a well-struc-tured speech on "My Grandfather's Clock". Gay Fahey, F.T.C.L. and John Woods, publisher of the Waimarino Bulletin were the judges for the humorous speeches. Both said they appreciated the difficulty of delivering prepared humorous speeches to a very small audience, most of whom were

waiting to do their own speech. The six contestants were Margaret Cornwall, Ann Greenwood, Gretchen Littlewood, Keitha Journeaux, Valma Littlewood and Jean Windle. First place went to Keitha Journeaux who spoke on "A Problem of Brevity" (the mini-skirt). "The Long and Short of it" was Jean Windle's topic for second place, with Valma Littlewood's "R U Alert?" being awarded third place. The impromptu and humorous speech winners, Margaret Cornwall and Keitha Journeaux, now go forward to the Council Eight finals to be held in Palmerston North on July 23. The winners from the eight other Clubs in the Council will join them to find the Council winners. Council Eight covers Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Wanganui and Taihape and the Waimarino.