4-H competition highlights public speaking skills

Public speaking is known to be an intimidating experience for most adults - it can be even more scary for kids. Nevertheless, 26 boys and girls from the Plains 4-H club South Side Sparks braved the anxiety of giving a talk - and being critiqued - in front of relatives, friends and judges at the Sanders County Fairgrounds pavilion last weekend for the first round of Communication Days competition.

Six members from the club will move on to the finals competition scheduled for April 11 at the Clark Fork Professional Building just east of Thompson Falls. In years past, the clubs held their first round together over a weekend in either Hot Springs or Thompson Falls, then the finals at Plains, but this year each club held its own preliminary competitions to determine who would move on to finals, said Juli Thurston, the Montana State University Sanders County Extension agent. The competition used to be called Demonstration Day, but was changed to the present name when new categories were added. The kids get to choose from eight categories: impromptu speech, prepared speech, illustration talk, video, interviews, promotional package, demonstration and commercial. One of the tougher categories is the impromptu speech. Only Cody, 14, and Gavin Hefner, 11, chose the impromptu speech, which meant they received a list of 45 questions relating to 4-H ahead of time. At the pavilion, the boys chose from a selection of five topics, without seeing the questions, and had three minutes to prepare. 

For just over three hours a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, judges listened and watched the youngsters put on their presentations. Contestants ranged from age 8 to 17. Roni Mitch and Melissa Cady, the fair manager, judged Friday. On Saturday, Heather Wrobleski and Kendra Silva served as judges. Dacy Holland and Steve Spurr were judges on Sunday. 

"I'd rather be judging than being up there doing it. I dreaded doing demonstrations," said Holland, who was in the Little Bitterroot Club in Hot Springs for eight years as a youth. "You have to get up in front of people and have to get the presentation ready," she added. 

Public speaking can be beneficial to 4-H members when they become adults, according to Thurston, who added that it could help them develop public speaking skills and self confidence for the rest of their lives. "Communication skills are the cornerstone of society. From communication in the earliest forms of smoke signals and hieroglyphics to modern digital communications involving video, audio and graphics, humans have sought to share information and ideas through communication," said Thurston. "4-H recognizes the importance of developing high level communication skills with confidence and class that are applicable in our world. The processes learned through developing the types of presentations outlined for Communication Days will serve Sanders County members in their future," she added.

The 4-H members were graded on their opening statement, understanding of the material, presentation, voice, mannerism and appearance, visual clarity, summary, and how they handle the question and answer portion. Contestants can earn up to 32 points, but they must get at least a blue ribbon and be recommended by the judges to advance to finals, said Thurston. The junior competitors had between 3 and 7 minutes to give their presentations and the seniors had between 7 and 20 minutes, not counting questioning and answering time from the judges. The audience could also ask questions, though there was seldom more than a handful of people at each contestant's event. "I saw some very high quality presentations and many were very close to qualifying with high scores," said Thurston.

Those who will be competing in the finals include the Wrobleski family with Andrew and Claire competing in the senior division, and Martin and Katherine in the junior division. Martin, 17, and Andrew, 13, gave the only team team presentation with a lesson on what to take on a backpacking trip, which included four uses of toilet paper, one of 15 items they suggested taking. Ten-year-old Katherine gave a presentation "The Sounds and Colors of Spring," a bird identification presentation, complete with photographs and bird songs. Claire, 15, gave a speech, "The Fantastic Four Temperaments" about a person's personality traits. Also moving on to the finals in April will be 15-year-old Mikiah Cook, a senior, who gave an illustrated talk on how to get a bill passed in Montana Congress. Her sister, Melodie, 12, a junior, gave an illustrated talk on the velvet worm.

The contestants showed a wide variety of topics, such as tree identification, chainsaw care, graffiti, small engine repair, candle making, calving, and gun anatomy. There were five first time presenters, including two "Cloverbuds," sisters Anaelle, 7, and Ailie Avilla, 6, who gave their presentations at an earlier date. It was the first time for Brooklynn Crain, 10, who gave a presentation on how to ear tag a calf, including the use of a dead sow ear for the demonstration. The final two contestants of the weekend were first-time competitors, the Browning 8-year-old twins - Trace and Colt - who did demonstrations on candle making and tie dying, respectively.

Several members were experienced speakers. Deriyan Sheehan,17 years old, had the longest presentation at 11 minutes with a bit about horse bits. Seventeen-year-old Hondo Ryan, who has done nine presentations during his 4-H career, demonstrated the basics of doing the waltz. His dancing assistant was Adele Ercandracs and is brother, Spur, cued the music. "I used to be terrified to go in front of people, but not any more," said Ryan, who has been waltzing since age 10. Though the judges thought Ryan's demonstration interesting, he was not selected for the finals. 

Brock Ryan, 13, also a junior, provided a pitch about respecting the American flag. For his presentation, he had a poster board of photos and flag tidbits and a quote by George Washington, and he wore an old Army uniform blouse that he believes might date back to World War I. He also held a flag folded in triangle from World War II. "I thought the flag one was a difficult one to tackle," said Heather Wrobleski, "but I could tell he was fervent about respecting the flag and treating it right." 

The only other club that held it competition and reported its results was the Thompson Falls Mountaineers. Club leader Lacey Scharfe said the following members will be competing in April: Seniors Mackenzie Robinson did an illustrated talk on softball and Trinity Riffle conducted a presentation on how to bake cookies. In the junior division, Noah Scharfe's presentation was how to conduct a Beyblade Battle. Judging the presentations was Debbie Rolleri. The individual clubs have until April 1 to turn in those qualified for finals.