St Vincent Grammar School sweeps Public Speaking competition

It was clear from the outset of the Lions Club South/Flow National Secondary Schools Public Speaking Competition that Christian Joseph left his nerves at home and brought only his best oratory skills to the Kingstown Methodist Church Hall.

The St Vincent Grammar School student swept two of the three contested categories to take the winning trophy to its new Richmond Hill home during the finals of the competition on October 24.

FROM LEFT: Third place Rayanna Ross, Mountain View Seventh Day Adventist Academy, Second place Jonneil Stowe of Girls’ High School (GHS) and winner Christian Joseph of the St Vincent Grammar School.

The six finalists went through three rigorous rounds on the night, presenting on the main topic: “Unless criminals’ proximity to power is reduced,
their ill gotten gains confiscated and a culture of lawfulness fostered, the level of crime will remain at unacceptable levels”, as well as the students’ prepared and impromptu speeches.

Joseph amassed a total of 421 points for first place, second place went to Jonneil Stowe of the Girls’ High School who scored 374 points and Rayanna Ross of the Mountain View Seventh Day Adventist Academy was third with 365 points.

‘Cool’ Christian beats the competition

A poised and relaxed Joseph presented a well-researched main topic incorporating local, high-profile criminal cases to back his argument as to why crimes should be punished swiftly and harshly.

He told SEARCHLIGHT in a post-win interview that weeks of research, making changes and rehearsing his speech resulted in a flawless presentation.

“That is probably the best I have ever done it. In terms of preparation, I had struggled a lot… I did a lot of research and then I had to change it to make it a lot less controversial.”

His prepared speech used the nursery rhyme, ‘Cobbler Mend My Shoes’ as an analogy for the burdens that youth face in their daily lives and the need for a “cobbler” to ease their responsibilities. Hiccups in the Impromptu Round, on the topic ‘Vincy van culture’, caused him to fall short of his goal.
“I came with the intention of winning all three categories .There was stuff that I had planned to say that I forgot in the heat of everything… I
know I should have done better.”

Jonniel pleased with performance Stowe put in a consistent performance on the night to land second place, describing the preparation as “tedious and stressful”.

Winner of the Impromptu Speech, Soren Phillips (left), with father Edwin who was the topic of his presentation.

“We persevered and now we are here,” Stowe told SEARCHLIGHT.

Back in 2017 when she was a Lodge Village Government School student, Stowe had risen above Joseph, who was then a Kingstown Preparatory School student, to take the first place trophy in the Courts Reading Competition.

She said while she wanted to have another winning streak, feedback from teachers and family pointed to the category where she fell short.
“Elections is a very tricky topic… the impromptu could have been better, but the nerves… if I pushed myself a little more with the impromptu I could’ve gotten better results.”

Rayanna in third with surprise performance

Ross, a soft-spoken but articulate lass, said that she surprised herself twice in the competition – first by landing a spot in the finals and again when she placed third.

“I thought that the others were speaking so well, I didn’t even think I could be in the top three… today I realized that I do have the potential and I need to use my abilities more.”

For the student prepared speech, Ross presented on the topic: “Drink Water and Mind Your Business’, criticizing the spirit of apathy that has transcended Vincentian society.

The aspiring medical doctor said that for her, public speaking is a skill that will prove useful during her future career.

Soren wins Impromptu Speech

Although he did not secure a spot in the top three, Form Five student and Head Boy of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School, Soren Phillips stood head and shoulders above his competition to win the Impromptu round.

He scored 78.5 out of the allotted 100 points for the segment on the topic ‘My Hero’. He explained that his participation in the competition only came as a result of the selected student dropping out and it was his father who “got him back in the game” when his confidence wavered heading into the competition.

The senior, Edwin Phillips, said he knows his son’s potential as it relates to structuring presentations and he is proud that parental support led to a win on the night.

“When your son says something like that … you want to cry because you know you have done a good job.”