Young speakers leave lasting legacy

SOME of the region’s best public speakers have gathered at Legacy House, Ballarat to take part in the annual Legacy Junior Public Speaking Competition.

The event was held last week and included students from Mount Clear College, Damascus College, Loreto College, Ballarat Grammar, St Patrick’s College and Phoenix P-12 Community College.

The joint winners of the competition were Isabeau Turner from Damascus College and Milla Russell from Loreto College, while Eva Cummins from Loreto was named runner up.

Participants were required to prepare a five-minute speech and give a two-minute impromptu speech.

There were diverse speech topics including feminism, zine culture and the importance of living in the moment.

“I love being able to have an audience to share my ideas with,” Isabeau said.

“Listening to other people is definitely one of the best bits.”

This year was Milla’s first time taking part in the competition and she said public speaking has helped her develop life skills.

“I like that it builds my confidence with talking so if I ever have something I really want to say I will have the voice to be able to do it,” she said.

The winners will progress onto the Victorian state final to be held in September before the national final in Adelaide later this year.