The Speaker

I just watched the first episode in the new BBC2 series called The Speaker, to find the best young speaker in Britain. I thought the choice of judges was terrible. They displayed a lack of understanding of public speaking disciplines, and were critical of the young contestants in a way that could only harm their self confidence.

The programme's format was odd, to say the least, and the judging criteria bizarre. Whom did the BBC contact? The judges were a terrible stand-up performer, an acting tutor, and a former basketball player. The editing wasn't much better.

What a sad wasted opportunity! What's worse is that the winner will be coached by those judges.