Hawke’s Bay 10-year-old wins National Speech competition

Ten-year-old Hawke’s Bay student Renee Kundu has won her category in the GreatTalk National Speech competition, earning a trip to Parliament next month where she will debate with ministers and tour the building.

The Year 6 Hastings Central School student was among nearly 170 young speakers from across Aotearoa New Zealand who took part in the competition, sharing ideas, perspectives and personal stories, The New Zealand Herald has reported.

Renee was named a grand finalist after presenting a speech during the preliminary online rounds on the topic, “What if adults had to live by school rules?”

“It was a funny speech, but the thing is I find it better when I say a persuasive speech, because I’m not funny, to be honest,” she said, as quoted by Herald. 

She was later selected as one of six finalists in the Year 5 and 6 category and travelled to Auckland, where she presented a prepared speech titled “The Power of Positive Thinking”.

“I decided to do positive thinking on how I connect to people with my own personal story, because that’s what my mum taught me, that you connect better when you talk about personal stuff," Herald quoted.

Renee also delivered an impromptu speech on the best invention, choosing books as her topic.

GreatTalk facilitator Jessie Wu said Renee’s prepared and impromptu speeches were excellent and had left a strong impression.

“She drew on her own experiences and shared her personal understanding of the topic in a very genuine and thoughtful way.

“It left a really strong impression on us," Herald quoted.

Renee said she began her prepared speech by describing how she tries to stay positive when she feels nervous.

“Whenever I do go on to a stage, I always think, ‘Okay, I’m scared, but that also feels the same as excited, doesn’t it?’, so I decided to incorporate that in some way.”

The speech included personal experiences from her life, including her parents’ separation when she was 4 and her move to Hastings Central School this year, where she had to meet new people and find her place again.

Renee said sharing such personal experiences initially made her reconsider the speech.

“I told my mum at some point that I didn’t want to do it and I wanted to change it to something else, but then she told me, ‘Okay, go ahead, but I’m pretty sure that if you do this it will make you feel much better about it.’

“She was right; when I finished saying my speech in front of the judges, it did make me feel really good.”

She said speaking truthfully about personal experiences could help a speaker connect with an audience.

“You connect to people when you tell the truth and when you make yourself vulnerable, like not doing it out of sympathy, but doing it out of being an inspiration.

“It catches their attention, emotionally, not just physically," Herald quoted.

Renee also incorporated a technique suggested by her uncle, who encouraged her to include something that could connect with everyone in the audience.

“My uncle actually told me that I shouldn’t just have something that connects to me; I should have something that would connect to everyone in the room.

“I thought about how the All Blacks would approach their game. When something doesn’t go their way, they don’t stay stuck on that moment. They choose positive thinking and focus on what they can do next to win the game. Because with the All Blacks, there’s always a way back,” she wrote.

Hastings Central School principal Mike Winkley said Renee had understood themes that many adults were still working to grasp.

After listening to her speak, he said people could expect her to be 18 or 19 because of the maturity with which she delivered her speech.

He described Renee as a fantastic speaker with a humble personality.

“The fact she has only just ticked over to double digits as a 10-year-old and to be able to talk about these themes that a lot of adults ... haven’t quite got in place themselves or are trying to work hard at.

“To have at her age is simply phenomenal.”

The Power of Positive Thinking, a speech by Renee Kundu

Good morning, everyone,

As I step on to this stage today, my heart races and a wave of butterflies fill my stomach.

But instead of telling myself, “I’m scared,” I choose to say, “I’m excited.” That is the power of positive thinking.

Sometimes we cannot change what we feel, but we can change how we look at it.

Today, I stand before you to tell you how I choose to think positive.

When I was just 4 years old, my parents separated. It was a big change in my life.

That’s when I realised that a positive mind can find hope in change.

And see, today, they are both here, watching me, supporting me, and cheering me on.

That reminds me that, even when life changes, there can still be love, support and happy moments.

There have been times when life has tested me. This year, I had to change schools in the middle of the year because of my mum’s work.

Starting over, meeting new people and finding my place was hard.

There were moments when I felt nervous and a little overwhelmed.

But I chose positive thinking.

I thought about how the All Blacks would approach their game.

When something doesn’t go their way, they don’t stay stuck on that moment.

They choose positive thinking and focus on what they can do next to win the game.

Because with the All Blacks, there’s always a way back. I tried to do the same.

Instead of focusing on what was difficult, I focused on what I could do next.

I joined the Bookworms Club, got to know my classmates, and worked hard to catch up with what the class was learning.

Little by little, the unfamiliar became comfortable.

That made me realise that positive thinking can turn a difficult beginning into a new opportunity.

Being positive doesn’t mean that everything is always perfect.

It means choosing how I respond when things are difficult.

For me, positive thinking isn’t just this amazing moment, standing on a stage and speaking in front of everyone.

Positive thinking is also the quiet moments.

It is when I feel sad and tell myself, “It will be okay.”

And it’s when I make a mistake and think, “It’s all right. What can I learn from it?”

I have learned that being positive doesn’t mean ignoring our problems.

It means believing that we can get through them.

So if you ever find yourself in a challenging situation, pause. Take a deep breath.

Look at how far you’ve already come.

And tell yourself, “I’m still learning. I’m still growing. And I’m still becoming the person I’m meant to be.”

Because the bravest thing we can do is choose a positive thought, take one more step, and simply keep going.