Spring Break
Student wins with mustache speech
Edyta Hrynkiewicz
Issue date: 1/21/09 Section: News
A UConn student took home an unexpected prize from the Pi Sigma Epsilon National Speakers Conference last November when Christopher O'Donnell won a public speaking contest with a speech about mustaches.
"It's kind of ridiculous that I won, because the other speech topics were really serious and well put together, whereas mine was just trying to make people laugh," said O'Donnell, a 6th-semester accounting major.
However, O'Donnell chose to speak on mustaches not only as a joke, but also because he had previously learned from one of chapter's presidents that there was a social movement going on where men grew mustaches in order to raise awareness for men's health issues. The winner's speech consisted of anecdotes about mustaches, but hit home towards the end with mention of mustaches in relation to men's health.
O'Donnell heard about the contest at the conference for PSE, an academic fraternity for sales and marketing students, which was held in Albany, N.Y.
"About 30 minutes before the competition started, we were notified that no one from the UConn chapter of PSE was participating in the speakers competition, so on a whim, I decided to enter," O'Donnell said.
With only half an hour to come up with an idea for a speech, the group brainstormed for an idea to talk about, and settled on the benefits of mustaches as a topic. O'Donnell's prizes were a glass trophy and free registration for the PSE national conference in Virginia Beach. He was also asked to emcee a portion of the conference and introduce one of the keynotes speakers.
Though O'Donnell does not plan on pursuing a future in public speaking, he acknowledges the importance of the skill. He has taken an introductory public speaking course at UConn.
"I learned a lot from my T.A., Nick Kolberstein, and would highly recommend that everyone takes that class because no matter what you go into in life, communication is key."
"It's kind of ridiculous that I won, because the other speech topics were really serious and well put together, whereas mine was just trying to make people laugh," said O'Donnell, a 6th-semester accounting major.
However, O'Donnell chose to speak on mustaches not only as a joke, but also because he had previously learned from one of chapter's presidents that there was a social movement going on where men grew mustaches in order to raise awareness for men's health issues. The winner's speech consisted of anecdotes about mustaches, but hit home towards the end with mention of mustaches in relation to men's health.
O'Donnell heard about the contest at the conference for PSE, an academic fraternity for sales and marketing students, which was held in Albany, N.Y.
"About 30 minutes before the competition started, we were notified that no one from the UConn chapter of PSE was participating in the speakers competition, so on a whim, I decided to enter," O'Donnell said.
With only half an hour to come up with an idea for a speech, the group brainstormed for an idea to talk about, and settled on the benefits of mustaches as a topic. O'Donnell's prizes were a glass trophy and free registration for the PSE national conference in Virginia Beach. He was also asked to emcee a portion of the conference and introduce one of the keynotes speakers.
Though O'Donnell does not plan on pursuing a future in public speaking, he acknowledges the importance of the skill. He has taken an introductory public speaking course at UConn.
"I learned a lot from my T.A., Nick Kolberstein, and would highly recommend that everyone takes that class because no matter what you go into in life, communication is key."
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