Speak Out Challenge - Preparing for the Final

Preparing for the Regional Finals

Tips for Teachers to prepare for Regional Final

At 4pm, all Speakers and Reserves will take part in a “Speakers’ Workshop” prior to the competition. It`s purpose is to boost confidence, revise techniques and put everyone at ease. Drinks and finger food will be provided.

The Regional Final will commence at 6 pm with refreshments, followed by the speech competition at 6.30 pm prompt. The event will finish at 8.30 pm. Year 10’s from all state secondary schools are participating.

Speakers and Reserves should arrive at the venue at 4 pm.

THANK YOU for your help so far. How can you help during this next phase?

Here are our “Top Tips for Teachers to Help their Finalists”.

Give your speaker and reserve speaker opportunities to practise their speeches, for example:
   At year and school assemblies
   In front of the class
   In front of you

2. Give them feedback, based on the workbook tips (Page 6) and the Challenge triangle of delivery, content and structure.

3. Support them by ensuring they record the competition date in their planner and by making sure that someone accompanies them to the Workshop/Regional Final (if you are unable to do this another teacher/parent/carer may be able to).

4. Ensure that your finalist has a speech of between 2 and 3 minutes in duration.

5. Encourage them to invite all their family/friends and supporters; it will help the speaker on the night and we have seen competitors regret not doing so. Why not invite the Head Teacher and Guvornors? Regional Finals are great places to network and meet colleagues and community leaders.

6. Make sure your Finalist looks the part on the night (neat school uniform) and that the Reserve speaker is “ready and willing” in case they are chosen on the night.

7. Celebrate their achievement with photos and an article in the school magazine and website. The Regional Finals are prestigious events with MPs, Mayors and local media attending. Only 1000 students from 35,000 will speak at a Regional Final.

And, don`t forget to look our for Jack Petchey`s “Speak Out” Challenge! in the media. So far it as been featured on BBC 2`s The Culture Show, the Guardian, TES, Radio 4`s Today programme and the Learning Curve, BBC 5 Live, BBC News 24… PLUS The Speak Out Challenge has inspired the BBC2 series The Speaker, which was aired in March 2009.

Top tips for Speakers to improve their Regional Final Performance

 Clarity - Make sure you are clear about these two things:

  1. That you know what your central message is
  2. Why this speech is important to you? Why did you pick this topic rather than
    a different one?

 Practice - The best speakers practise until they are 100% comfortable, so they can relax and
   focus on the audience
                      At school - Your teacher will give you an opportunity to practise your speech
                      At home - If you have a video camera use this. In any case, rehearse and
                      ask the family for feedback

 Humour - Remember, “When the audience laughs, the audience listens” …and
so do the judges. Many speeches will be on serious subjects and occasional humour can add
surprise and increase the impact of the message

 Mentors - Find out who last year`s Challenge! Champion was and ask them for advice. Also ask
one of your teachers to mentor you, to try ideas and suggest improvements. However, do make sure
the speech comes from your heart

 Stories - The audience always remember people, places and events. Use facts and figures of course, but do see if you can use a story or stories in your speech to add impact

 Creative - There will be many good speakers at the final, so think about how to make your speech a little different. How can you make your introduction unique and your conclusion memorable? Would the use of a prop add to the dramatic effect?

 Time - You have only about 2 ½ minutes or so to make an impact, so make sure you use this time to
drive home your points. Note: The average speaker uses 135 words a minute when speaking

 Movement - You can move of course, but don’t pace around the stage, which distracts the audience. When moving, move with purpose

 Final Tip - It will be a night you will always remember, you may be a little nervous before you speak, that is natural and helpful. Just smile, enjoy the experience and remember …
THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP…BE YOURSELF

PS - The best supported pupil`s fan club will receive a prize. The average is 12 supporters per pupil in our experience, so bring your friends and family.