Turning challenges into opportunities

A speech:

• opening: greeting, introduction, a hook (a quotation, a question, a surprising fact), then the purpose;
• body: two paragraphs, one main point each, with transitions, stories and evidence;
• conclusion: sum up, leave a lasting thought, and thank the audience.

Use formal, persuasive language ('don't you agree?').

Proverbs:

• Don't judge a book by its cover: look beyond appearances;
• Actions speak louder than words: what you do matters more than what you say;
• When the going gets tough, the tough get going: strong people try harder when things get difficult.

Hardship to achievement:

• Dr B. R. Ambedkar faced humiliation and discrimination at school, yet became a great jurist, economist and social reformer, and chaired the committee that drafted India's Constitution;
• Lal Bahadur Shastri lost his father as a baby, walked miles to school, joined the freedom movement and became Prime Minister;
• Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam delivered newspapers before school to help pay for his studies, and became the 'Missile Man of India' and the 11th President.