2017 ANU/Lions Oratory Competition (entry deadline)

Can you talk your way to some great fantastic prizes?

Participate in the 2017 Lions Oratory Competition and pit your oratory skills against fellow undergraduate students in the public speaking arena.

What is the Lions Oratory Competition?

Lions Club Woden member Manikkam Reddy started the competition in 1994 to give students an opportunity to master and excel in the art of oratory.

His aim was to help tertiary students build their confidence in public speaking as they look towards their future careers.

Manik, as we all knew him, has since passed away but his memory still lives on in the continued success of the competition.

The competition looks different to previous years, what's changed?

A lot actually. This year we have revamped the competition to make it more exciting and allow as many students as possible to participate. These changes include:

  • Competition entries will now be judged on merit rather than having a representative from each college.
  • The speech length has been shortened from eight minutes to five minutes. This means more students will be able to participate in the finals too.
  • First, second and third prize has been consolidated to a grand prize and a runner-up prize.
  • The People's Choice Award has been increased to $800. That means the more people you can get to the final, the better chance you have.
  • Instead of talks focussing on the human values of truth, righteousness, peace, love and non-violence, participants will be asked to address a theme which speaks to the values of the Lions Club (see more information below).  This theme will change each year.

What do you have to do?

It's really quite easy, jump on your soap box and write in 100 words or less the speech you would deliver at this year's Lions Oratory Competition. Your speech plan must address the topic "The most important important lesson of my life so far..."

Your plan and a completed entry form must be submitted by Wednesday 9 August 2017.

Speakers will be selected based on these submissions to deliver a five minute oration at the competition final on Wednesday 4 October 2017.

Finalists will be notified by Friday 11 August 2017.

The winner of the competition will be asked to speak at the commencement address in 2018.

Prizes

Beyond gaining new skills and meeting new people, the Lions Oratory Competition offers some pretty generous prizes:

  • Grand Prize - $2,000
  • Runner-up Prize - $1,000
  • People's Choice Award - $800

How can I find out more?

If you need any more information then drop us a line, events@anu.edu.au or 02 6125 4144

2016 Prize Winners

  • Grand prize Victor Sukeerth Munagala, ANU College of Business and Economics 
  • Runner-up prize Louise Blessington, ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Enivronment 
  • People's Choice Award  Louise Blessington, ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Enivronment 

We encourage entries from students whose first language is not English.  

The Academic Skills & Learning Centre has some excellent resources for those needing more support in preparing their entry.

 

Date and Times

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