Ellie, 19, a history student

"... the lovely Ellie, our only guest tonight!"

There is a new round of applause, but the mood is different, more predatory, not that the girl who emerges onto the stage would be able to tell it. She is doing her best to look more confident than she feels as she approaches her own (lower and much more modest) seat. Ellie still has not quite decided how to handle yourself, where to draw the fine line between the necessary self-assertion and aggression and the experienced host is well aware of her dilemma. If she is too meek, she will hardly be able to make an impression of the strong woman that she came here to make. If she goes on the offensive... Well, it will be a piece of cake to paint her into a crazy aggressive feminist, whatever the truth might be, and she knows it. Ellie takes a seat on her hard chair without being invited, but she greets the host amiably and politely enough, clearly hedging her bets thus far. She also throws an obviously distasteful glance at the scantly and submissively dressed girl holding the tray, but makes no audible comment. She knew she might encounter sights like that in deliberate provocation.

The host can also hazard a guess as to the effort Ellie put into selecting her outfit for the even. Her dilemma was even worse there. Dress too conservatively and people might think she is embarrassed of her body and her views are just due to the lack of attention. Dress too provocatively... The consequences are clear enough. Not being taken seriously is the best outcome there. And of course, there is a whole range of errors one can make in between. All in all, the host can congratulate her on her choice, many of the girls he invited have done worse. Ellie is clad in a thin jumper, highlighting her curves but not too tight or otherwise inviting ridicule, and an above knee skirt, feminine but short enough not to seem excessively conservative. The host can bet his substantial monthly salary that for self-confidence Ellie picked her nicest underwear; he looks forward to seeing it before too long.

"Tell us about your views on feminism then, Ellie", the host finally says after reminding the audience how the show found her (the invitation was over social media after her argumentative if not always polite posts were noticed) asking a few meaningless questions about her, her day, her hobbies, and her studies. The girl was waiting to jump into action.

"As I said, I am a history student, and if there is one thing history teaches us, it is that it does not forgive those who fail to learn from it. The history of women is a new subject, but all will lose if we ignore it and stick to the no doubt exciting for some but hopelessly outdated who-killed-whom-in-which-battle narrative."

The host can cast a good estimate as to how long she has rehearsed that for, but as Ellie carries on for the next five minutes or so, he has to private admit she is more impressive than he initially estimated. As far as theory and debate are concerned, at least. Still, it is time to give the audience what they came here so he politely (there will be plenty of room for a different attitude later if she invites that path), but firmly says "Thank you, Ellie", once the girl leaves a big enough gap.

"That was a brilliant introduction, but as you know the point of this show is to match actions with words, so let us proceed to your first challenge. In fact, you can pick it yourself. The first option is simple: show or tell?"