Wetherby Speakers Club member Chris Clissitt was a double winner in the Association of Speakers Clubs Area Contests held in York on Sunday.  There were three separate categories of speaking skills under scrutiny in the contests. The first was Topics where each contestant was required to speak for three minutes on the title “Actions Speak LouderThan Words” without advanced knowledge of the subject and with no preparation time.  This gave Chris his first win of the afternoon with Clive Dawson of York Railway Institute Speakers Club coming second.

The second category was a Prepared Speech which was won by Helen Tait of York Railway Institute with a fascinating speech entitled “Whispered Words of Wisdom” about Helen’s success in developing the ability to communicate with horses, acquired on a Horse Whisperers Course.  In second place was Helen’s co-member of York RI Club, Lindsay Dutch, with a speech about the sinking of the Titanic. It will be the 100^th Anniversary of the disaster on 12^th April this year.

The final contest challenged the contestants’ skills at Evaluation, where they were required to analyse another Speaker’s performance and provide constructive advice on how to improve. The contestants all evaluated a speech by Aileen Minns entitled “Causing a Flutter” about her experiences in raising chickens.  The speech was designed to allow Aileen to develop her vocal skills.  The Evaluation Contest gave Chris his second win, beating Andrew Hodge into second place.  Chris will represent the Vale of York Area in the next round of the National Speaking Contests on 19^th February.

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