On 15th October, Sheffield South East selected me as their parliamentary candidate. The city has six constituencies. Sheffield Hallam members selected Laura Gordon to replace Nick Clegg last year, leaving five Sheffield constituencies needing candidates selected that evening. Though Sheffield Central was contested (congratulations to Shaffaq Mohammed), the remaining four were not.

Sheffield South East is not a target seat. Although 40 members were present, only two were eligible to vote in my selection. Had I not attended, I may still have won.

In uncontested selections at both council and parliamentary level, candidates understandably do limited preparation for their speeches at hustings. Why bother when you know you’ll probably win anyway and you’re essentially doing the party a favour? Well, I chose to do things a little differently, and I think you should too.

Firstly, the standard of public speaking (even amongst some of our MPs, somewhat shockingly) is often poor. This is a chance for you to practise. Set-piece political speeches are not the same as delivering a work presentation or running a seminar – they are all about persuasion. It’s a different art and one that takes practice.

Secondly, when I was a new University debater, one of my trainers said, “you don’t often get people forced to listen to you for 5 minutes – enjoy it”. In a debate, you don’t choose the topics. As a non-target candidate, you can say what you like. Set out your vision for the party; say what you think we should do next.

Thirdly, selections are exciting and may attract new members. The Sheffield Hallam selection was the most exciting Liberal Democrat event I have attended since I joined in 2015. Even if your seat is uncontested, you can inspire, tell your story and give the event a liveliness that makes members both old and new want to come back for more.

Despite only needing to win two votes, several folks very kindly complimented me afterwards. (Including, somewhat surprisingly, the returning officer after the result had been announced.)

This depends on your other time commitments. More folks (especially women, ethnic minorities, LGBT, and disabled candidates) need to stand, and if you don’t have the time to do a proper speech, it shouldn’t put you off.

Being a former President of a university debating society, debating at school, hosting a community group called Sunday Assembly and even having done some stand-up, I have done quite a bit of public speaking. The bottom line?

All these skills are teachable. However, they take practise and opportunity.

If you only read one thing about public speaking, I recommend Lend Me Your Ears by Max Atkinson, a retired speechwriter who ran workshops in the Reagan White House and wrote for a certain Paddy Ashdown.

You may not reach the level of Benn or Margaret Thatcher, but you only improve if you try.

(PS: if you are at an event where you are in the audience asking a question, ask a question, don’t make a speech. It’s not about you, and you’re selfish. If you’re hosting an event with audience questions, make it clear that you will be ruthless in telling people to be quiet if they ramble. Then be ruthless. If it’s not clear where somebody is going in 30 seconds, ask them to sit down. Otherwise, it’s going to take another five minutes.)

* Rajin Chowdhury is a junior doctor specialising in anaesthetics and critical care. He has been selected as Sheffield South East parliamentary candidate