Communication Studies Revives Annual Public Speaking Competition

Britton Majure presents his speech on a wooden stage.

Winner Britton Majure during his final round speech.

The Department of Communication Studies reestablished its annual public speaking competition, Public Speaking Excellence Award.

PSEA allows the top speaker from each section of the COMM 10123: Communicating Effectively class to be “recognized for the exceptional skill and hard work that they have displayed over the course of the semester.” Students were nominated by their instructors and classmates to serve as their section’s representative.

As the primary Oral Communication course on campus, most students take the “Communicating Effectively” course at some point during their time at TCU. This competition allows students from all majors across campus to showcase their public speaking skills.

For the revival of PSEA, a total of 15 students presented once in a semifinal round. The top two speakers from each semifinal round advanced to the final round. For their speeches, students could present either an informative or persuasive speech and present it for both the semifinal and the final round. The finalists included Hunter Springer, April Cannon, Janie Carr, Britton Majure, Amy Pham and Cullen Steward.

Three students stand together, holding up their awards.

From left, April Cannon, Janie Carr and Britton Majure

The top three speakers are:

First – Britton Majure spoke about equality in athletics

Second – Janie Carr spoke about the disadvantages of drinking Ceslsius Energy drinks

Third – April Cannon spoke about the Brilliance of Macrocycles

Thank you to the final round judge’s Paul King, Ph.D., Amorette Hinderaker, Ph.D. and Emma Anderson, and the faculty leads on this event, Katherine Forsythe and Zack Frohlich.