TLDR l I'm running for student council president, and have to give a speech in 1.5 minutes, but am struggling with speech writing and delivery.
I attend a private school with a small number of students; we're a pretty tight knit community. Needless to say, the student council (stuco) is a very coveted position. This year, I'm running for president and am anxious to see the turnout.
How the elections work
People from grade 5 to grade 12 can stand up for various positions, and vote for others. There is one class representative for grades 6, 7, 8, 9, and 12, and only their class votes for them. For grade 5, there is a PYP representative who is chosen by students from grade 2 - 5. For grade 10, there is an MYP representative who is chosen by students from grades 6 - 10. The president is voted for by students from grades 6 - 12, and the person with the second most votes is appointed the vice president. If the president and vice president are of the same gender, someone of the opposite gender is voted for as the grade 11 representative. We also have house captains (for each of the four houses), and a sports captain.
In order to stand up for the position, the candidate needs to get five signatures from students, two signatures from teachers, and the coordinators signature after writing two essays. Then, the senior leadership team (the principal, founders, and director) narrow down the candidates, and the chosen candidates deliver a 1.5 minute speech on the day of the elections.
My concerns
Usually, only two people run for president, but this time there's four. Most of the times, the more popular person wins. Seeing as one of the people running is the most popular person at school, he will probably win. The rest of us are pretty much trying to become the vice president.
Of the other two candidates holds considerable sway as well. Her brother's class is the largest voter pool by far, and considering that he is very popular, he could (and probably already has) convinced a lot of his peers to vote for his sister. Additionally, her best friends are both in grade ten, and have convinced some of their friends to vote for her.
What I'm doing
We will receive the narrowed down list of candidates from the senior leadership team on the sixth of August, so I have two days to prepare before I start campaigning. I've spoken to some of my friends, and have secured around half of the tenth graders votes. I have a few scattered votes across grade seven and eight, and the most "powerful" student in grade nine offered to convince all of his classmates to vote for me.
I'm also going to be making posters, and posting them on my Instagram stories (and on my friends' stories) gradually in the week leading up to the elections. I know that the popular candidate (the one who I think will win) will be enhancing his friendliness, and approachable nature, the other candidate will be highlighting her hardworking, goal - oriented mindset, and the last candidate will focus on his previous leadership positions. So, to set myself apart, I'm going to be emphasizing my "marketing quality" - I go out of my way to help people. I'll try to highlight this in my posters and speech.
Help
English is not my forte, and giving speeches most definitely is not one of my strengths. If we had up to five minutes to deliver our speeches, it would have been easier - I could talk about my plans in greater detail. But since we have been limited to 1.5 minutes, I am struggling.
So, if you have any advice about writing (and delivering) a speech, please shoot me a message.
Thanks!
- D
