Oratory Competition

Annual Undergraduate Oratory Competition

• Graduation Commencement - Grand Prize - $150

  • For graduating Senior Communication Majors ONLY – To represent the graduating Communication Majors

  • 2nd place: $50; 3rd place: $25

• Diversity and Inclusion Speech - 1st Prize - $100 (open to all Pitt Undergraduates)

  • To present any aspect of diversity and inclusion in an informative, persuasive, or ceremonial form

  • 2nd place: $50; 3rd place: $25

• Persuasive Policy Speech - 1st Prize - $100 (open to all Pitt Undergraduates)

  • To use carefully crafted arguments to persuade the audience to adopt a public issue position and to motivate them to take action

  • 2nd place: $50; 3rd place: $25

• Commemorative Values Speech - 1st Prize - $100 (open to all Pitt Undergraduates)

  • To use expressive style, emotion, and delivery to persuade the audience to praise or condemn certain values, principles or ideals.

  • 2nd place: $50; 3rd place: $25

Compete in small speaking groups for the chance to win: 1st prizes of $100, 2nd prizes of $50, or 3rd prizes of $25!

IMPORTANT! This is an oratory contest, focused on public speaking. No PowerPoint or other audio-visual aids may be used. Only oral presentations.

Speech Category Descriptions
(Students may enter speeches in only one of the four categories)
1. Speech on Diversity and Inclusion (open to all Pitt undergraduates)
2. Graduation Commencement Speech (open to graduating Senior Communication majors only)
3. Persuasive Policy Speech (open to all Pitt undergraduates)
4. Commemorative Values Speech (open to all Pitt undergraduates)

Speech on Diversity and Inclusion
(open to all Pitt undergraduates)

• A speech on any aspect of diversity and inclusion in an informative, persuasive, or ceremonial form, focusing on the University of Pittsburgh’s “three key goals: to recognize and appreciate the full range of differences among us; to reflect on the value of diversity and inclusion and how it strengthens systems and communities; and to understand that different ideas and perspectives are fundamental to the advancement of knowledge.” Speeches in this category may take any of the three major rhetorical speech formats: informative, persuasive, or ceremonial. The essence of informative speaking is the sharing of knowledge to create understanding. Your purpose is to explain to the audience some concept, experience, process, historical event, that relates directly to diversity and inclusion. The essence of persuasive speaking is to convince your audience to adopt your point of view, your perspective, your beliefs and values about the topic. Your task is to choose a significant topic in diversity and inclusion, take a position, and try to persuade the audience to adopt that position by providing them with evidence and developing clear supporting arguments. The essence of ceremonial speaking is to praise or honor a person, a thing, an idea, even an institution, for the positive relationship to diversity and inclusion. The purpose of this speech is to arouse and inspire the audience about diversity and inclusion. In order to accomplish this, you should focus on the values by which you think diversity should be judged and the ways that the person, thing, etc., embody those values.
• There is only one category for Diversity and Inclusion, not three. The informative, persuasive, and ceremonial speeches in this category will all compete against each other.
• We recognize diversity and inclusion to encompass disability, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, familial status, sex, age, sexual orientation, veteran status or gender identity and expression.
• The Speech on Diversity and Inclusion is judged principally by the following criteria:
  • Is the delivery of high quality?
  • Is the content meaningful and interesting to the audience?
  • Are the arguments or is the information compelling and credible?
  • Do the tone and language accurately reflect the purposes of the speech?
• The Speech on Diversity and Inclusion should be 5–8 minutes long

Graduation Commencement Speech
(open to graduating Senior Communication majors only)

• In a graduation speech, you are representing your fellow graduating Communication majors and should reference that. Your aim is to thank the people who should be thanked, to stimulate excitement for the future, to motivate to action, to remember and reminisce, to raise emotion, and to say farewell.
• Tips for graduation speeches
  • Write an interesting (not shocking, not startling) introduction, one that makes people want to listen to you.
  • Be clear, interesting, organized, and concise.
  • Remember that this is a speech to Communication graduates so reference the Department one or two times.
  • One effective general pattern of graduation speech uses the chronological approach: past (what we’ve shared), present (where we are now), and future (where we are going). This is a good way but not the only way to organize a speech like this.
  • Tell stories that your audience (fellow graduates, friends and families) can identify with, that they recognize as symbolic of shared experiences.
  • Talk about some major events and activities. But be careful of inside jokes. Graduates might get it but friends and family will be confused.
  • Talk about the values that the University has encouraged in you and why they should matter to fellow graduates.
  • Be inclusive. You are representing the entire Communication graduating class. So talk about yourself but not only yourself.
  • Don’t say anything bad about anybody. This is not the time for that. Be appropriate. Be creative but not out of control.
  • Don’t use many quotes and avoid clichés.
  • Write a summarizing conclusion. Sometimes it can be effective to reference in your conclusion something from your introduction. This imparts a sense of beginning, continuity and completeness, which is of course exactly the cycle your graduating class is experiencing.
  • Don’t be afraid to take a chance saying farewell and finish with emotion. This is a momentous event.
• In addition to customary public speaking criteria, the graduation speech will be judged on these specific criteria:
  • Is the delivery of high quality?
  • Does the speaker eloquently represent the graduating class?
  • Does the speaker reference past shared experiences expressively?
  • Does the speaker offer an encouraging view of the future?
• The graduation speech should be 5-8 minutes long.

Persuasive Policy Speech
(open to all Pitt undergraduates)

• The essence of a persuasive speech on policy is to convince your audience that a specific course of action should or should not be taken.
• Your task is to choose a significant policy dilemma, take a position, and try to persuade the audience to adopt your position by providing them with evidence and developing clear supporting arguments.
• Persuasive policy speeches may aim at either passive or active agreement.
  • If the aim is active agreement, the speaker should convince the audience to act in support of the policy by proposing recommendations for action that are as specific as possible.
  • If the aim is passive agreement, the speaker should convince the audience that the speaker’s position is credible by affecting the way the audience thinks about the policy without encouraging them to take specific action.
• In addition to customary public speaking criteria, the persuasive speech on policy will be judged on these specific persuasive speech criteria:
  • Is the delivery of high quality?
  • Are the arguments credible?
  • Are the arguments reasonable?
  • Are the arguments compelling?
• The persuasive speech on policy should be 5-8 minutes long.

Commemorative Values Speech
(open to all Pitt undergraduates)

• A commemorative values speech is a speech of praise or blame, of honor or mourning, of a person, a thing, an idea, even an institution. The speaker should work to heighten appreciation in the audience for the positive or negative qualities of the subject. The speaker should go beyond simple description or biography and try to capture the essence of the subject, to identify and amplify the characteristics that make the subject a worthy topic.
• The most important tools for the commemorative values speaker are pathos, the emotional appeal, and style, the careful choice of words to communicate the spirit of the message. The speaker should strive for language that is not only clear, but also vivid, arousing, even inspiring.
• In addition to customary public speaking criteria, the commemorative values speech will be judged on these specific commemorative speech criteria:
  • Is the delivery of high quality?
  • Are the values and characteristics of the subject clearly explained?
  • Do the chosen words reflect the spirit and essence of the subject?
  • Is the tone and language vivid, arousing, and enthusiastic?
• The ceremonial values speech should be 5-8 minutes long