Young orators go head-to-head

SPEAKING OUT: Tohiariki Wikatene of Rotorua Boys' High is looking forward to competing in the Nga Manu Korero competition this week. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER 060514SP5

The oratory skills of secondary students will be on full display at the 2014 Nga Manu Korero competition in Rotorua.

The speech competition will have schools throughout the Te Arawa region competing at the one-day event at Tangatarua meeting house at Waiariki Institute of Technology on Friday.

Rotorua Boys' High School teacher and spokesman for the regional co-ordinators, Wairangi Jones, said there were benefits for the students to take part. Junior and senior students can compete in either the English or te reo Maori section with seniors able to take part in the impromptu speech category.

"The range of topics chosen have tried to be as youth-oriented as possible and need to be topical and challenging. It involves the students doing their research and trying to find out as much as they can and delve into it to understand, write about it and speak confidently."

Some of the topics for the prepared English speech included YOLO - "you only live once", being Maori is an asset, plan to achieve and graffiti, a crime or an art?

"The areas the judges are looking at is how well a speech is developed, organising their ideas and having a dynamic statement to introduce the speech and build up a strong conclusion," Mr Jones said.

"They will look at the manner of speech presented, how confident they are and their enthusiasm and understanding of what they are saying."

Mr Jones said for the te reo section, judges will assess how well students stuck to the topic, how each point flowed on to the next and the "pure passion" they had for the subject.

"Those that have reached the top echelon of Maoridom, whether it be in business, education, law and health, many of them have been ex-Manu Korero winners," Mr Jones said.

The four winners of each section will go on to compete in the national competition held later this year.

Representing Rotorua Boys' High School in the junior te reo Maori section will be Tohiariki Wikatene. The 14-year-old said he would be talking about teenagers' interests and what was wrong with Facebook.

"I have been doing speeches my whole life but I want to stand up and do my best [on the day]," he said.

"I don't want to feel like I have to win but do the best I can."