There are four Levels within the Speakers League program, each designed to take approximately a school-year to complete. To complete Level I, members must do each Club role at least once, and give the seven speeches outlined below.
1. Getting to Know You (4 – 6 minutes) The objective of this speech is to help the member feel more comfortable in public speaking situations and to let the audience know more about him/her. The skills emphasis for this speech is eye-contact.
2. Gestures (5 – 7 minutes) This speech calls on the member to work with gestures and body language to add interest and meaning to his/her speech.
3. Vocal Variety (5 – 7 minutes) The member should use volume, pitch, rate, and quality as well as appropriate pauses to reflect and add meaning and interest to his/her message. The member’s voice should reflect the thoughts he/she is presenting.
4. Visual Aids (5 – 7 minutes) The member should use visual aids to help the audience understand and remember what they hear. Popular visual aids include computer-based visuals, overhead transparencies, flip charts, whiteboards, and props used for demonstration.
5. Organizing (5 – 7 minutes) The member should present a speech that is organized into a logical order or format that is clear to the audience. (The speaker should provide his/her written outline to the Chairperson and Evaluator before the speech.)
6. Speaking with Knowledge (7 minutes +/- 30 seconds) The member should research an issue or topic, write a speech, and then present that speech to the audience in a way that incorporates the skills he/she has learned thus far. To be eligible for Level advancement, the timing of this speech must fall within the specified time frame of 7-minutes plus-or-minus 30-seconds.
7. Speaker’s Choice (5 – 7 minutes) The Speaker chooses the topic, and emphasis of this speech.
For all speakers, we use a signaling system to let them know their time, so they’ll know when their time is running out.