I mentioned before that I was a shy child, but at the Academy I joined the Debating Society. The teacher who ran it, Mr Liddell, also taught us the basics of public speaking - stand up straight, don't fidget, don't wave your hands about*, look out over the audience and make lots of eye contact, so tht everyone thinks you are talking to them. The highlight of my public speaking career was when four of us were invited to speak at the local Toastmasters' Club
this was the verdict on my speech
looking at the newspaper cutting, I see that I made the speech almost three weeks before my sixteenth birthday
and I still have my, by now somewhat tattered, original handwritten speech!
*modern politicians need to take note of that instruction!!