The Troy University Intramural Speech Tournament, organized by the Hall School of Journalism and Communication, was held Nov. 1 in HAL Hall of Honor. Kiara Posey was named the overall winner, earning a $500 scholarship.
Posey, a senior communication studies major from Georgiana, Alabama, and news editor of The Tropolitan, gave a persuasive speech about why we should all “embrace the unknown” and was awarded the Boyd-King Debate Scholarship for attaining the top score.
“The saying is from my great-great-grandfather. He said that if we are afraid of the unknown, we should get to know it,” she said. “Everyone has something they’re scared of, something that’s holding them back. We need to educate ourselves on our fears. Don’t just run headfirst into the unknown, take small steps to be constantly moving towards your goals.”
Posey also competed in the Spring tournament earlier this year and earned the top spot in the persuasive speaking category, a spot she also claimed again this time in addition to being the overall winner.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this again and become more comfortable with public speaking,” she said. “Almost everyone will have to do some kind of public speaking in their life, even if it’s just for a job interview. Especially as a communication major, we have to be able to talk to people, so speaking in front of people like this is a great way to improve that skill.”
Neela Cole, a freshman journalism-multimedia major from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, placed first in the informative speech category and spoke about the differences between hard news and soft news.
“Presenting in front of an audience—both adults and my peers—is a great learning experience,” she said. “Throughout my remaining years at TROY I believe I’ll have to do much more public speaking, so this is really just the start.”
Other finalists in the informative speech category included Chloe Meadows, third place, and Kate Seale Esposito, second place. Hannah Grace Wilkerson placed second in the persuasive speech category.
The competition was judged by Lisa Vardaman, TROY Education Reference Librarian, Barry McKnight, the Voice of the Trojans, and Latasha Howard, CEO and Director of the Boys and Girls Club.
