Elementary Speech

The Speech competition is designed to allow students the opportunity to gain speaking experience, as well as increase his/her confidence level in public speaking. Speeches may be one to two minutes in length. A club may have only one entry.

ELEMENTARY TOPIC - A Bright Future Begins with Beta

Time Limit: 1-2 Minutes

Competition Guidelines

A typed/printed bibliography with student name, student ID #, and grade level must be submitted prior to speaking. If no sources are cited within the content of the speech, a typed/printed bibliography stating “no sources needed” or “no sources cited” must be submitted. Students will receive a ten point deduction if no typed/printed bibliography is submitted.
National Beta will not be responsible for printing bibliographies.
The speaker will receive a one time five point deduction if the speech is less than 1 minute or exceeds 2 minutes.
Participants must be dressed in business attire.
Props or costumes are not allowed.
Random draw will determine the order of speech presentations.
Spectators will be permitted based on room size.
Use of electronic devices will not be permitted during competition.

Educational Connections

Creativity and Innovation
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Oral Communication
Persuasive Presentation
Information and Media Literacy

How to Enter

Visit www.betaclub.org/events/conventions and follow directions.
Register students and then select competitions to enter.

National Eligibility

All Plaques Awarded at State Convention

Judging Criteria

Speech	16-20	11-15	6-10	1-5
Content	Excellent examples, facts and details used to support the main points.	Good examples, facts and details used to support the main points.	Average examples, facts and details used to support the main points.	Minimal examples, facts and details used to support the main points.
Structure	Excellent speech that is easy to understand with a clear beginning, middle and end.	Good speech that is rather easy to understand with a clear beginning, middle and end.	Average speech that is somewhat easy to understand with a beginning, middle and end.	Minimal speech that is difficult to understand with no clear beginning, middle and end.
Support	Excellent evidence of support that is well presented, creates unity and completeness.	Good evidence of support that is well presented, creates unity and completeness.	Average evidence of support that is presented, creates some unity and partial completeness.	Minimal evidence of support that is semi-presented, creates little unity and partial completeness.
Delivery	Excellent voice that conveys tone and mood with fantastic eye contact. Gestures are natural with appropriate pauses and pacing.	Good voice that conveys tone and mood with nice eye contact. Gestures are natural with adequate pauses and pacing.	Average voice that conveys tone and mood with some eye contact. Gestures are somewhat relaxed or natural with a lot of pacing.	Minimal voice that conveys tone and mood with very little eye contact. Gestures that are not relaxed or natural with pacing that can be distracting.
Engagement	Used an excellent creative-attention getting strategy to engage the audience.	Used a good creative-attention getting strategy to engage the audience.	Used an average attention getting strategy to engage the audience.	Used a minimal attention getting strategy to engage the audience.
Deductions	This will be taken one time by the coordinator.	Did not follow competition guidelines -10	Did not follow time guidelines-5