It was one fine evening when Andaré, the royal comedian, was at home having a peaceful nap. Suddenly, he heard a messenger shouting from the distance saying, “Are you good at humorous speech? It is time to show your talents then!” Andaré was surprised by the news and he was eager to know what is going on. He thought, “I am the best humorous speaker in the country. Who else can show off better than me?” Andaré jumped out of bed and ran to the messenger.
“Hey, Messenger, wait a bit!” Andaré shouted from distance. “What is this talk about a humorous speech? I really want to know.” The messenger replied with a smile saying, “Andaré, this is about Enliven 2021, the all Island English language humorous speech and evaluation contest organized by Gavel Club of University of Colombo.” “Wow!” said Andaré. “If there is anybody who can win such a competition, that would be me.” Andaré was so excited. “Yes Mr. Andaré, I am aware of that, but I am also afraid that you are not eligible for this competition. It is for university students below age 27 and school students of age between 13-20 years “replied the messenger. “Oh no! I am too old for this right?” Andaré was upset but then a nice idea popped into his head. “If it is available for university students, my elder son can participate and for the school category, my younger daughter can participate!” Andaré said with excitement. “Yes, yes Andarĕ, but remember, your kids can only use the English Language that no dialogues or phrases can be expressed in other languages” emphasized the messenger.
“Good you told me that,” said Andaré. “I can prepare speeches for the kids including my jokes and of course they can talk about our king and queen. There will be a lot of humor in that, to be honest!” Andaré laughingly said. “No, No! Andaré. Competitors will be disqualified if their speech discriminates against a particular section of a community or if their speeches are politically motivated. Also, originality should be there. If your kids are going to use the phrases or jokes made by you, they have犀利士 to provide reference” messenger explained.
Andaré was really shocked. “Oh really! It is great that you told me this beforehand. Anyway, I can teach them plenty of humor that they can speak for hours long!” Andaré said delightfully. “Oh, you see Mr. Andaré” replied the messenger. “Nobody can speak for hours long. A speech should have a duration of 5-7 minutes. If it ends before 4 minutes and 30 seconds or exceeds 7 minutes and 30 seconds, the contestant will be disqualified.”
“See! There are a lot of things I am not aware of. I will keep those things in mind and I am really excited to see my kids perform in a humorous speech contest. They can wear the joker dress as well as my stupid hat as the attire. I can come with my wife to see how they perform on stage.” Andaré was eager for the contest. “Again!” the messenger said with a smile. “Your kids must not wear any funny attires. As this is a formal competition, all contestants have to participate in a formal dress. Also, this time because of the COVID 19 situation of the country, no gatherings are allowed. Therefore, the contest will be held in a virtual platform via Zoom, so your kids can do their speeches staying at home itself!”
“Wow! What a great idea! I can watch them from home then. But, I am worried whether my kids would face any technical difficulties bec必利勁 ause Zoom is a new thing to all of us.” Andaré’s voice was low. “Do not worry about it at all Andarĕ, just make your kids ready for the competition. The organizing committee will be conducting practice sessions two weeks before preliminaries. So, if your kids have any issues, they can solve them in the practice sessions”
“Oh thank god! What a superb organizing committee!” Andaré was relieved. I will ask my kids to get ready. I hope there would be a good panel of judges as well, isn’t it?” Messenger smilingly replied, “Why not! Andaré. They will be assessing the speakers on speech content, speech delivery as well as the appropriateness and correctness in language. Also, the decision of judges would be final!” Andaré was really happy, “Ah! Thank you so much for all this valuable information. One last thing, how can I get my kids registered for the contest?”
“Oh! Totally forgot to tell you. It is easy-peasy. Just visit the Gavel UoC website and you will see the registration portal there or you can visit their Social Media Pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. There are a lot of posts published on this competition and in the descriptions of those posts, you will find the link for registration. I will give you a good hint, Andaré. Do not forget to keep in touch with their Social Media pages so that the kids can be updated on what is happening next!” the messenger said.
“Marvelous!” Andaré told delightfully. “I will get my kids registered today itself. Thank you again for all the information, dear messenger” Andaré came home with a happy heart and he was having high hopes to see his kids achieving the title of the best humorous speaker of the year!
P.S. by the author
Are you feeling excited too? Do you think you have more potential than Andarĕ’s kids to win this contest? So, why wait! Register today via the following link and be a part of the most awaited speech competition of the year, and that is none other than “Enliven 2021”!
Link for registration: https://www.gavel.cmb.ac.lk/?page_id=1116
2 Responses