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General Information: The Hall County Speech Contest will be held at College Park on Tuesday, March 24 at 6:30 pm.
- Pre-registration required by March 10.
- This contest encourages 4-H members to prepare a new and original speech and/or Public Service Announcement (PSA) each year.
- All speeches and PSA’s will be judged for appropriate content and participants for appropriate dress.
- Visual aids and props are not allowed.
- Rules, guidelines and a guide to making great speeches can be found at https://4h.unl.edu/statewide-events-opportunities/communication/pce/contests/.
- Class is based on 4-H age (as of Dec. 31, previous year)
- Refer to newsletter for most current information.
Speech guidelines:
- First time speakers (Novice) may read or recite a selected story or poem in lieu of writing an original speech.
- A Novice speaker is anyone 4-H age 8-10 who has never given a speech in a 4-H contest.
- Junior, intermediate and senior speakers must write an original speech which promotes 4-H.
- Various topics are allowed but a 4-H theme should be maintained.
- If the speech or story has been written by someone else, credit must be given at the beginning of the presentation. It is not part of the time frame.
Public Service Announcement Guidelines:
- Radio PSA’s must be submitted electronically as .wav or .mp3 audio formats (No CDs accepted).
- PSA’s must promote 4-H (except Clover Kid and Novice division) and be general enough to be used anywhere in Nebraska. The PSA should include: (1) a catchy introduction (2) a body with information and/or a story about 4-H (3) a closing including where listener can get more information.
- All 4-H PSA’s must include the following tag line within the last ten seconds of the PSA: “Learn more about the Nebraska Extension 4-H Youth Development Program at 4h.unl.edu.” The tag line is included in the 60 second time limit. The 2026 PSA theme is "Ready Today, Leading Tomorrow."
Classes
- Clover Kid - 4-H age 5 to 7, 1/2 - 2 minutes, poem, story, reading, etc. (County only), non-competitive
- Novice - 4-H age 8-9, 1-3 minutes, no prior speech competition, can use poem/story
- Junior - 4-H age 8-10, speaker has previously competed in speech, 2-3 minutes, original speech relating to 4-H
- Intermediate - 4-H age 11-13, 3-5 minutes in length, original speech relating to 4-H
- Senior - 4-H age 14-18, 5-8 minutes in length, original speech relating to 4-H
- PSA - promotes and informs listeners about 4-H, 60 second PSA for ages 8-18; 30 second PSA for ages 5-7.