Join the speech team

Speech, also called forensics, is competitive public speaking and performance. You perform in a small room for a judge and a few other students, and you earn points for yourself and your school.

There is an event for almost everyone. No experience needed.

The four kinds of events

Public Address: give a prepared speech, usually one you wrote yourself, to persuade, inform or sell.
Limited preparation: get a topic and a short time to prepare, then speak.
Interpretation: perform a story, poem or play, alone or with teammates.
Special: debate and poetry slam, at the meets that offer them.

Come to the first meeting

When: [Meeting day and time]
Where: [Room]
Coach: [Coach’s name]
Questions: [Coach’s email]

First meeting agenda

Welcome and names (5 minutes)
What speech is, and what a meet day looks like (5 minutes)
The four kinds of events, with a short example of each (10 minutes)
A quick game: everyone talks for 30 seconds on a fun topic (10 minutes)
Our season: practice times and first meet, [Practice days and times] (5 minutes)
Hand out the parent letter and collect names and emails (5 minutes)

Letter home

Dear families,

Your student has shown interest in the [School name] speech team. Speech, also called forensics, is competitive public speaking and performance. Students choose an event, prepare it with a coach, and perform it at weekend tournaments for a judge.

Practices are [Practice days and times] in [Room]. Our first tournament is [Date and place]. Tournament days are usually long, so please plan for [Departure time] to [Expected return time].

[Costs, travel and forms, as your school handles them.]

Families are welcome to watch, and teams often need volunteer judges. No experience is needed; the ballot walks you through it.

Please reach me with any questions at [Coach’s email or phone].

[Coach’s name]

A template from MiSpeechHub. Change anything to fit your school.