Four Way Test Speech Contest 2024

 
Jim Bullock, Contest Chair
 
 

Saturday, May 4th, 2024

Location - The Westwood School’s Black Box Theater, 14240 Midway Road, Dallas, Texas 75244
 
9:30 am to 12:30pm, contestants will need to arrive between 8:45-9:15 a.m. on May 4, 2024 to check in (no check ins will be accepted after 9:20 a.m.)
 
The Four-Way Test Speech Contest in District 5810 invites local high school students to speak about various subjects while applying Rotary’s Four-Way Test – which asks four ethical questions about the things we think, say, and do:
  • Is it the truth? 
  • Is it fair to all concerned? 
  • Will it build good will and better friendships? 
  • Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
 

RULES

WHO: Contestant may be a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior in a public, private, or home school and may have competed and won in previous years. Contest participants write an original speech, of 5-7 minutes in length, which they deliver first at a local Rotary club meeting’s contest. 
 
TOPIC: Material must be original in content and be about applying the Rotary Four Way Test to an important issue in our everyday relationships with other people.
 
DELIVERY: Speech may be memorized or notes may be used, but reading is discouraged. Memorized at District is certainly more impressive.
 
The winner of the local club’s contest advances to the District final to compete against the winners from the other Rotary clubs in District 5810.
 
Judges at the Club-level score participants as the Club determines.
 
Judges at the District level will score each participant’s speech based on content, organization, and delivery. For example, content scores tend to focus on originality, creativity, imagination, timeliness, the human interest, and application of the Four-Way Test. Organization scores tend to focus on the speech’s structure (ex., how effective is the introduction? how were examples used in the body of the speech? how did the conclusion wrap-up the speech?). And delivery scores tend to focus on diction, pronunciation, projection, grammar, clarity, articulation, tonal variance, and the extent to which the participant engages the audience (ex., gestures, eye contact, etc.). Speeches should be no longer than 7 minutes in total length; points will be deducted from participants speaking longer than 7 minutes.
 

DEADLINES

 
  • Deadline for registration AND payment: May 3, 2024. Entry fee is $95.00 and must be paid by May 3 or the contestant will not be allowed to participate
     
  • Clubs must pay an entry fee for their participants.