Speaking of Speaking

14 May 2014Conner C, Whittall ‘15

“Determination is your word, you have two minutes, GO” is a likely phrase articulated hundreds of times at the two day BC Speech Provincial Championships. The quote above describes the setting of one of six events at this tournament. In impromptu speaking, the speaker is given a piece of paper with a word, an object, and a phrase and then asked to choose one and speak on it for 3-5 minutes. No notes and only two minutes of prep time. Judges grade the speaker on a scale from 0-100. Many will fail, mess up, or break down, but Brentwood students don’t seem to have those flaws. Last Thursday morning the Brentwood Speech Team of Chantei M, Hope ‘14, Conner C, Whittall ‘16, Esme S, Allard ‘14, Garey G, Whittall ‘15, Ibrahim S, Whittall ‘15, Maria F, Allard ’15 & Sarah M, Alex ‘14 piled into a bus all slightly under prepared for what was about to happen after the ferry ride to Vancouver. Practice was essential and non-stop. The most senior speakers, Esme, Chantei, & Sarah took it upon themselves to organize a team practice of impromptu speaking on the ferry to an audience of seagulls. The bus from the ferry dock to our hotel was then filled with whispered speeches, rhetoric and a whole lot of mental concentration. Arriving at our hotel, there was a flurry of alterations and printing. Then we were off to Crofton House School to compete against the best speakers from across the province. Each student was required to participate in two impromptu speeches, one persuasive, one debate, and allowed to choose between interpretive reading or solo acting. An incredibly delicate yet powerfully moving persuasive speech led Esme to the finals along with Sarah in the events of interpretive reading and persuasive speaking. Although Brentwood is not sending speech students to Nationals this year, Esme & Sarah blew the minds of judges to earn 10th and 8th overall. Esme also earned 3rd in interpretive reading. This trip was amazing for all who participated and arguably the best debate trip of all time. Conner C, Whittall ‘15

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