Regional communications competition

Shannon LeClair
Times Reporter

 

Learning to communicate effectively is a vital part of day-to-day life, whether it’s so you can give directions to someone, or come across well in an interview. 4-H leaders know this, which is why each year the members are required to take part in public speaking.
“There are a lot of skills that the members will learn through 4-H, communication is one of them, it could be through presentations, a speech or even emceeing. It is a requirement of 4-H because they see the value in that,” said Anita Kraus, a registered leader in 4-H, and parent volunteer with the communications committee.
Public speaking is one of the top fears worldwide, and learning how to overcome it, and deal with the anxiety related to it is an important skill.
“By learning when they’re young and building that confidence through the 4-H program, when they grow into adults they either aren’t afraid of it anymore or they really know how to deal with it and people don’t realize they might have some nerves underneath the surface,” said Kraus.
On March 21 the Calgary Regional 4-H Communications Competition is being held at the Strathmore Civic Centre.
“The Regional competitions are the fourth level of competition for these 4-H members. This is also the last level of competition for the junior and intermediate members, but the top two senior members will continue on to the Provincial 4-H competitions,” said Kraus.
Six senior members will also get to display their communication skills by being the MCs in each competition.
There will be three public speaking competitions and in the afternoon there will also be three presentation competitions. The members are encouraged to choose topics that they already have an interest in. During the public speaking section the members have to present their prepared speech within a set time frame.
Then each speaker will give a speech on an impromptu topic with only a minute to prepare their new one to two minute speech.
The presentation competition also consists of members presenting within a certain time frame. They’re then asked a question on their topic by one of the judges, which they must answer immediately.
“By them speaking about something that they’re interested in or they have a passion about, it’s very easy for them to talk about it, so it’s not so intimidating,” said Kraus.
It also makes it easier for them to make the time frame because they have the confidence in their topic. The speech competition begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Strathmore Civic Centre. The presentations will begin at 2 p.m.