The ability to speak well is important no matter what your eventual career.

A person who can speak well can let other people know what he thinks and why.

Public speaking is a long standing activity in 4-H. It provides the opportunity

for the club member to learn to express himself and to develop self confidence.

Practice makes perfect. All club members are urged to take an active part in

club meetings, skits, plays and demonstrations.

In this way experience can be acquired to enter a speaking contest within the

local club. The value of public speaking ability is not confined to the five

minutes or so it takes to deliver a speech. It lies more in the development

of personality as it is shaped by the contact that young people have in their

own age group and with society outside this group. For all segments of society

to get along with one another and to understand one another, each group needs

information on the other.

Public speaking is something that everyone needs some ability. For older club

members public speaking ability provides the opportunity for the general public

through service clubs and other civic organizations to learn just what 4-H is,

what it is doing and what it offers to youth.

Giving a talk in front of an audience demands self discipline. But more important

is the logic required in preparing a talk or demonstration. It is training in

developing a convincing argument and selection of facts needed to get across

your point of view.

Whether a talk is prepared to persuade or to simply inform an audience demands

a strong introduction to the subject, the body of the talk filled with pertinent

facts, and an ending with the idea the speaker most wants the audience to remember.

The 4-H circular, "Giving a Talk - 10

Tips on Public Speaking" says that the first 10 words are more important

than the next 10 minutes. Preparation and practice and giving a talk is an aid

in training the mind to select from all that is available the central points

of the topic.

The success of every 4-H club depends to a large degree on its public image.

The image of 4-H outside the club can be best established by the members themselves.

Confidence and ability to express oneself are the main factors in establishing

an image to reflect the importance of the 4-H program as a dynamic youth development

agency.

Participation in the 4-H public

speaking competition develops such confidence and ability for both boys

and girls.