Individual Development (ID) competitions in the area of public speaking, essay writing, and debate offer members of the organization the unique opportunity to test and showcase their skills at a statewide level.
If you want to get better at speaking with a purpose or writing to influence people, ID competitions are a great place to start. Here’s your opportunity to personally develop yourself in a friendly atmosphere. Competing in Speak-Up, Debate, and Write-Up are great ways to take that first step out of your comfort zone and put yourself out there for friendly critique and growth. It is an excellent way to get feedback on things that you are good at, as well as areas that you may need to work on. The more practice you have, the more confident you will become.
Everyone in the Jaycees wants you to succeed and this experience gives you the support and feedback you need to improve. From “and’s” and “uhm’s” to run on sentences, competing will help you learn what areas need work and soon you will have that confidence to nail that presentation in front of the client or write up the proposal to earn that next project at work. All it takes is that first step. Competitions are built for that specific purpose, to help build those skills necessary to help us advance and make an impact at work and everywhere else.
So don’t just sit idle and let those opportunities pass you by; step up and better yourself by participating in the many various Individual Development competitions that the Jaycees have to offer. Who knows, by doing so, you may have just bettered your chances at making that next big step in life.
Public Speaking
Public speaking is a critical skill for leaders to motivate others toward positive impact. The JCI World Public Speaking Championship offers members a unique opportunity to exercise and showcase their abilities and to share ideas on important local, national or global issues. Each year, members face the challenge of expressing creative ideas in a clear and captivating manner.
This annual competition gives every participant a way to express his or her thoughts to others in an exciting and challenging way. Every well-prepared speech should have an introduction that captures the attention of the audience, a body featuring the speaker’s message and a powerful conclusion summarizing the speaker’s arguments. Local and national competition organizers choose the speaking topics. Topics will be locally, nationally or regionally relevant, dependent on what level of competition is taking place.
The winner from each JCI Area Conference Public Speaking Competition is then expected to represent his or her Area in the final round of the JCI World Public Speaking Championship at the JCI World Congress every November.
Debating
Debating skills equip members to resolve conflicts, respect differences, overcome obstacles and advocate the message of local and global impact. Each year at the JCI Area Conferences and JCI World Congress, national teams contend for the title of JCI World Debating Champions. Discussing topics that range from profound to comical, contestants argue their truth, relevance and accuracy. Each team and team member supports their unique perspective with compelling arguments. Capacity-building events like this create a foundation of teamwork, critical-thinking and problem solving that members use to address issues in their local communities.
Due to time constraints, there is a limit of 8 teams per competition. Each National Organization is asked to only submit one debate team, so that as many organizations can participate as possible. Teams will be accepted on a first registered, first accepted basis.
In order to participate, all members must be registered on the JCI website and affiliated to active National and Local Organizations.