Speech Team finds success and FUN in public speaking competitions
Does the idea of giving a speech in front of a live audience leave you with sweaty palms and high anxiety? Not surprising, as public speaking is the #1 fear among Americans, topping even the fear of dying! Who are these brave souls that face this fear and *gasp* ENJOY IT?!
The Pioneer Speech team is a co-curricular fine arts performance activity that consists of thirteen separate speaking categories. Each category requires unique skill sets, allowing a wide range of students with different skill sets to thrive. Under the direction of their coaches, students enter into the category of their choice, ranging from discussion and informative speaking to humorous interpretation, extemporaneous speaking and storytelling among other categories. Through practice and judge critiques from competitions, students learn how to structure a speech, analyze material useful to their topic, and improve their performance techniques.
Students are judged on their ability to perform their pieces based on the individual rules for each category; however, general public speaking abilities are central to scoring. Judges look for indicators like voice tone, speech clarity, speed and volume, eye contact, and gestures.
Students compete on a weekly basis, typically Saturdays, against competitors from schools from around central Minnesota. This season, the team will be competing in seven invitational meets, the Central Minnesota Conference Tournament, and the Section 5A Tournament. The expectations and excitement around the team this year are high, as many students have decided to join our growing and promising program. It is expected the team will only grow in numbers as many young competitors are ready to take the next step.
Despite Speech being a fairly new program at Pierz, the team has been quite successful. A couple weeks ago, the team competed at the St. Michael-Albertville meet consisting of 20 schools and 677 students. And how did our team from little Pierz, Minnesota fair? Pierz took 4th place overall--highlighted by Jeron Gross winning 1st place in Drama (pictured as he learns of his win), Simon Kroll winning 1st place in Discussion, and Tori Mitchell winning 4th place in Drama. Stellar win, Pierz!
The season officially started with their first meet on January 26th, with the plan to be competing well into the season and ready for the State Speech Competition on April 12th. The Speech team will also have competitors performing their pieces at the Showcase/Open House Night at Healy on March 13th.
Speech is such an interesting, dynamic, nerve-wracking, and pretty astounding competition. The community is always welcome to come and watch the competitions as meets are open to the public. More information on this Minnesota State High School League activity can be found here.
Special thanks to head coach Mr. Boman and assistant coaches Ms. Loch and Ms. Jindra for their tireless work and expertise with students.
The Pioneer Speech team is a co-curricular fine arts performance activity that consists of thirteen separate speaking categories. Each category requires unique skill sets, allowing a wide range of students with different skill sets to thrive. Under the direction of their coaches, students enter into the category of their choice, ranging from discussion and informative speaking to humorous interpretation, extemporaneous speaking and storytelling among other categories. Through practice and judge critiques from competitions, students learn how to structure a speech, analyze material useful to their topic, and improve their performance techniques.
Students are judged on their ability to perform their pieces based on the individual rules for each category; however, general public speaking abilities are central to scoring. Judges look for indicators like voice tone, speech clarity, speed and volume, eye contact, and gestures.
Students compete on a weekly basis, typically Saturdays, against competitors from schools from around central Minnesota. This season, the team will be competing in seven invitational meets, the Central Minnesota Conference Tournament, and the Section 5A Tournament. The expectations and excitement around the team this year are high, as many students have decided to join our growing and promising program. It is expected the team will only grow in numbers as many young competitors are ready to take the next step.
Despite Speech being a fairly new program at Pierz, the team has been quite successful. A couple weeks ago, the team competed at the St. Michael-Albertville meet consisting of 20 schools and 677 students. And how did our team from little Pierz, Minnesota fair? Pierz took 4th place overall--highlighted by Jeron Gross winning 1st place in Drama (pictured as he learns of his win), Simon Kroll winning 1st place in Discussion, and Tori Mitchell winning 4th place in Drama. Stellar win, Pierz!
The season officially started with their first meet on January 26th, with the plan to be competing well into the season and ready for the State Speech Competition on April 12th. The Speech team will also have competitors performing their pieces at the Showcase/Open House Night at Healy on March 13th.
Speech is such an interesting, dynamic, nerve-wracking, and pretty astounding competition. The community is always welcome to come and watch the competitions as meets are open to the public. More information on this Minnesota State High School League activity can be found here.
Special thanks to head coach Mr. Boman and assistant coaches Ms. Loch and Ms. Jindra for their tireless work and expertise with students.
