On the 7th of October, 5B Mary Mikfung Thewe attended the PolyU Invitational English Speech Contest. After 3 weekends of training provided by PolyU, the final involved poetry reading, persuasive speaking and impromptu speaking in three successive rounds. After each round, the top 50% were allowed to move onto the next round. Facing off against 50 students from 25 different schools in Hong Kong, Mary claimed the prize for best poetry reading and overall champion for the whole competition.
Results:
Overall
Champion: Mary Mikfung Thewe (Hong Kong True Light College)
1st Runner-up: Lin Wei Xin (St. Paul’s Co-educational College)
2nd Runner-up: Sung Hei Yan, Christopher (Victoria Shanghai Academy)
Individual Category
Poetry Recitation: Mary Mikfung Thewe (Hong Kong True Light College)
Persuasive Speech: Sung Hei Yan, Christopher (Victoria Shanghai Academy)
Impromptu Speech: Lam Chung Ching (Lai King Catholic Secondary School)
“A mountain of emotions welled up in me as I heard my name being called to the centre of the stage. To become champion was surely not something I was expecting, yet to say I was happy would be the understatement of the century.
Initially, I was not planning to win. I had always been insecure about my public speaking skills and never thought I was good enough. But as the training workshops progressed and I met many incredible people who had their own drive and passion, it pushed me to want to be as good as them. My motivation to work as hard as I could grew day by day, and it was not going to stop.
I learnt many things during the contest, like being a better public speaker, thinking on the spot, and manipulating language to fit how I want it to. Yet the most impactful lesson the contest taught me was confidence, not only on the stage but in life. I found myself coming out of my shell more and not fearing what others thought. I no longer cowered in front of my insecurities, but learnt to embrace and soon overcome them.
The task of writing a good-quality script in the span of two weeks was definitely the most daunting part of the contest. Often, it takes me months to complete a speech script that I am satisfied with, hence, my boundaries were certainly being tested. Yet due to this short time frame for preparation, it taught me to manage my time better, something I used to be terrible at. It also taught me to write more clear-cut and in a more organised fashion, which is a valuable skill to possess.
Overall, I had the time of my life participating in the contest and I will hold all the memories of it dear to my heart.” – 5B Mary Mikfung Thewe
