Gnomes steal the show at local public speaking competition

Half a dozen enthusiastic local ESU supporters made their way to Colchester English Study Centre in the afternoon of Thursday, 27 February to see seven German soon-to-be attachés compete in a light-hearted individual public speaking competition. The ESU members joined students at the centre to form an attentive audience which asked probing questions and voted on a winner.

Topics covered included prowess in engineering, adherence to rules, timekeeping, the German sense of humour, beer and sausages and identifying as a German woman. However, it was the much-maligned garden gnome which inspired the prize-winning performance.

The event was charmingly compered by a female Saudi student and valuable feedback was given to the contestants by regular ESU contributor, Karen Bellerby, an expert assessor of Toastmasters International.

Picture: Craig Mclachlan via Unsplash