My brother Patrick sat on his bed and waited patiently for me to begin. As I held the speech in my right hand, I felt the page crinkle between my fingertips. I read my speech loudly, but my brother shook his head disapprovingly. He told me I didn’t sound confident enough. With a heavy heart, I knew I was in for a long day of practicing.

Question

Write a few lines of dialogue based on this narrative.

Answer 1

“Come on, Patrick, it’s just a practice,” I sighed, glancing up from the crumpled speech.

“It’s not just a practice if you want it to be good,” he replied, crossing his arms. “Try again, but this time, own it. You’ve got this!”

“I can’t just ‘own’ it! What if I stumble or forget something?”

“Then you’ll stumble and forget, but at least you’ll sound like you believe in yourself,” he said firmly. “Now, take a deep breath and start from the top.”