Shropshire lawyer makes finals of YFC public speaking competition

Sophie Burgoyne, of Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors in Ludlow, will be heading to Staffordshire Showground on July 5 for the final where she will compete against regional winners from all over the country.

The competition, called ‘Situations Vacant’ is one of a number of public speaking competitions held by YFC every year and involves preparing a covering letter and application form for a job vacancy in advance of the competition day.

On the day, competitors take part in an interview with two expert judges, who are often former winners, and are awarded points on both their application and interview technique.

Sophie said it had been a fantastic experience and was already proving helpful in her role as a solicitor.

She said: “I competed at the first round against other competitors from Shropshire and placed first, which meant I qualified for the West Midlands area round with the winners from other counties in the West Midlands.

“I was delighted to finish first in the area round, so I will now be competing at the National finals on July 5 at Staffordshire Showground.

“Until this competition started in November I actually hadn’t done much public speaking, but my success with the YFC competition has given me the confidence to speak at a number of events recently.

“Most notably, I presented to around 80 NFU members in Hereford on changes to Inheritance Tax earlier this year. This was much less daunting having participated in the competition and I’m looking forward to getting involved in more events in the future.”