• By April W Bowman
• Posted Thursday, May 4, 2023

Want Your Child to Learn Public Speaking and Presentation Skills?

Forsyth County 4-H is offering an opportunity for youth, ages 5-18 (as of 1/1/2023) to showcase their public speaking and presentations skills at the County 4-H Presentation competition on Tuesday, May 16 beginning at 6 p.m. at the Forsyth County Agricultural Building at 1450 Fairchild Road Winston-Salem. Youth that are selected as county winners in presentations will advance to the district with chances to edit/improve their speech, before district judging on Saturday, June 24 at NC A&T State University in Greensboro! Similarly, youth selected as district winners may continue to improve their presentations and compete at the state level on Saturday, July 22 at NC State University.

What Are 4-H Presentations? 4-H Presentations are a 6-12 minute speech. A presentation actually uses props to help tell its story. A public speech is a type of presentation, but you are not allowed to use any props (other than notecards). There are 32 different presentation categories ranging from aardvarks to zoology and four different age divisions. Gold AND Silver winners of the respective category can advance to compete at the district or state level. In order to participate in the Presentation and Public Skills contest, youth must be enrolled in 4-H Online. You should register in 4-H Online by Tuesday, May 9 by visiting 4-H Online.

Outdoor Cookery If your young person isn't a fan of standing in front of a room full of people, but they do enjoy cooking, then maybe Outdoor Cookery is a better option. It is considered a 4-H presentation so youth must choose to do either a presentation or outdoor cookery, but they cannot participate in both. Youth should provide their own portable charcoal grill for this event. Additionally, this category does NOT require an oral prepared presentation at district, but does require a place setting with table decorations.

Read about the categories, rules, access the score sheets and more by visiting https://nc4h.ces.ncsu.edu/youth-3/4-h-awards-incentives-programs-2/presentations/. Scroll down for a fact sheet, and helpful hints for presentations.

For more information, email, April Bowman, Extension Agent, Livestock, Forages, and 4-H Youth Development at awbowman@ncsu.edu or call 336-703-2855 or Dr. Monique Pearce-Brady, Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development at dmpearc3@ncsu.edu or call 336-703-2856.