Speech Judge Prep Information
We are so glad to have your help with judging speech rounds! We hope you enjoy hearing from our competitors.
League Policies
Volunteer speech judges are encouraged to review the information below.
Orientation and Safety Requirement
Thank you for taking time to review our Judge Orientation and Safety Video and Volunteer Judge and Guest Safety Requirements before your first round. This requirement is the same for both speech and debate and only needs to be completed once per season.
Speech Judge Orientation
Learn what to expect and how to think about judging speech events through our short speech judge orientation video. The video transcript is also available for your review and reference.
Learn about Our Speech Events
We offer 10 speech events in 3 categories. Each event challenges students to find their voice and develop skills in a different way.
The “Preview Speech Events Section” on our Speech Judge overview page offers descriptions of each event, or you can watch a short video to hear graduated competitors introduce each category and event.
Completing a Speech Ballot
Two most important components to completing a speech ballot.
- Ranking competitors from first to last
- Typing written feedback comments
You have the flexibility to rank the students according to whatever you feel is most important and/or compelling. Our ballot system will suggest ranks based on equal weighting of the category scores you enter in the ballot rubric or allow you to rank the students first and then enter scores in the rubric. Please note that ranking determines overall placings in the tournament, not the rubric category scores.
Students truly appreciate any notes you are willing to offer regarding how what you appreciated and what they could improve. We cannot overstate the value of your kind encouragement and constructive feedback.
Other things to know about completing speech ballots.
- Competitors will announce their speech times, and you will need to record the time and mark the Timer Issue box if instructed to do so by the Head Judge.
- If your ballots have a checkbox to indicate that a student used a script, you will want to check it if they used one.
- At the end of the round, you will want to confirm your ranking (placings) for students.
- Submitted rankings are final, and the rankings (not category scores) determine placing in the tournament.
- Our competitors will receive your feedback on their ballots at the end of the tournament.
Our ballots are fairly intuitive, but if you would like to see the full process for completing a speech ballot, you are welcome to watch our video demo.
Speech Round Protocols & Tips
We try to run a tight schedule!
- Speakers are expected to arrive precisely at their designated time, so please be in the room and ready before the first scheduled speaker.
- The Head Judge will keep the round moving.
You’ll want to take notes.
- You will be able to make notes for each competitor in the electronic ballot between speeches and/or take notes on paper.
- Download an optional Printable Notes Sheet
- Students love your feedback, so please use the comments sections to write notes on your thoughts for each competitor.
Speech Judge Resources
All of our resources for judging speech are available through the Resources page on our website for quick reference. Simply set the “Filter by Role” section to Judge and “Filter by Category” to Speech.
Note: Our event rules are available for judges to review, but volunteer judges are not responsible for knowing the specific rules for each event.
Questions or Problems?
If you have questions about how to handle something in a speech or debate round, please contact our judge support team through your online dashboard or in person in the Judge Hospitality area.
We ask that you not conduct independent research, confer with other judges, or discuss questions with anyone except tournament administration regarding the speech content, rules, or your rankings while the tournament is in progress.
Judge Policies
All volunteer judges are welcome to review our NCFCA Judge Policies which cover the following elements:
- Judge philosophy and eligibility
- Judge Training
- Judge Decisions
- Safety Requirements
- Avoiding Judging Conflicts
- Ballot Completion and Deadlines