Club Idea – Junior Speaking
An informal practice can take place during the club meeting.
Procedure
1. The members need to be divided into three groups - one for chairmen,
one for speakers and the other for proposers of the vote of thanks.
2. All the groups are given 10 minutes to learn and prepare their role.
Chairman
The Chairman has 2 minutes to welcome the guests,
introduce the meeting and introduce the speaker.
Top tips:
1 Needs to have an air of authority – but keeping the team and audience relaxed
2 Never forget you are in charge of the whole meeting – from the moment you show
your Speaker to the Chair to the time you have escorted them from the room
3 Wait for the Judges’ signal before commencing
4 Have a running order of the meeting – cross off each section as it passes
5 Introduce Proposer in opening speech. Judges can check names more easily if
all introduced together
6 Work out a skeleton introduction for your Speaker – make him/her sound as
interesting as possible. Use humour if you can
7 At the end of the speech, briefly thank the Speaker; ask for questions firstly from
the Vote of Thanks Proposer and then two questions from the Judges (1 each).
Questions are not to be taken from any other source.
8 It helps the Vote of Thanks Proposer if you mention the Speaker’s name and
subject twice during the opening speech – especially if their name is complicated
9 Invite your Vote of Thanks Proposer by name to propose the Vote of Thanks
10 Add your final comments and formally close the meeting
Speaker
Speaker
The speaker has 6 minutes to talk.
Top tips:
1 Choose a subject that YOU are interested in – ignore any suggestions from
others, unless you are convinced you can tackle the subject with ease
2 Keep the wording of your speech simple and natural as if in conversation
3 Allow as much of your personality to show as possible – give YOUR ideas,
opinions and views
4 If you want to use visual aids, practice with them – there is an art in showing them
off so that everyone in the room can see them – also in the time of doing this
5 Read up on the subject – it will help when answering questions. Try not to learn
your speech off by heart – use postcard notes to remind you of the order of your
speech
6 Answer questions concisely – if you don’t know the answer then say so
7 Time your speech carefully – remember, marks are deducted for faulty timing
NFYFC/D&T/Oct 2009
Proposer of Vote of Thanks
The proposer of the vote of thanks has no time limit for the question but has 1 minute
for the vote of thanks at the end.
Top tips:
1
2
3
4
Work out skeleton speeches beforehand so you will have a rough idea of what
you are going to say
Ensure that the Chairman, when meeting the Speaker, writes down the
Speaker’s name and subject and hands this to the Vote of Thanks Proposer,
when the Speaker and Chairman enter meeting. (No other writing to be on the
card)
Listen carefully to the speech. Comment upon some aspect and ask a simple
question – nothing is gained in trying to catch the Speaker out
When giving the Vote of Thanks sound genuine, avoid clichés and remember
you are speaking on behalf of the whole audience
 Once the groups have planned what they are going to say divide them up into
groups of three with a chairman, speaker and proposer in each and allow them
10 minutes to practice.
 You can then ask those groups who feel confident to have a go in front of the
rest of the group.
Full set of rules are available from NFYFC.
NFYFC/D&T/Oct 2009