Yearly speech competition back again, $500 reward for winner

Troy students will have the opportunity to go head-to-head for a $500 scholarship in a speech tournament held on campus in February. 

The Intramural Speech Tournament, organized by the Hall School of Journalism and Communication, is an annual event where students deliver an original speech in one of two categories: persuasive and informative. 

The event serves as a way for students to showcase their communication skills with a prize on the line. 

“This opportunity allows students to really get their feet wet, to memorize a speech, create an original piece of work and then be able to present in a competitive environment,” said Dr. Ava Tabb, lecturer at Troy University and coordinator of the speech tournament.  

The tournament is open to all students, regardless of their major. Tabb said while she loves when communications students compete, they have historically had students of several different majors compete.  

The tournament will be split into two rounds on Feb. 25, with speeches beginning at 10:15a.m. and concluding at 2:15p.m. The second round, beginning at 1p.m., will be open for public viewing.  

“Really what makes this competitive is that in the second round, we will have an audience,” Tabb said. “Now, you’re presenting in front of people, besides those three judges.” 

Tabb believes that every student will have to present at some point whether it be for a class, internship or civic group, and the skills of public speaking will translate to other areas of life as well. 

Jameson Speece, a junior communications major from Lowndes County, Alabama, and the winner of last year’s speech tournament, also believes the event is beneficial to students.  

“If you are able to pick a topic and actually learn about it and talk about it, it helps you to become more the person that you actually are and the person you want to be,” Speece said. “It was great to get to spend time with other students, and really, I got to know a lot of the communications faculty and staff there.” 

Speece recommends students participate in the speech tournament. 

“There’s not a lot of things that you can do just purely for yourself, for your own joy, and so it’s great to have the opportunity to just be like ‘Hey, I’m going to write this speech,’ and then you’ve got a chance of winning,” Speece said. 

Those with any questions about the event can email Dr. Ava Tabb at amtabb@troy.edu.