January 25, 2017 

Dear Middlesex County 4-H Leaders and Lone Members

The Middlesex County Public Speaking Contest will be on Wednesday, February 8th , at 6:00 p.m. at the Haddam Extension Center. 

The program will include junior and senior public speaking as well as demonstrations.

Junior contestants need to be between 7 and 12 as of January 1, 20017.
Senior contestants are those who are between 13 and 18 as of January 1, 2017. 

Areas that participants will be judged on include: 

-Stage Presence : Personal Appearance, Poise, Posture, Attitude, Confidence, Personality 
-Choice of Subject: Knowledge of Subject, Adequate Length, Meaningful to Audience 
-Organization: Introduction, Logically Organized, Sufficient Information, Concise Conclusion 
-Delivery: Voice Quality, Power of Expression 


The times for the talks are as follows: 

-Senior Public Speech or presentation: 5-8 minutes
-Junior Public Speech or presentation: 3-5 Minutes


Demonstrations and visual presentations will follow the times above. The Senior and Junior Public Speaking Contest winners and the Public Presentation Contest (demonstration or illustrated talk that is done alone) winners will earn the privilege of representing Middlesex County at the State Public Speaking Finals, March 4, 2017 - as part of State 4-H Public Speaking day. 

Full information packets on State 4-H Communications Day are available on the 4-H website 4-h.uconn.edu

Senior Individual Demonstrations and juniors in these categories (who are 10-12) will also be eligible for the state contest. It is important to note that team presentations, although recognized in Middlesex County, are not recognized on the state level. 

Please fill out the entry form below and return it to me at the Haddam Extension Center by Wednesday, February 1st, 2017. You can email the information to Emily Alger if you would rather – please make sure all the requested information is in your email! If you have questions about the contest please do not hesitate to call me or Carol at 860-345-4511.



Sincerely,

Emily McCabe Alger 

4-H Program Coordinator