speech competition

Speech events are like figure skating, gymnastics, diving, or track and field. You see students competing in a lot of different events, and yet in each case, world famous athletes make spinning through the air look easy. It’s easy... until you try it.

Speech competition is some of the most fun that students can have in school, while also being highly educational. “Individual events” (“IEs”) in speech are divided into three categories: platform / public address events, oral interpretation events, and limited preparation events.

Public address events (Original Oratory, Informative Speaking, etc.) entail having a student research, write, memorize, and deliver an 8-10 minute speech on a subject of their choosing. For example, one La Reina student won a state title in Original Oratory with a speech on menstruation (i.e. something very important to a female high school sophomore) while recent students have done Informative speeches on topics such as N95 masks and the “salmon cannon” (look it up!).

Oral interpretation events are a form of acting, in which students perform a piece of poetry or prose, or a piece with a dramatic or humorous structure, or a duo piece with 2 students together. Students have to find an appropriate piece, cut it down to 8-10 minutes, and then memorize all parts and choreograph of their movements. Many, many famous Broadway and Hollywood actors got their start here.

Limited preparation events (Impromptu Speaking and Extemporaneous Speaking) teach students to think on their feet. Impromptu speeches entail giving a student a completely random prompt (usually a famous quotation, abstract noun, or even a fortune cookie) with 2 minutes to then prepare a 5 minute speech analyzing the topic. Extemporaneous speeches entail giving students a question on current events (usually related domestic political affairs, international affairs, or the economy) after which they have 30 minutes to research and prepare a 7 minute speech answering the question.

In all speech events, students learn timing, presentation, and soft skills, along with the appropriate balance of compelling rhetoric, human emotion, and humor. Most competitions will have students compete in 3 randomly paired preliminary rounds, after which the best students will advance to elimination rounds where they compete for awards.

Speech competition is an excellent vehicle for developing students’ creativity, communication skills, and soft skills and serves as an excellent counterbalance to the academic rigor of debate. While the critical thinking skills of debate are undoubtedly important, the ability to speak well in public and without any stage fright is one of the most important skills that students can develop for their professional careers.

Speech competition is a great vehicle for students who love to perform, who have something to say, or who want to improve their communications skills.  Speech competition is especially valuable for students who are shy and need to learn how to come out of their shell, given how many professions today depend on having good social skills as well as the ability to work a room.

Pieces in speech competition generally unfold over the course of the year.  The year begins when students work with coaches to find speech topics or interpretation pieces that match their interests, providing that emotional hook that will allow the student to persevere with the piece over the course of the year.

From there, students will work on either researching and writing a speech with coach supervision and notes, or work on finding a good cutting of their interpretation piece that tells a good story within the 8-10 minute time limit.

Coaches work with students over the course of the year to refine their performances, shifting from developing a manuscript to taking it "from page to stage" to craft a compelling performance of their particular speech.

In limited preparation events specifically, students will work on developing a body of knowledge to draw from for their speeches as well as start reading up on current events to prepare themselves for whatever topics they face.  In-person practices on Sundays will also involve extensive speech coaching.

For all competitions, students will need conservative professional attire, and a stopwatch or stopwatch app on a smartphone to be able to time their performances.

Students participating in some interpretation events will have to buy a black interp book and slicks which are used to hold the manuscript they will use to perform.

In some public speaking  events, students will need a visual aid stand and a case to hold their visual aids, which will generally be blackboards and high resolution images, designed to tell the story of their speech in a fun, compelling, and engaging manner.

In limited preparation events, students will need either a 3x5 notecard or a small legal pad with which to take notes, and will have to have a laptop or tablet that can download news articles from the Internet.

In-person tournaments  also require coordinating rides back and forth to competition sites and meal money, while online tournaments will require a high speed (preferably wired) Internet connection and a hotspot or other backup connection is strongly recommended.

For parents looking for a good value on a laptop, Homeboy Industries is selling refurbished MacBooks for as little as $199.  

For online speech competition specifically, students will also need to set up a performance space at home.  Their bedroom is fine, or some will use a home office or the family dining room.  They'll want to create a space with a blank backdrop (some just hang a bedsheet or use a blank wall) that will allow the audience to focus on the student performing the speech with as little background distraction as possible, and will need enough space to put their laptop down in front of them to capture themselves from the knees to the forehead so that the audience can see the student's full performance of the speech.

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Qualification to the CHSSA (California) state tournament requires students to place among the top handful of spots in their qualifying league. Students are required to compete representing their degree-granting school and RLA will coordinate with school officials to facilitate this. Students attending Conejo Valley area schools compete through the Tri-County Forensic League while students living in West Los Angeles compete through the Western Bay (West Los Angeles / South Bay) Forensics League. The state tournament alternates every year between northern and southern California.

Qualification to NSDA nationals requires students to place among the top handful of sports in the West L.A. district qualifier. Students are also required to compete on behalf of their degree-granting school and RLA will coordinate with school officials to facilitate this. The NSDA national tournament is usually held in second tier cities in the middle of the country (Des Moines, Kansas City, Indianapolis, etc.) but has been as far east as Florida and as far west as Arizona.

Competition on the “national circuit” for speech can get expensive very quickly and students and families need to remember that in Southern California, they are competing against some of the wealthiest schools in the world. There is always another national level tournament somewhere in the country next weekend but that doesn’t mean that we have to attend it.

In speech competition, La Reina and RLA students have been able to be successful on the national level, with students advancing to late elimination rounds and earning awards at the above national tournaments, while traveling regionally during the school year - to Los Angeles area tournaments, and then to the Bay Area, Phoenix, San Diego, and occasionally Salt Lake City -  to minimize disruptions to their academic work.  It does students no good in the long term to win every  tournament possible if they fall behind in their schoolwork.  One former student, for example, placed well as a junior at NIETOC while also sitting for 5 different AP exams - and got a 5 on all of them!  She returned as a senior and placed in the top 20 nationally as well.  But with only so much time in a day, it was more important to do well on those AP tests than to devote precious time to practicing her speech a few more times.