It was a successful outing at the Ngā Manu Kōrero competition final for Sophia 'Unga-Cribb who brought home the Taa Turi Kara trophy for winning the junior English speech section. Photo / Stuart Munro
"There was a slight bit of pressure to bring back the trophy for the Cribb's, but I did it," 'Unga-Cribb says.
"It's a bit heavy, but she'll be right."
'Unga-Cribb attended Te Kura o Kokohuia, before moving on to Whanganui Intermediate School and she now attends Whanganui High School.
She said that all of her teachers, or kaiako, have helped with her learning and development, but no one has been as important as her Mum, Piri Cribb.
"Mum taught me how to be a confident speaker when I was young," 'Unga-Cribb says.
"It's always been Mum, she's my coach, my personal life coach."
'Unga-Cribb performed her six-minute speech 10 ways to teach me in front of a packed out Houhoupiko Showgrounds in Gisborne.
"It started out as banter between me and Mum about parenting, I used to hold her accountable for things to do with it," 'Unga-Cribb says.
"Like if we were arguing, she'd change the subject and I'd call her out and say 'Parenting 101, change the subject so your daughter doesn't remember what you're arguing about.'"
Other factors focused on in the speech were accountability, responsibility, freedom to make mistakes, opportunities, courage, happiness, confidence and love.
A lot of practise goes into delivering a good speech, 'Unga-Cribb says.
"The gestures you use, the tone of your voice and even your facial expressions come into it. If you say something happy and you're frowning, that's going to confuse people.
"I like the adrenaline rush you get on stage and that feeling of satisfaction you get when you finish your speech. It's a good feeling and to win is just a bonus."
'Unga-Cribb is focusing on one big event at a time currently, but will be looking at adding a senior English title to her list of accolades at Ngā Manu Kōrero next year.
Piri Cribb attended the final, she felt many emotions throughout the experience, but the overwhelming feeling was pride.
"There's a piece in her speech about the freedom to make mistakes," Cribb says.
"As a parent, there are times that you can't fully control what's going on for your child and having to let them go out and do it on their own can be scary.
"Watching her up there on the stage was scary, but I was confident that she had it and when they announced her as the winner, I was elated.
"I'm honored as her mother that she would see me as someone who can have that kind of influence on her life."
