Local speakers show skills, gain confidence

By Adelle Ellis, Times Reporter

Young and talented speakers from various 4-H clubs within Wheatland County gathered on March 10 at the Strathmore Civic Centre for the Wheatland District 4-H Speak-offs, where they delivered speeches and presentations at the second level of the public speaking competition.
This advanced opportunity allowed each 4-H club’s top two speakers in each level – junior, intermediate and senior – to recite their speeches or presentations to a new set of judges alongside other advanced speechmakers from different clubs.
All 4-H members are required to participate in at least one communications activity every year, usually a formal prepared speech or a presentation. However, some senior members may instead opt to emcee an event or host a workshop in lieu of presenting a formal speech.
“(Public speaking) is an important skill to have no matter what your career is,” said Grace Heuver, Grade 11 student and senior member of the Cheadle 4-H club. “It’s a good thing to have for anything in your life – just to be able to talk to people is important. I think that in the long run it will pay off, it’s even paying off now just in school presentations.”
Heuver placed second in the senior competition with her speech Failing to Fail.
Present at the Wheatland District 4-H Speak-offs were 30 speakers from seven different 4-H clubs in the district. Topics included learning how to make DIY weather instruments; how to grow the best beans; the essentials of travelling to Australia; driving in the new age; and the fight for women’s equality, among many other topics.
At the end of the competition, each speaker was able to take home a set of judges’ notes to potentially give them hints and tips to help them in the future.
“I have learned about projecting my voice a bit more and using actions to describe what I am saying,” said Maria Berke, first place winner in the junior presentation level, who spoke on how to make weather instruments.
“I was going to do a speech … (but) when I’m speaking I need something to do with my hands, so a presentation lets me do something with my hands,” she added.
According to a study conducted in 2016 by the Statistic Brain Research Institute, approximately three out of four people, or 74 per cent, suffer from a form of speech anxiety. Glossophobia, or the fear of public speaking or stage fright, is the number one fear of all the known phobias, affecting approximately 19 per cent of people involved in the study.
4-H aims, among many other things, to prepare members for real world situations through involving them in practical life lessons targeted at teaching members responsibility and confidence.
Members learn this through running their own meetings with minutes, financial reports and upcoming event planning, through participating in a yearly public speaking event and through putting together a final project – whether that be showing an animal they have taken care of, or putting together a media presentation such as photography or crocheting.
Researching, writing and delivering a speech or presentation helps 4-H members gain valuable life skills that will benefit them in the future, such as in job or school interviews, meetings or work presentations. It is also beneficial to help the members learn how to stand up and speak in front of a crowd and even just to hold a conversation with another person.
“I think it’s incredible because when I was nine, and first started 4-H, I was a super shy kid. My first public speaking event I cried because I was so nervous about it,” said Heuver. “Considering how far I’ve come in my confidence level and my ability to do this is surprising to me. I definitely think it’s super important for a lot of people to do this because I know I never would have gotten this far without 4-H and I probably still wouldn’t be able to talk in a room of people without it.”
Winners from this year’s district communications event include:
Junior prepared speeches: 1st – Brianna Hollingsworth; 2nd – Zandraya Hunter; Alternate – Jaxon Campbell.
Intermediate prepared speeches: 1st – Jayce Beekman; 2nd – Jason Slemko; Alt. – Rylee Walstra.
Senior prepared speeches: 1st – Mya Ingraham; 2nd – Grace Heuver; Alt. – Bailey Steiner.
Junior presentation: 1st – Maria Berke; 2nd – Abbey Everett; Alt. – Katie Harder.
Intermediate presentation: 1st – Abby van Egmond; 2nd – Corbin Thiessen; Alt. – Madisyn Warder.
Senior presentation: 1st – Kaity Stewart and Katherine Fitzgerald; 2nd – Landon Hebbes; Alt. – Jonathan Fitzgerald.
The top two winners from each level will present their speeches or presentations at the Regional Speak-offs at the Strathmore Civic Centre on March 24.