Illinois 4-H Public Speaking Contest | Illinois 4-H

4-H excels in preparing youth to speak confidently. The Illinois State 4-H Public Presentation Contest allows youth to highlight their exceptional presentation abilities in a supportive environment.

2025 Public Speaking Contest Event Details:

Date: Saturday April 26, 2025

County Promotion Deadline: April 7, 2025

Location: Parkland College, 2400 W Bradley Ave., Champaign, IL 61821 Public Speaking Contest is located in Building D (D Wing).

Time: 9:00am-4:00pm

Parking: Parking is free!

Once you have entered Parkland’s campus, follow the signs to park in Lot C4 which is the closest to the door (D1) that you should enter. Lot C3 is the next closest lot to the D1 door.
Look for a tall green 4-H banner/flag at the sidewalk located between Building C and Building D. Follow that sidewalk and enter Building D through the D1 door. Public Speaking registration tables will be located right inside the door. Link to Parkland's campus map is HERE.

Day of Contest:

Please arrive 20 minutes prior to your speaking time and check in at the registration table. Someone will escort you to your speaking room. Feel free to take a picture at the photo backdrop while you are waiting your turn to speak.
After your speech, we ask that you exit the building at the conclusion of your speech to help limit the number of people onsite.
Results will be announced via e-mail and on Illinois 4-H social media pages after the event. Awards will be mailed to the three highest scoring contestants in each division. (You may come for your speech and leave when you're finished presenting)

Contest Viewing Reminders:

Public viewing is not allowed. Only family members (including extended family) of the participant are allowed to view the participant’s presentation. 
Cell phones must be on silent.
Due to the tight time schedule for this event, families are asked to hold their questions until after the contest.

Youth looking for resources to help prepare for this contest can reference the following in Shop 4-H:

Finding your Voice: Public Speaking made Easy (Public Speaking)

Exhibit Guidelines

There are 4 divisions in this year's contest. Each division offers options that the presenter may choose to make their presentation unique:

*This category will be broken down into the following classes by age:

Beginner: 8-13 years of age
Advanced: 14 years of age and up

Divisions

FORMAL SPEECH

Self-written | Notecards allowed | No props or costumes | Individual | 4-5 minutes (Beginner) 5-6 minutes (Advanced)

Formal Speeches share the presenter’s own unique view and are intended to motivate, persuade, or inform an audience and may include a call to action. Youth deliver a speech on any topic they wish.

ILLUSTRATED SPEECH

Self-written | Notes & visual aids allowed | Illustrations Required | Individual | 4-5 minutes (Beginner) 5-6 minutes (Advanced)

Illustrated Speeches may be used to inform, persuade, or motivate the audience while using a visual aid. Visual aids may be two dimensional, three-dimensional, or digital. Youth may include audience participation. Digital visual aids must be stored on a USB flash drive. Illustrated speeches may be:

How-to demonstrations which show the audience how to do something.
Object lessons which use objects as metaphors to share a message.
Educational models where drawings or diagrams help explain a topic.

ORIGINAL WORKS

Original works must be written entirely by the presenter. It may be presented as an individual or a two-person team entry. Printed manuscripts or transcripts must be submitted to the Judge on the day of event. Presentations may be designed for TV, radio, or online media and must be presented live. The types of entries could include:

Prose and Short Stories
Poetry
Broadcast Media Program
Theatrical
Combined Program: Combine any number of the above elements along with other creative presentation forms

ORAL INTERPRETATION

Published work | Props and Costumes Allowed | Individual or 2-Person Team | Youth must provide printed manuscripts to judge | 4-6 minutes

Presentations in Oral Interpretation must be published works, and printed manuscripts or transcripts must be submitted to the Judge on the day of event. They may be presented as an individual or a two-person team entry. Materials can be read or memorized. The types of entries could include:

Prose and Short Stories
Poetry
Theatrical Interpretation
Published Speech Recitation: Excerpt from a spoken presentation delivered by a public figure, such as Winston Churchill, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., or Maya Angelou
Combined Program: Combine any number of the above elements along with other creative presentation forms
Finding your Voice: Public Speaking made Easy (Public Speaking)

Eligibility

Youth must be selected in a local county 4-H contest to advance to the state contest. Each county is allowed three entries in the state contest. The entries may come from any of the four divisions: Formal Speech, Illustrated Speech, Oral Interpretation, or Original Works. Each youth may advance to state in up to one individual and one team division. State deadline to be promoted to state level public speaking contest is April 5 County staff will provide details. To participate in this event you must be of 4-H age.