Illinois Right to Life is on the hunt to find the most talented pro-life high school student speaker in the state of Illinois. Do you think you’ve got your pro-life arguments down pat? Think your oratory skills are top notch? Then put them to the test.
Our objective is to help students develop a deeper knowledge and articulation of important issues that degrade the human person in our society. This contest will help students practice defending and articulating their support for human life and will give them the opportunity to stand up for the most vulnerable members of our society.
Eligibility
- Students must be considered high school juniors or high school seniors on February 1, 2018, to apply.
- Homeschool and unconventional schooling juniors and seniors welcome!
- Past winners of the IRL Student Oratory Contest cannot re-apply.
- Past runner-up contestants may compete again with an entirely new speech.
- Participants must be a resident of Illinois and/or attending an Illinois school.
- High school students who graduate early may participate as long as they haven’t begun college courses.
Awards
Monetary awards are presented to the three finalists in the amounts of: 1st place: $1,000; 2nd place: $700; 3rd place: $500. The finalists will also receive two free tickets to Illinois Right to Life’s Annual Banquet to meet our guest of honor. The student and his/her school will also be recognized and honored at the event. Past Illinois Right to Life banquet speakers have included investigator David Daleiden, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, Gov. Mike Huckabee, and movie producer, Jason Jones.
The first place winner will also be honored by having their speech filmed live and published for Illinois Right to Life’s thousands of members to watch. The first place winner will have a profile written about him or her and their school, and published via Illinois Right to Life.
Regulations
- Speeches are to be 8-10 minutes long. Speeches outside that time frame will lose points. An official timekeeper will be named and will keep official time.
- Small props that can fit in your hand are permitted. No more than two props allowed. A lectern and microphone may or may not be available.
- Notes are strongly discouraged. Speeches should be memorized and delivered with without notes. If notes are used delivery points may be deducted according to the judges’ discretion. Notes other than small note cards that can fit in your hand are prohibited.
- Speeches must be student’s original content. Parent, teacher, and peer feedback is helpful but content must be written entirely by the student.
Contest rules may change without notice.
Judges
All judges are carefully considered and their qualifications are appropriate to judge the event. Judges are hand-picked by Illinois Right to Life and are prepared and qualified to judge the speech presentations fairly.
The decisions of the judges are final. Students must follow all speech rules. Judges have final say on whether to disqualify a student for not following the rules.
All speeches are graded on a point system. The student at the end of all the presentations with the most points wins. A tie will be broken by a conference of the judges.
Speech Presentation
The oratory contest will take place on the follow days and locations:
*TBA*
3 dates, with 3 different locations, will be chosen.
Students may leave following the delivery of their speech. Students will present their speech before the judges once and receive feedback from the judges. Once all speech presentations have been given, judges will convene and determine the winner. The winning student and finalists will be announced via email.
Students must be able to attend one of contest locations to deliver his/her speech before the judges. Contest locations will be held in the Wheaton/DuPage area, central Chicago area and Peoria area. Additional locations may be added due to high demand.
NOTE: If many students from your school participate in the contest, we will do our best to hold a location at or near your school.
Questions regarding the contest locations can be directed to Illinois Right to Life staff at Info@IllinoisRightToLife.org.
*Date and time is subject to change. Registered students will be notified immediately via email regarding any date, location, or time changes.
Speech Themes for 2018
Students should pick one theme and focus their entire speech on it. Trying to cover too many topics will greatly hurt your speech. You only have 8-10 minutes.
NOTE: Points will be deducted in clarity if too many topics are included.
The theme of the speech must be persuasive and center on abortion, euthanasia, or assisted suicide. A few topics, in no particular order, to help you brainstorm are:
- Pro-life is pro-woman.
- Why I am pro-life.
- Abortion has hurt my generation.
- How to make my generation more pro-life.
- The awe and beauty of life in the womb.
- Saying no to assisted suicide.
Tip! Pick something that is personal to you. Storytelling – sharing authentic, deep, stories is a major focus of this presentation. Tell your story, a friend’s story, or your family’s story. Be personal.
To Register
Complete this online form or download a PDF version and email it to Info@IllinoisRightToLife.org.
Once we receive your form, within 48 hours you will receive a confirmation email from one of our cool staff members confirming your registration. You will also receive the Contestant Packet with all the details in it you need to start composing your awesome speech…. annnnnnnnnnnd we may also include a super, secret tip sheet to help ensure your talk is dynamite!
Scoring
The judges will score the speech on the following items:
10 points for tone;
10 points for structure and clarity;
10 points for story-telling;
10 points for accuracy in statistics and evidence presented;
10 points for memorization and delivery; and
10 points for interesting and compelling pro-life content.
Highest score a student can receive is 60 points. Scorecards are kept private during the competition. After the winners are announced, students may request from Illinois Right to Life to have their scorecards released to them privately.
For more information, please email Info@IllinoisRightToLife.org or call Illinois Right to Life at 312-422-9300.