Extemporaneous Public Speaking 

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Purpose

The Extemporaneous Public Speaking Leadership Development Event is designed to develop the ability of FFA members to express themselves on a given agricultural subject without having prepared or rehearsed its content in advance. This gives FFA members an opportunity to formulate their remarks for presentation in a very limited amount of time.

 

Objectives

1. Develop and practice great communication skills.
2. Ability to think, prepare and perform under pressure.
3. Gain knowledge of current agricultural topics and issues.
4. Explore career interests in the diverse field of agriculture.

 

Event Rules

1. The event is open to students who are regularly enrolled in high school agricultural education and who are active members of FFA chapters in good standing with the state association and national organization. Dual members speaking in 4‐H public speaking are ineligible to speak in FFA public speaking during the same school year.
2. The event is structured in four levels of advanced participation: Region, Area, State, and National Qualifying. The state event will be limited to participation by two students in each division who have been determined winners in an area event.
3. The selection of topics will be held 30 minutes before the event. The participants will draw three specific topics, selected at random from the pool of approximately 10, relating to the industry of agriculture. After selecting the topic they desire to speak on, all three topics will be returned for the next drawing.
4. Topics will be prepared by the event superintendent and will include subjects from the following categories:
   • Agricultural literacy and advocacy
   • Current agricultural issues
   • Advancing agriculture through agriculture science
   • Current technology uses and applications in agriculture
   • Agri-marketing and international agriculture
   • Food and Fiber Systems
5. Participants will be admitted to the preparation room at 15-minute intervals and given exactly 30 minutes for topic selection and preparation.
6. Participants may have up to 10 minutes to conduct online research. Computers may or may not be provided at the Regional and Area events. Contact your Area Program Specialist for details. Computers will be provided at the state event.
7. Access to email, Dropbox or any prepared materials are prohibited. A room monitor will be the official timekeeper for each contestant’s technology time. The use of prepared notes or speeches even if accessed with technology time is prohibited and will be grounds for disqualification. Additionally, the use of artificial intelligence, including AI-based tools for speech writing or preparation, is strictly forbidden in this contest. 
8. The officials in charge of the event will screen reference material on the following basis:
   • Must be limited to five items.
   • May be printed material such as books or magazines.
   • May be printed compilations of materials collected from internet research.
   • To be counted as one item, a notebook or folder of collected materials may contain no more than 100 single-sided pages or 50 pages double-sided numbered consecutively.
   • Cannot be notes or speeches prepared by the participant or by another person for the purpose of use in this event.
9. Each speech should be the result of the participant’s own effort using approved reference material which the participant may bring to the preparation room. No other assistance may be provided.
10. Participants must use the uniform note cards provided. Any notes for speaking must be made during the 30-minute preparation period. A participant will be permitted to use note cards while speaking, but deductions in scoring may be made for this practice if it detracts from the effectiveness of the presentation.
11. Each speech shall be a minimum of four minutes in length and a maximum of six minutes. Participants are penalized one point per ten seconds for under four minutes or over six minutes. Examples: 6:01 to 6:10 would cost a one-point deduction; 6:11 to 6:20 would cost a two-point deduction, etc.
12. Speakers may use a watch to keep a record of their time. Event officials or observers will give no-time warnings.
13. Participants may only enter their corresponding judging room during their presentation. Failure to comply will mean automatic disqualification of the participant.
14. The room coordinator of the event will introduce the participant by name and chapter. The room coordinator will also introduce the participant’s chosen topic.
15. A member that wins a state speaking division is ineligible to speak again in that division.
16. No props are to be used. Failure to comply will mean automatic disqualification of the participant.
17. Any speech participant not in Official FFA Dress will receive a five-point deduction.
    • Note: Official FFA dress for FFA members is an official FFA jacket zipped to the top. Black slacks and black socks or black skirt and black nylons. White collared blouse or white collared shirt. Official FFA tie or official FFA scarf. Black dress shoes with closed heel and toe. Note: Official garb of recognized religions may be worn with Official Dress. See okffa.org for full details.

 

Event Format

Team Make-Up

Individual

 

Questions

Immediately following the speech, participants will be allowed five minutes additional time to be asked questions from the judges relating to their extemporaneous topic. 

 

Scoring

Oral Communication - 60
Non-verbal Communication - 40

 

Total Points
Individual - 100

 

Judging 

1. It is recommended that three competent and impartial persons judge each division. A timekeeper will be designated to record the time used by each participant.
2. Judges should be seated in different sections of the room in which the event is held. Each judge will score each participant based on the criteria of the judge’s score sheet provided. 
3. Following the presentation, each judge will formulate and ask questions. Questions will pertain directly to the material presented by the speaker. The full five minutes allotted for questions should be used. Judges will score each participant on the ability to answer all questions asked by all judges. 
4. No audio or video recorders will be allowed in the contest room.
5. When all participants have finished speaking, each judge will total the score for each participant. The timekeeper’s record will be used in computing deductions for over/under time. On the bottom line of the score sheet, each judge will rank each participant in numerical order based on the final score. Judges will complete the judging process without consultation with each other. 
6. Each judge’s score sheet will be submitted to the designated event superintendent to determine the final ranking of participants. The lowest total of the final ranking is the winner. In the event two judges place a participant first, he/she is automatically first. In the event of a tie in the final ranking, the participant that two judges place highest will be determined the winner.
7. Applause shall be with held until all participants have spoken. 

 

National Qualifying Rules

1. The state winner in the Extemporaneous speaking division at the State FFA Interscholastics in Stillwater will be Oklahoma’s representative in the National Extemporaneous Public Speaking Event held during the national FFA convention.
2. Any member who has represented Oklahoma in a national career development event or national awards area as a 4-H or FFA member is ineligible to participate again in the National Qualifying Event for that area as an FFA member. Therefore, a member who has represented Oklahoma in the National Extemporaneous Speaking event is ineligible to participate again in the extemporaneous division at the OSU State FFA Interscholastics.
3. A member can participate in only one national career development event in a given year. A member speaking in the state event in both prepared and extemporaneous public speaking must declare in which division the speaker would represent Oklahoma in the national event in the event the speaker won both divisions. This must be done prior to the national qualifying event for the prepared division.
4. A member who wins both extemporaneous and prepared divisions but chooses to participate in the prepared division at the national event may compete again in the extemporaneous division for the right to represent Oklahoma in the national event. The reverse of this does not apply.

 

Supplemental Materials and Forms

Extemporaneous Public Speaking Score Sheet