Speech Team is a team that welcomes all LNE students and provides many opportunities to improve skills, such as writing and speaking, and offers personal rewards. It includes writing and performing speeches and allows students to meet and compete with new people from around the Lincoln area.

Every Monday right after school is over, Speech Team members attend half hour meetings to practice for competitions and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. By collaborating, they find ways to “better each other” and grow to be better speakers. Sophomore Haileigh Lowell, who has been part of the Speech Team for two years says, “Being in speech increases my writing as well as speaking.”

Throughout the year there are meets where students from around the Lincoln area compete. Students compete against others that are in the same category and event with two or more judges make the decision for first place. “After we are done performing, we meet back in the commons,” Lowell adds, “And congratulate each other on our rounds.” During the months of November and December, the speech team attends a meet roughly every other weekend. However, after Christmas break, the more intense season starts with meets sometimes twice a week all the way until the state competition which is normally held during the month of March.

When writing speeches, members brainstorm, research, and select what event they will compete in the upcoming competition. Most speaking events allow use the of same speech for the entire season, but with an Extemporaneous speech, individuals have a limited amount of time to write a speech while at a meet.

There are two types of categories that the members choose from, Interpretation and Public Address. Public Address is more traditional and individuals write the speech on their own, but with Interpretation is when a member acts out a short story or play written by a published author.

Within these two categories there are the different events. There are four events for Public Address; informative, entertainment, persuasive, and extemporaneous. In the Interpretation category there are poetry, serious prose and humorous prose. Although this category may be more difficult, most speech team members favor this category the most. Lowell says, “I love the events for Interpretation! They are so funny and show so much personality.” Her favorite event that she participates in is Dramatic Interpretation which she competes in this year at competition.

Two events require more than one person; Duo and Oral Interpretation of Drama. Three to five people perform in OID but with a Duo only two people are required, “It really boosts my confidence and works well for me because it makes me feel better about myself. In Speech, you’re not a member of a team, you become a member of a family.”