Limited Preparation Events
Events that give students a short amount of time to create a speech. Evidence and examples are then used to back their arguments.
Extemporaneous Speaking
Contestants will be given three topics in the general area of current events, will choose one, and have 30 minutes to prepare a speech that is the original work of the student. Topics will be categorized into three areas: domestic socio-political, international, and economic. One topic area will be used in each preliminary round. Elimination rounds will utilize a mix of these topic areas. The maximum time is 7 minutes. Limited notes are permitted. Judges will provide time signals.
Slam Poetry
Interviewing is designed to give students the opportunity to sharpen their job interviewing and resume writing skills. The event will consist of three rounds of interviews in which judges will ask the same questions of each student assigned to their section. Questions will be taken from a larger list provided by the tournament staff. A final round will have judges evaluate student resumes. For the first two rounds, contestants will be randomly assigned to sections of no more than five students. The interview should last for no more than 10 minutes.
Competitors will not physically compete in the third round. Rather, judges for the third round will (during the time allotted for the third round) receive a packet of six resumes and will rank them on the basis of considerations not including the student’s actual qualifications for the announced job. In other words, students should present a truthful resume that reflects their actual life. Although we encourage students to be creative and use resume-writing techniques that will catch attention, they should refrain from brightly-colored inks, excessively-ornate fonts, the inclusion of pictures or headshots in the resume, and anything that would draw too much attention to the resume rather than the candidate and his or her qualifications for the position. There are many models for effective resume writing and we would advise students to consult some of them as they write their resumes.
The goal is to have this even judged by corporate recruiters, who may be in a position to extend an offer for a position after graduation, or an internship.
Impromptu Speaking
Speakers will draw a topic sheet that contains two topics. They will have 7 minutes to prepare and deliver a speech using one of those topics. At least 4 minutes should be spent speaking. Topics will be selected from quotations, lyrics, proverbs, or cartoons. Contestants must wait outside of the room prior to speaking. Limited notes are permitted. Judges will provide time signals.
