Speech
AdvancedOpening → body → call to action → thanks.
- Speech format: greeting (Principal, teachers, fellow students), body, call to action, thank you.
- Name the objection first, then answer it — the audience feels understood.
- One good story beats three lectures: a character, details, a turn.
文體小知識：Formal talk.
§Text Passage
1Good afternoon, Principal, teachers and fellow students. Today I would like to talk about why every teenager should try volunteering. Some of you may think volunteering means giving up your precious free time. I used to think so too — until one summer changed my mind. My talk will take about five minutes, and I hope to change at least one mind.
2Last summer, I joined a service project visiting elderly people living alone in Sham Shui Po. At first, I simply helped with chores and read newspapers aloud. One afternoon, an old man called Uncle Ho asked me to sit down and just listen. He told me stories about the old harbour, his late wife and his favourite wonton shop. His eyes lit up whenever I asked another question. Soon, however, I realised that what they needed most was someone to listen. Volunteering is not about charity; it is about connection. I still visit him every month, and he calls me his grandson.
3Through service, we step outside our small world of exams and grades. We also develop empathy, communication skills and gratitude — qualities no textbook can teach. Research even shows that helping others lowers stress and makes us happier. Volunteering also looks good on your resume and university applications.
4I therefore encourage each of you to give just two hours a month. You do not need special skills, only an open heart and two hours. Join a flag-selling day, visit an elderly home, or teach a child to read. A small act of kindness can brighten two lives: theirs and ours. Thank you.
§Sentence-by-sentence translation Sentence-by-sentence translation
Good afternoon, Principal, teachers and fellow students.
校長、各位老師、各位同學，下午好。
Today I would like to talk about why every teenager should try volunteering.
今天我想說說為什麼每個青少年都應該試着做義工。
Some of you may think volunteering means giving up your precious free time.
有些人可能覺得做義工等於犧牲寶貴的空閒時間。
I used to think so too — until one summer changed my mind.
我以前也是這樣想——直到有一個暑假改變了我。
My talk will take about five minutes, and I hope to change at least one mind.
我的分享大約五分鐘，希望至少可以改變一個人的想法。
Last summer, I joined a service project visiting elderly people living alone in Sham Shui Po.
去年暑假，我參加了一個服務計劃，探訪深水埗獨居長者。
At first, I simply helped with chores and read newspapers aloud.
起初我只是幫忙做家務，以及讀報紙給他們聽。
One afternoon, an old man called Uncle Ho asked me to sit down and just listen.
有個下午，一位叫何伯的老人家叫我坐下，只是聽他說。
He told me stories about the old harbour, his late wife and his favourite wonton shop.
他跟我說舊碼頭、他已故的太太，還有他最喜歡的雲吞麵檔。
His eyes lit up whenever I asked another question.
每次我多問一個問題，他的眼睛就亮起來。
Soon, however, I realised that what they needed most was someone to listen.
但是很快我就發現，他們最需要的其實是有人肯聽他們說話。
Volunteering is not about charity; it is about connection.
做義工不是施捨，而是建立聯繫。
I still visit him every month, and he calls me his grandson.
我到現在每個月都去探望他，他還叫我做他的孫兒。
Through service, we step outside our small world of exams and grades.
透過服務，我們走出考試與成績那個小世界。
We also develop empathy, communication skills and gratitude — qualities no textbook can teach.
還學會同理心、溝通技巧與感恩——這些是沒有任何教科書能教的素質。
Research even shows that helping others lowers stress and makes us happier.
研究還顯示，幫人會減壓，令我們更快樂。
Volunteering also looks good on your resume and university applications.
做義工在履歷與大學申請上都有加分。
I therefore encourage each of you to give just two hours a month.
所以我鼓勵大家每個月給兩個小時就好。
You do not need special skills, only an open heart and two hours.
你不需要特別技能，只需要一顆開放的心和兩個小時。
Join a flag-selling day, visit an elderly home, or teach a child to read.
可以參加賣旗日、探訪老人院，或者教孩子閱讀。
A small act of kindness can brighten two lives: theirs and ours.
一個小小善舉，可以照亮兩個人的生命：他們的，以及我們的。
Thank you.
謝謝大家。
1Summary 重點摘要
Opening → body → call to action → thanks.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Talk.
Listeners.
Start.
Main.
End.
Ask.
Thanks.
Noisy.
3Step by step Steps
- OpeningGreet everyone completely: “Good afternoon, Principal, teachers and fellow students” — missing one title costs marks; state the topic in one sentence, and you may first voice the objection (“Some of you may think volunteering means giving up your precious free time”) before answering it.
- BodyOne point per paragraph: the model tells one full story — visiting elderly people living alone in Sham Shui Po, where Uncle Ho asks the writer to sit and listen to stories of the old harbour, his late wife and his wonton shop. One good story beats three lectures: a character, detail and turn.
- CallMake the call concrete: how much (two hours a month), what (join a flag-selling day, visit an elderly home, teach a child to read), how to start (You do not need special skills, only an open heart) — listeners know exactly what to do.
- EndNever forget Thank you; a memorable line lifts it further: “A small act of kindness can brighten two lives: theirs and ours” — one sentence holding the value of volunteering.
- Distil the pointAfter the story, distil the point: “Volunteering is not about charity; it is about connection” — never just tell the story; one line gives the point warmth and makes the examiner remember what you argued.
- Spoken styleKeep the language spoken: use we, you and Let us; short sentences that listeners absorb at once; hold back bookish words like moreover and nevertheless — a speech is heard, not read.
- Feeling plus logicAdd rational support after the story: empathy, communication skills, research showing that helping lowers stress, even resume value — feeling plus logic convinces the whole hall.
5Worked example Example
The model speech argues every teenager should try volunteering. Analyse how it opens by handling the objection, persuades through one personal story, and closes with a concrete call to action.
- Step 1: The greeting is complete (Principal, teachers, fellow students) and the opening quotes the objection — volunteering wastes precious free time — before defusing it: 'I used to think so too'.
- Step 2: The body is one story: visiting elderly people in Sham Shui Po, where Uncle Ho asks the writer simply to sit and listen.
- Step 3: The story yields the thesis: 'Volunteering is not about charity; it is about connection'.
- Step 4: Rational benefits follow: empathy, communication skills, research on stress, even university applications.
- Step 5: The call to action is impossible to refuse: two hours a month, flag-selling, visits, teaching a child — 'brighten two lives: theirs and ours'.
- Answer: The speech persuades in a perfect triangle of story, reason and appeal. The complete greeting is followed by the objection itself — volunteering means losing precious free time — which the speaker owns ('I used to think so too') before disproving it. The body is a single vivid story: in Sham Shui Po, Uncle Ho asks the writer to stop doing chores and simply listen to stories of the old harbour, his late wife and a favourite wonton shop. From it comes the thesis: volunteering is about connection, not charity. Rational benefits follow — empathy, communication skills, lower stress, stronger applications. The closing appeal is concrete: two hours a month, selling flags, teaching a child to read, brightening two lives at once.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Structure?
Q2Opening?
Q3Body?
Q4Call to action?
Q5Closing?
Q6Tone?
8Recap Recap
- Speech format: greeting (Principal, teachers, fellow students), body, call to action, thank you.
- Name the objection first, then answer it — the audience feels understood.
- One good story beats three lectures: a character, details, a turn.
- Distil the story into a quotable thesis; never leave it as anecdote.
- Make the call specific: how long, doing what, how to start today.