By Gv. Mevan Induruwa
As a part of the series of workshops organized by the Gavel Club of University of Ruhuna, “Meet The Experts 2021” which consisted of two workshops was conducted to improve the two main styles of public speaking, namely Prepared and Impromptu, among the Ruhuna Gaveliers at competition level. The first session which was the Prepared Speech Workshop was held on the 12th of August at 7pm and what a success it was!
In the first week of August, with more than two weeks to go for the session we set out and contacted DTM Dr. Lakmali Ranatunga who to our knowledge at that time was some senior Toastmaster with loads of experience as a Competition Judge. After managing to reach her through her busy schedule, we then began our marketing campaign, at first together with the Organizing Team of “Appraisa 2021” and then later alone once the Evaluation Workshop concluded. Flyers were designed, videos were created and content was written to appeal to our own Gaveliers and finally, it was the day of the Workshop.
The session started sharp at 7.00 p.m. as I started proceedings of the evening and invited Prof. Kanthi Yapa, the Patron of our Club to deliver the Welcome Speech. Even though Prof. Yapa was unable to attend the session, Madam had taken the time to record her speech and send us just in time before we started.
Next up, was the main event, the speech that everyone was awaiting eagerly. It was time for DTM Dr. Lakmali Ranatunga to take over the proceedings. Madam started gracefully, swiftly making the audience settle into her own world. Within a matter of a few minutes, everyone was just glued to their screens as DTM Lakmali pieced out one by one the A to Zs of Prepared Speeches, going into much detail.
Often DTM Lakmali would ask a question or two from the audience to which she would receive quick answers. The hot topic that Madam most often used as an example was “The day at the Zoo” which just stroked the interest of the audience as she related each component of a prepared speech using this topic. Madam used diagrams in her presentation in a very interesting manner, engaging the audience throughout. Madam also highlighted the themes of each of the ten speeches in the Competent Communicator(CC) series and ended the session in a special manner by showcasing the Official Judge Evaluation Sheets used in competitions and explaining the judging criteria used in competitions.
Gv. Tharushie then effortlessly hosted the Q and A session during which a ton of questions were asked by so many Gaveliers and even Toastmasters themselves who were present at the session. So much information was revealed even during this part of the session and many got their queries sorted.
The session ended so well with the whole audience having learnt so many new concepts. This session was truly a success, thanks to Prof. Kanthi Yapa, DTM Dr. Lakmali Ranatunga and all the Gaveliers who were behind it.
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