{{Multiple issues, {{No footnotes, date=November 2017 {{Notability, date=May 2020 Original Oratory (often shortened to "OO") is a competitive event in the

National Speech and Debate Association The National Speech and Debate Association is an American student debating society. It was established in 1925 as the National Forensic League; the name was changed in 2014. It is one of four major national organizations that direct high schoo ...

, Stoa USA, National Catholic Forensic League, and other

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

forensic Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal p ...

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indiv ...

s in which competitors deliver an original, factual speech on a subject of their choosing. Though the rules for the category change from organization to organization, a speech must generally be written and memorized by the performer and should be no more than ten minutes in length, and at most only 150 words can be quoted. The finished speech must be approved by the National Speech and Debate Association. This speech is frequently highly persuasive and is normally about a slightly controversial topic. An orator is given free choice of subject and judged solely on the effectiveness of development and presentation. Oratory topics are usually related to current problems in the world, and are delivered in a persuasive way as to motivate the audience to make a choice. However, this may not always be the case. Some speeches may alert the audience of an imminent threat or inspire them to act now to initiate change. According to the

, the competitor is judged on: * the degree to which the inspiration or purpose of the speech elicits a reaction from the audience. * gestures performed by the speaker to help the audience visualize ideas better. * evidence which supports the speaker's assertions. * the veracity of the speech.

Judges

Judges are typically Original Oratory competitors, coaches, sponsors, parents, or friends of the host tournament. Coaches are prohibited from judging their own schools, and alumni competitors must wait two years before they are allowed to judge the school from which they graduated. In some states and leagues, alumni are not allowed to judge the school from which they graduated for up to four years to prevent biased judgement on one's former teammates.

External links

Original Oratory on NCFL.org

Original Oratory
Public speaking competitions