Speech & Debate isn’t only debate of course; speech is there too!

Speech events are known for combining information and performance to engage the audience and share your ideas. It’s different from debate because although you are competing against others, you are not talking with one another in a round or debating them; usually in speech events, your competitors and judges spectate while you perform, and then this goes on through all the elimination rounds.

Here are some speech events and descriptions:

Original Oratory - This is when you give a 10 minute memorized speech about a topic you find interesting and important. You perform the same Oratory throughout the speech and debate season.

Informatory - Similar to Oratory except more informative about a topic and less persuasive. Includes using a board with images to support your speech, and props.

Extemporaneous Speaking - Two types; Domestic or International. This event calls for people to be very well informed in social studies and world events. Most extempers have many news subscriptions. In this event; competitors are assigned a number order, and must draw 3-5 slips of paper out of a basket. These slips of papers have different extemp prompts and you must choose one. You have 30 minutes to prepare your speech using only 1 side of a notecard for reference, and your speech must be 7 minutes long. An example prompt is -  “Is Georgia guilty of “democratic backsliding”?” or maybe “What does the Sino-India border deal mean for the West?”

Humorous Interp - An edited version of a novel or play involving a comical or humorous narrative

Dramatic Interp - An edited version of a novel or play involving a narrative tragedy

Poetry - reading a poem

Duo -  A dramatic and/or comical speech performed by two partners

Prose - reading prose 

Program Oral Interp - Program Oral Interpretation (POI) is designed to test a student's ability to inter splice multiple types of literature into a single, cohesive performance