Youth members in 4-H often participate in opportunities for public speaking and demonstrations. These provide valuable experiences to learn about and practice expressing themselves, sharing their sparks and passions with others, and developing leadership skills.

Public speaking includes many types of presentations that youth may do in front of another group of people. The size of the audience doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the youth share information they know about in a way that helps others understand it. This may involve researching a topic, planning how to present it in an organized way, and/or delivering the information through words, graphics, or other visual aids.

Demonstrations are a form of public speaking that are often used in 4-H. Demonstrations always combine speaking and visual aids and generally show—or demonstrate—a skill, an activity, or a concept.

Benefits of 4-H Public Speaking and Demonstrations 

Youth who choose to practice public speaking and/or demonstrations experience many benefits: 

• Building life skills—Skills including researching, planning, organization, and other communication skills. 
• Share something they have learned—One of the Essential Elements of 4-H is Mastery; youth who have learned skills or knowledge about a topic are able to share it as a way to get more youth interested. 
• Learn to express themselves clearly—Practice is the best way to improve how we communicate, and when youth practice public speaking or demonstrations, they learn and use strategies to get the audience interested and understanding what they share. 
• Developing a workforce readiness skills—Public speaking is a skill that future employers say is very important for their employees to have.  
• Increasing confidence—It is normal for many people to feel uncomfortable speaking in public, and when youth practice—starting small and building up to longer or more complex presentations—they gain confidence in their abilities. 

When youth share what they have learned through public speaking or demonstrations, they also benefit those around them. Younger members and adults learn about new topics and opportunities, which builds enthusiasm and energy through the whole group. 

Many Ways to Make It Happen 

Many, though not all, 4-H clubs encourage youth to lead a presentation at least once a year. These formal public speaking opportunities can happen during: 

• Club meetings 
• Speaking competitions 
• Fairs and festivals 
• Camp or other youth leadership experiences 
• Or a variety of other settings 

Public speaking can also happen informally during club or committee meetings while members facilitate meetings, discuss business, or give a report. 

In these modern times, presentations aren’t always in face-to-face settings either. Youth members might consider presenting during virtual meetings, recording a video of themselves speaking, or creating a narrated video. 

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