Types of High School Speech Events

It's the new school year, and you've decided to join the high school speech team. However, you need to figure out what events interest you before jumping right in. Often times, teams will make you audition and will ask what events you are interested in competing in, so it's great to go in knowing what to expect. High school speech recognizes 13 main events for competition, and the following explanations of each event will help you to decide which events you are interested in. Each event can appeal to different interests, personality types, and skills.

1.Dramatic Duet Acting (DDA): In this event, a pair of students acts out a dramatic script. Students are generally allowed to use a table and two chairs to help add to the event. In this event, students each play just one character and work to form a meaningful interaction with each other.

2.Dramatic Interpretation (DI): In DI, a student performs a script and is responsible for playing all of the characters involved. A student will "pop" (switch from one character to another) using different actions, poses, mannerisms, and so forth.

3.Extemporaneous Speaking (Extemp): Extemp is a great event for students who follow current events, the economy, and politics. Competitors have 45 minutes to prepare an answer to a question using files of current news, then speak immediately after the time limit ends.

4.Humorous Duet Acting (HDA): Much like DDA, HAD is an event in which the pair acts out a script; however, this script is comedic in nature. Students are also allowed a table and two chairs, and they will each play only one character.

5.Humorous Interpretation (HI): HI is like DI, where a student will play multiple characters. This script will be funny, and the student will be expected to pop into different characters throughout the speech.

6.Impromptu Speaking (IS): IS is an event that's great for those who can think quickly. A student is given a quotation, a topic, or a phrase and has roughly 2 minutes to prep a speech. The total time limit for this event is 8 minutes. Students will tie in their quotation to relevant examples from books, movies, history, current events, personal experiences, and so on. It's not an event for those who fold under pressure.

7.Oratorical Declamation (Dec): In Dec, competitors will use a famous speech and will present it to the audience. Here, the focus is on delivering the speech by conveying the message intended. The focus is on tone, manner, and delivery, along with nonverbal communication.

8.Original Oratory (OO): Competitors in OO are responsible for researching and writing their own speech on a topic. Students often find topics from news, current events, new advances in technology, or controversial topics. This speech will be scripted before it is brought into competition.

9.Original Comedy (OC): In OC, students will write their own original comedic material. Like OO, the script will be prepared before competition. The script will feature different characters, and the speaker will also have to pop into these characters.

10.Prose Reading (Prose): Prose is a book event, in which the student will have a black book and will have the script in front of them. However, students are really reading directly from the book; it's more of a technique to look as if you are reading. Prose competitors will complete a short story that also features characters and voices, but no character pops.

11.Radio Speaking: Radio is a timed event in which students will receive a packet of materials and have 45 minutes to select topics and prep their broadcast. A broadcast must run between 4:50 to 5:05 minutes. Judges will time the competition, so a good pace is necessary. Someone who can read out loud quickly and fluently can do great in radio.

12.Special Occasion Speaking (SOS): SOS is an event where students prepare a humorous speech on a timely and relevant topic. This can be influenced through news, politics, current events, trends, and so on. The speech is researched and written before the competition. The catch is that SOS has to be geared towards a specific audience, who must be addressed in the speech.

13.Verse Reading: Verse is a book event like prose, except the students will be using a poem or a program of poems on a specific topic. Most students pick a theme and find poems that follow this theme. Verse follows the same rules as Prose, with the only difference being that poems are used.

The above 13 events are used within a high school speech competition, and these events give students many options. Students can pick whichever events seem suitable; of course, students can also try out different events before competitions to see what works for them. Speech is a great activity that offers a variety of events that can appeal to any student interested in the activity.