The annual public speaking contest encourages high school students to become more comfortable with public speaking and provides them with oratory experience in a public forum. Students should prepare a 3-5 min speech on the topic below:
College: worth the investment or a waste of time?
The competition will take place on Saturday, April 29th, 2023 at 11am. The contest will be hosted at Wayne County Community College, Norwest Campus, Larry K. Lewis Auditorium, located at 8200 West Outer Drive, Detroit, Michigan 48219.
Please arrive by 10:30 a.m. Each of the top three winners will be awarded a cash prize.
- 1st place: $2,000
- 2nd place: $1,000
- 3rd place: $500
HOW TO APPLY
The completed application (download form here) should be sent by email to 100blackdetroit@gmail.com no later than March 29, 2023. Please write legibly or type your responses into the application form. Failure to comply with this requirement prohibits a student from participating in the contest. No exceptions will be granted.
This year’s contest is only open to high school seniors
CONTACT INFORMATION
Contact Dennis Williams at 248-499-3771 or email 100blackdetroit@gmail.com with questions or for more information.
The 100 Black Men of Greater Detroit, Inc. is a group of concerned African American men whose goal is to improve the quality of life in the African American community through their collective resources, abilities and experiences. The Detroit chapter is one of more than 90 chapters of 100 Black Men of America, Inc
About Persuasive Speaking
The purpose of this activity is to train speakers to choose and organize material to support a central idea in a persuasive speech.
A persuasive speech may persuade or convince listeners of the validity of the speaker’s argument. The speech aims to change the values, ideas, beliefs, and/or attitudes of the audience. This might involve persuading someone to change their opinion or at the very least take into account some elements that have not been considered before.
Although many persuasive speeches deal with a current problem and propose a solution, the speaker should not be expected to solve any of the great problems of the day. The speech may force the audience to simply learn about a threatening danger, strengthen its devotion to an accepted cause, or reinforce a previously-held belief.
The best delivery technique retains the directness and simplicity of good conversation while reaching all listeners. A good speech makes the audience forget it is a contest.
Please download the application form here.