Public relations students will compete in the sixth annual Wolfpack Speaks speech competition as part of COM Week 2013. COM Week, April 8-12, features workshops and panels organized by the Department of Communication and emphasizes skills learned in Public Relations Writing, or COM 316.
The Wolfpack Speaks competition began with minimal attendance but has become a University-wide event.
“These students are very, very serious speakers, and that was very evident last year,” said Dean Phillips, internship director of communications and senior lecturer. “We had six speakers last year and every one of them I would rate as extraordinary.”
This year speakers will raise awareness on a social issue or argue for change in an aspect of audience members’ lives. The entire class created such presentations and will vote among themselves Tuesday for the top-five finalists to speak at the event.
“There’s been the full gambit. There have been people speaking on very serious topics and there have been people speaking on light topics,” Phillips said. “Or speakers will take a speech on a serious topic and put their personality in it.”
Depending on the finalists, topics may include gun violence, how to help the homeless, mental health and diet and exercise, said communication lecturer Sherry O’Neal, who teaches COM 316.
The speeches will be given in the “pecha kucha,” or “20-by-20” format. This is a format in which people follow their timed slideshows, matching their timing to that of the slides.
“It’s an advanced skill because you have to practice the timing of what you’re going to say while each slide is up and transitioning to the next slide,” O’Neal said.
Pecha kucha speeches have 20 slides that each stay on the screen for 20 seconds, making each speech exactly six minutes and 40 seconds. Though it only began about 10 years ago in Japan, pecha kucha has become a popular format.
However, speakers are not judged solely on their adherence to the format. Judges will consider substance and style, including sources, logic and the quality of the presentation.
O’Neal sees the competition as a way for students to gain confidence in their abilities by presenting in front of their peers.
Phillips echoed this sentiment by telling the story of a very shy student that he used to teach.
“I watched him develop as a student, and he was in this class — the COM 316 class — last year,” Phillips said. “He was selected as one of the finalists, and he just came out of his shell. He was just marvelous.”
David Young of Edward Jones Investments will be one of the judges for the competition, and the company will provide cash prizes for the event. Young said he chose to support the event because of how valuable communication education is to students’ future careers.
“Regardless of the type of business that you’re in and the level of management that you’re at, you are always trying to build bridges and help people understand what they know and what they don’t know. That becomes increasingly important as you progress in your career,” Young said. “This is an opportunity to sharpen those skills.”
Wolfpack Speaks will take place April 9 in Burns Auditorium, Kamphoefner Hall at 6:45 p.m.
