ALAN DEVINE
PUBLIC SPEAKING
On Wednesday, the 4th of October, Alan Devine, visited our school. Alan, better known to most as Louis from Irish soap, Fair City, spoke to us about public speaking, ironically. Alan purposefully started the day off with a boring introduction, giving us the impression that he was nervous and lifeless. He was fidgeting with his fingers while staring at the ground and speaking in a monotonous tone, before quickly bouncing into character and changing his personality completely, taking everyone by surprise. From that point onwards, he was extremely enthusiastic, and full of energy.
Alan then spoke to us about himself for a while, before telling us the 5 necessary skills for public speaking. These comprised of a strong walk, a powerful stance, making eye contact, the use of hand gestures, and finally, what he referred to as 'Granny Devine's Smile'. Throughout the day, Alan played various games with us, all of which incorporating at least one of the 5 skills, with the aim of improving our overall public speaking skills, but more importantly, taking us out of our comfort zones and building our confidence, while having fun along the way. The games and exercises were quite enjoyable, be it telling one of Alan's cringey jokes, or describing a word to your classmate's, but being restricted in the words you could use to describe it.
Alan interacted well with all of us during the day, and his personality, although somewhat over enthusiastic at times, did help everyone to relax, and enjoy themselves. I think that he helped a lot of people to come out of their shell, and feel a lot more confident in situations required to deliver a speech, and even to feel more confident in every day life. The following Friday, Alan returned to listen to our own speeches that we had prepared for him, I found this activity very interesting to listen to my fellow classmates talk about their own life, or something important to them, and Alan had something positive to say about everyone's speech, while also giving us pointers on how we could improve. The speeches ranged from Quantom Physics and Space Travel, to the recent rise in price of animal bars.
Overall, I was glad when I had delivered my speech, and found Alan very helpful. This was an invaluable experience that doesn't come around very often, and will hopefully help me in later life.
Alan then spoke to us about himself for a while, before telling us the 5 necessary skills for public speaking. These comprised of a strong walk, a powerful stance, making eye contact, the use of hand gestures, and finally, what he referred to as 'Granny Devine's Smile'. Throughout the day, Alan played various games with us, all of which incorporating at least one of the 5 skills, with the aim of improving our overall public speaking skills, but more importantly, taking us out of our comfort zones and building our confidence, while having fun along the way. The games and exercises were quite enjoyable, be it telling one of Alan's cringey jokes, or describing a word to your classmate's, but being restricted in the words you could use to describe it.
Alan interacted well with all of us during the day, and his personality, although somewhat over enthusiastic at times, did help everyone to relax, and enjoy themselves. I think that he helped a lot of people to come out of their shell, and feel a lot more confident in situations required to deliver a speech, and even to feel more confident in every day life. The following Friday, Alan returned to listen to our own speeches that we had prepared for him, I found this activity very interesting to listen to my fellow classmates talk about their own life, or something important to them, and Alan had something positive to say about everyone's speech, while also giving us pointers on how we could improve. The speeches ranged from Quantom Physics and Space Travel, to the recent rise in price of animal bars.
Overall, I was glad when I had delivered my speech, and found Alan very helpful. This was an invaluable experience that doesn't come around very often, and will hopefully help me in later life.