Public speaking competitions for kids are a great way for aspiring & competitive young speakers to develop their formal public speaking skills, gain confidence and showcase their talents.
But not all children like competing when it comes to public speaking, and that is perfectly fine too. The most important thing is for children to gain experience speaking in front of a range of different types of live audiences. At Super Speak, all our students gain experience presenting in front of their peers, teachers & adults with varying sized audiences during each enrolment period.
For students wishing to compete in competitions, it is worth noting that not all public speaking competitions for kids are created equal. Below are a few aspects that parents should consider when choosing the best public speaking competition for their child.
Where possible, aim to enter in person competitions so students can experience presenting in front of a live audience.
Post-COVID, many public speaking competitions for kids have shifted to online or prerecorded video submissions. While these formats offer convenience, they fall well short in providing the rich, real-world learning that comes from speaking in front of a live audience. Even real-time Zoom presentations, though a step up from prerecorded videos, still lack the energy, feedback, and presence that only a face-to-face experience can offer.
Some competitions also limit live speaking opportunities to just a small number of finalists, or only involve classroom-level audiences made up of peers. These “safe audience” settings do not provide the same level of challenge, nor do they help students develop the confidence and adaptability required to present effectively to adults in real life.
There are important nuances to presenting face-to-face: body language, eye contact, pacing, and audience connection, that simply cannot be developed to the same level through a screen or in front of classmates alone. To ensure students get the most out of the experience, prioritise competitions that are conducted fully in person and offer all entrants the chance to present in front of a real adult audience, not just the top few.
If a competition does not offer every participant equal opportunity to learn, consider finding one that does. It’s a crucial investment in helping your child develop authentic communication skills they can carry into school, work, and life.
Select competitions run by independent & reputable organisations.
We also highly recommend that parents focus on entering their child into competitions held by independent & reputable organisations. These competitions have far more benefits for kids when compared to competitions held by one public speaking service provider, who have vested interests in promoting their services.
Some of the benefits of attending competitions held by independent organisations include:
1. Broader exposure & experience: competitions run by independent organisations are open to children from any school or program. This means your child will be exposed to a broader range of students, perspectives & skills that comes from watching students taught by different teachers or programs. This will provide a more diverse learning experience as they will learn from speakers from wider backgrounds. You may also gain a greater appreciation for the teaching methods of other programs by watching their students perform. This cannot be achieved through internal competition held by one service provider, which usually have a more narrow perspective and lower overall standard.
2. Better reputation & recognition: competitions held by long established & independent organisations have a much stronger reputation and a wider audience profile. They are highly regarded and more recognised by others in the community. Schools also regard results in such competitions higher if your child wishes to be considered for scholarships. Whereas, competitions held by one service provider are less reputable and not as well recognised by others in the community.
3. Wider networking opportunities: competitions held by independent and reputable organisations can provide children with the opportunity to network and connect with a wider range of other aspiring public speakers and other teachers or service providers within the field.
4. Better judging & feedback: independent and reputable organisations usually have a more experienced, independent and qualified judging panel. These judges can bring new perspectives in their feedback & more valuable support to participants. They also have clear and fair rules & judging criteria formed over many years that ensures a level playing field.
Public speaking competitions for kids:
There are a range of independent & reputable public speaking competitions held across most major cities in Australia that kids of different age ranges can attend in-person with real life audiences or a hybrid of zoom and real life application. We do no recommend any competitions that request pre-recorded entries. Some include:
Across most major Australian cities and Asia Pacific , there are a variety of independent and reputable public speaking competitions available for children of different ages. These events offer in-person experiences with live audiences, or a hybrid format combining Zoom with real-world delivery. We generally don’t recommend competitions that rely solely on pre-recorded entries.
Some of the notable options include:
👉 Debaters Association of Victoria Junior Public Speaking Competition (VIC students)
👉 Lions Junior Public Speaking Competition (Australia wide)
👉 Voice of Youth – Rostrum (Australia wide)
👉 EduDrift Asa Pacific Public Speaking Championships (Asia Pacific region)
👉 The Plain English Speaking Awards (NSW Students)
👉 The Multicultural Perspectives Public Speaking Competition (NSW students)
Experience in front of live audiences is most important.
It is important to re-iterate that most children do not wish to compete when it comes to public speaking, and that is perfectly fine.
It is more important to provide children the opportunity to speak in front of a range of different live audiences. This is what we do at Super Speak. All our students, in every class, get the opportunity to present in front of a range of different live audiences. This includes their classmates, teachers & adults. For students wishing to compete in public speaking competitions, we refer them only to reputable institutions who run independent competitions with a live adult audiences for the entire process (some we refer to, are not listed above). This gives our students the best experience available to support THEIR unique public speaking journey.
At Super Speak, our award winning program teaches children aged 6-14 public speaking & presentation skills. Our fun learning program incorporates both public speaking & drama to ensure our students gain broader learning outcomes. We have a teaching team with unmatched experienced that teach our classes in a style that is fun, supportive & high energy! Our students learn to be more confident & capable public speakers & everyday communicators for life. Check out Super Speak Public Speaking Program and join over 65,000 children who have trusted Super Speak since 2006.
