Eugenie rose from her seat and walked to the front of the room. She introduced the topic of her speech – St Charbel Makhlouf, who she is blessed to be distantly related to. All in the room listened carefully as she talked about his life. This speech was part of Tecorians, a public speaking group in Canterbury, New Zealand, which meets fortnightly.

Many homeschoolers participate in Tecorians, honing their public speaking skills and having fun. During the fortnightly sessions, they give speeches, make up impromptus, read aloud and have debates, and they also learn how to run a business meeting and a speaking program, and evaluate a speech.

An evening at Tecorians typically begins with a business meeting, followed by speeches, each of which are evaluated, and an impromptu session. Impromptu topics vary, from “Should everyone have a TV in their home,” to “explain how to survive the Amazon rainforest with a piano” to “give a campaign speech for the eliminate-chihuahua political party.”

Beatrice has been involved in Tecorians for five years. She says, “I especially enjoy the impromptu session. When it is done well, it allows us to be the crazy people we all are deep down. It also helps some people who are a bit nervous at first to come out of their shells.”