There were quite a few younger faces in the crowd at Nebraska East Union, as the University of Nebraska–Lincoln was host to the Nebraska 4-H statewide Premiere Communication Event.
Nearly 300 Nebraska 4-H’ers, ages 8-18, who had qualified in their individual counties, competed in the contest held June 19-20. The contest includes pre-recorded public service announcements, illustrated presentations, videos, impromptu speaking and prepared speeches. Those in the illustrated presentations, impromptu speaking and prepared speech categories traveled to East Campus to present. Results from the competition are online.
The Premiere Communication Event is one of many events held throughout the summer by Nebraska 4-H, all of which aim to help Nebraska youth be “beyond ready” for their futures.
Participants in the contest said it is a fun event to do, where they can see old friends and make new ones, while honing skills that will be useful throughout life — though it can bring with it a lot of nerves.
“Lots and lots of practice helps quite a bit with just becoming more confident with it,” said Emily Brhel, 17, of Fairfield, Nebraska.
Brhel’s speech, which got her a spot in the senior division finals, touched on her biggest 4-H “flops,” and the subsequent lessons she learned. Brhel has been competing in 4-H speech contests since she was 6 years old, and the experiences took her all the way to Washington, D.C., two years ago, where she was part of a small group presenting in front of lawmakers.
Meghan Macklin, 16, of Blue Hill, Nebraska, will be attending National 4-H Congress in Atlanta and has also been doing public speaking through 4-H since she was 6 years old. Her speech, centered on her journey through 4-H, earned her fifth at state. She also competes in high school speech and said the 4-H contests have instilled in her the confidence to be comfortable around new people.
“Having the skill of communication, in relationships, being able to make friends easier, being able to be comfortable talking in front of people, whether it's at school or just having the confidence to go up and talk in front of a room that people, is important,” Macklin said.
For Kara Brockman, 16, of Elwood, Nebraska, speech was something she tried because her older sister was already involved in 4-H speech contests, but she’s discovered that skills she’s learned have already been helpful.
“It's an activity I found success in, so it's just very nice to be able to do something I enjoy,” Brockman, who placed third, said. “It's definitely prepared me for high school speech, because while there are a lot of differences, there's also just getting over that first hump of being nervous. I've noticed other kids who started speech for high school at the same time as I had a harder time since they didn't have that background.”
