League Policies
Competitors have the opportunity to develop communication skills through speech competition. Practicing these skills can develop great leadership, great thinking, and great personal opportunities but more importantly should be seized as an opportunity for challenging and equipping ambassadors for Christ to communicate truth with integrity and grace. Make the most of the competition season by embracing our mission when preparing the competition material for speeches!
What and How
Competitors must choose materials for speeches that align with the NCFCA mission, using the Foundational Beliefs and the Core Values as markers for upholding a strong witness for Christ. Great care and sensitivity should be given as content and sources for use in competition are considered and presented. Consider not only what is presented but also how it is presented.
Consider the Content
While we live in a world that is often messy and broken, as Christian communicators, we value messages of redeeming truth. We have both the privilege and responsibility to discover, meditate upon, and communicate whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy in all areas of life (Philippians 4:8). This does not mean that every source or presentation needs to have an overtly Christian theme, but all dark themes must provide a redemptive element.
Consider the Audience
All speeches with potentially intense or sensitive themes or examples must be preceded by the NCFCA disclaimer as scripted in the event rules. Regardless of who is in the room, competitors should give the disclaimer after introducing themselves to the judges and pause before starting the timer for the speech to begin. The disclaimer provides a mechanism for families to participate in tournaments and still be able to determine when and how they introduce their own children to intense topics by instructing them to leave the room whenever a disclaimer is given. Even if there is no audience in the room, give the disclaimer and pause to give the judge(s) a moment to mentally prepare themselves.
Two practical items to note are that the disclaimer is not required in a speech script, but marking the intention of giving a disclaimer is part of the required script submission process for tournaments.
Present the Sources
Competitors are committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical conduct. Great care and sensitivity should be given as sources for use are presented. Competitors should strive to clearly communicate what is their own original work and what is not. This looks a little different depending on the event, as seen in the event rules, but the principle is the same.
Competitors should clearly communicate the sources of any material presented, recognizing that in a primarily verbal activity the burden of the speaker is for the audience to be able to hear and understand. Placing the verbal mention of a source near the quoted or summarized material may seem cumbersome, especially for longer more complex platform speeches. If so, meet this challenge with enthusiasm and a prayer for creativity! It’s a chance to be more thoroughly equipped to communicate truth with integrity and the flair of artistic grace!
Our rules require a verbal citation of any supporting material (i.e., material that is not original to the speaker) along with a Works Cited page. Note that any material written by artificial intelligence and similar technologies (e.g. ChatGPT, etc.) is not original and should be cited. We recommend that you also parenthetically cite any corresponding ideas. If a speech is called into question regarding academic integrity during a tournament, clear citations may allow our compliance teams to resolve any concerns without a need to call a competitor for a meeting. Find examples of citations in the Interpretation Script Guidelines, Platform Script Examples, and Interpretation Script Examples.
Interpretation speeches also have a high level of nonverbal material presented. Any blocking, characterization, etc. must be original to the speaker in order to maintain our standards of academic integrity. We recommend not watching productions of the particular literature selections you plan to use in order to avoid the potential for plagiarism. Although competitors use the author’s words for their selection, the vocal and physical delivery must be primarily developed by the competitor.