In another great year for the Plunket Medal for oratory, Aidan Kang has come out the 2009 winner for his speech on child slavery entitled ‘Blood Chocolate‘. Check out the media section after this weekend for his winning speech. Anyone wanting a DVD of the speeches, please email sebtempleton@gmail.com. DVDs will be $5 to cover costs. Well done to Aidan and to all other entrants.

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Tonight is the prestigous Plunket Medal for oratory. We have 5 very competitive entries, and it should be a really interesting night. Make sure you come along and support the speakers. It will go from 7:30 until about 9:30, in the Hunter Council Chambers up at Kelburn Campus. There will be snacks provided after the orations. Check the Facebook event for more details.

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Hi everyone,

A few further messages about the Plunket Medal being held on Monday 14th September in the Hunter Council Chamber at 7:30pm:

1) I’ve now extended the final entry date to Friday 11th September at 5pm. Please email emilyrobyn@gmail.com with your name and the title of your speech by then.

2) The Learn to Orate evening is confirmed for Friday 11th September at 5:30pm. It will be held in the Law School Moot Room (GB340, Government Buildings, Pipitea Campus). Oratory expert Melda Townsley will take it and anyone is welcome to attend (including those who are not actually taking part in Plunket)

3) Some further notes on the competition itself (also available on the Debsoc website):

The orations are 10-12 minutes, with no bells of any kind. Speeches must reach 10 minutes or will be disqualified. Speeches going over 12 minutes will have points deducted. Orations must be given without notes also. Oration is not a debate by any means. It is also not a comedy session, although humour is always a useful technique if employed well. An oration should move the audience and use various techniques to take the audience on a journey. It is not important to pick a motion as in debates, but more to pick a topic that you can use to employ emotion and make people think. For a great example, check the Debsoc Guide’s Video Section for Robbie Allan’s speech that won him the competition in 2007 (www.debsoc.co.nz) .

If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to contact me!

Cheers,

Emily

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If you’re interested in competing in Plunket this year, send an email to Emily at emilyrobyn@gmail.com by Tuesday this week registering yourself. Plunket will be held on the night of Monday 14 Sept and is an exceptional competition for oratory, with the winner receiving the prestigous Plunket Medal and their name on the Honours Board. For more information on the style and what an oration is (it is definitely not a debate) check the Debating Styles page on the website. Yes, I know that doesn’t really accord with the fact that it’s not a debating style but put up with it. It makes sense.

Also let Emily know if you would be interested in a ‘Learn to Orate’ evening the Friday beforehand (11th Sept) with an oration instructor at 5:30pm.

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Congratulations to Richard D’Ath, who tonight won the 2008 Plunket Medal Oratory Contest in front of a large and appreciative crowd in the Hunter Council Chamber at Victoria University. The final was of a very high standard with the chair of the judges’ panel commenting that it was the highest standard of oratory at Plunket they had seen for a good decade or so.

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In a highly competitive preliminary round tonight in the SUB, Melda Townsley whittled the Plunket entrants down to six, to contest the final tomorrow night. The finalists are (in no particular order): Brent Perry, Daniel Wilson, Nigel Smith, Richard D’Ath, Chris Blackford, and Nik Bruce-Smith. See you tomorrow night at 7.30pm in the HCC for a night of great oratory.

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It’s here! We’ve told you about it every week and now it’s finally coming around. Plunket Medal is this Wednesday at 7:30pm in the hunter Council Chambers, so there’s no debating this week. Plunket is a very prestigous oratory competition (the most in NZ) and everyone should definitely come along. Prelims are on Tuesday night so those through to Wednesday will all be really worth watching (as will those who miss out, but such is competition). Entrants should have emailed Emily now, and given her a title for your oration too. Everyone should come along and enjoy this evening. Refreshments will be provided after the orations.

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Plunket is coming soon! The winning speech from last year has now been added under the Debsoc Guide > Video Section page. Check that out, and the basic rules on that page for an idea of what an oration is. There is a more detailed description under the Debsoc Guide > Debating Styles page also.

So what’s happening with Plunket?

- Next Thursday 11 Sept at 6:30 in the SUB, Melda Townsly is running a ‘Learn to Orate’ night. Anyone can attend this, and it is a great chance to learn some good stuff. Melda is one of the judges for Plunket.
- Wed 24th September at 6:30 in the Hunter Council CHambers will be the Plunket Medal.

To enter Plunket, email your name and title of your oration to emilyrobyn@gmail.com by 5pm on Friday 19th Sept. Also feel free to email a mild interest or ask any questions. Plunket is a hugely prestigous competition and everyone should think about entering!

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Plunket was huge last year and is continually regaining its name as one of the University’s premier competitions. This year Plunket will again be held in the second trimester. Keep a watch here for more updates, but in the meantime make sure you check out last year’s winning speech from Robbie and start thinking about yours! You can never practice too much for a chance to have your name on the Honour’s Board, and ownsership of the highly regarded Plunket Medal.

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