A small group performs a spoken-word piece together, sharing lines and voices, and is judged on the writing, the delivery and how well the group works as one.
Small group spoken word is performance poetry for a few voices speaking together: one piece of writing, built to be heard, divided between the members of a team. The group may write the piece or choose one, and it is judged on the words and the delivery as a whole, not on singing, acting or costume. The difference from the solo item is that the writing has to be shaped for several voices, so who speaks which line is part of the craft.
A round is stripped back. The group walks on, takes its places, shares a pause and begins, normally with no set and no accompaniment unless the organiser allows it. Members may take single lines, speak in pairs, answer one another or come together on a refrain, then drop to one voice for the line that matters most. The panel hears the writing, the rhythm and the way the voices fit, and notices at once when one speaker is a beat behind the rest.
On eTalenter the item is carried by three talent templates: a United States junior drama division (a junior group aged 7 to 12, a four-minute limit, marked out of 5), an international teen talent template (ages 13 to 19, no time limit printed, scored as a rating with a maximum of 5) and a Jamaican talent showcase (a youth class aged 13 to 40, no time limit printed, marked out of 100). In all three it is a team item in English, open to both genders. None of them prints a group-size boundary, so organisers should publish one in their notice.
Organisers run it because it brings in entrants who would never stand alone, it is cheap to stage and it is quick to judge. It sits beside the solo and large group spoken word items, which are separate classes, so a small team never competes against a soloist or a big ensemble.
Where Small Group Spoken Word is run
On eTalenter this item is carried by three talent templates: a United States junior drama division, an international teen talent template and a Jamaican talent showcase. Group performance poetry and choral speaking also run in schools, colleges and youth arts programmes in many places, but this page records only the templates that carry the item, so organisers elsewhere should check their own notice for group size, time limit and judging headings.
- United States
- Jamaica
- Worldwide
Key facts
- Team item: a small group, one piece, one shared score
- Three templates carry it: a junior group (7-12), teens (13-19) and a Jamaican youth class (13-40)
- Only the junior template prints a time limit: four minutes
- Scored as marks (junior out of 5, Jamaican out of 100) and as a rating in the teen template
- English language, open to both genders in all three templates
- No template prints the size of a small group, so the organiser's notice decides it
On eTalenter, Small Group Spoken Word is filed under Drama and typically scored with Marks, Rating out of 10. It appears in 3 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Small Group Spoken Word is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 5, commonly time-limited to around 4 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Small Group Spoken Word
What a Small Group Spoken Word panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- The writing: one clear idea, concrete images and a shape with a beginning, a turn and an ending, written so that sharing it between voices makes sense
- Unity: voices that start, pause and finish together, with line hand-offs that feel clean rather than rehearsed
- Variety of voice: a sensible mix of solo lines, pairs and whole-group moments so the piece does not become one long chant
- Clarity and diction: every word reaching the back of the room, including when several people speak at once
- Rhythm and sound: refrains, repetition and beat that carry the meaning and stay in time across the whole team
- Presence and balance: confident staging, steady focus and no one speaker dominating or fading out
- Time discipline: a finish inside the limit where one is set, without rushing the final lines
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Small Group Spoken Word under Scoring Setup, or start from the full recitation and poetry judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Small Group Spoken Word
How entrants and their teachers usually get Small Group Spoken Word right on the day:
- Agree on one thing the piece says, then write or choose text that can be split among voices without losing that point
- Mark a shared copy for who speaks, where each breath falls and which lines are spoken together, and rehearse from that same copy
- Give the weakest speaker the group lines and the strongest the key solo line only where it helps the piece, not by default
- Rehearse the hand-offs on their own: the gap between one voice ending and the next beginning is where teams lose marks
- Practise the opening pause and the shared silence at the end until the whole team moves as one
- Run the piece in a large room with a listener at the back who tells you which words disappear when several voices overlap
- Record a run and listen for one voice rushing ahead, lines running together and word endings that vanish
- Time every run against the organiser's limit and check the notice on group size, props, music and content rules
Frequently asked questions
Is Small Group Spoken Word judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
How is small group spoken word different from the solo item?
Solo spoken word is one performer judged individually. In the small group item a team shares one piece and receives one score, so unity and the splitting of lines count as well as the writing.
How many people make a small group?
The three templates that carry the item do not print a size. Organisers should state a minimum and maximum in their notice, and entrants should check it before rehearsing.
How long can the piece be?
The junior template prints four minutes. The teen and Jamaican templates print no limit, so organisers should publish one.
Can we use music, props or a backing track?
The templates do not say. Spoken word is normally voice only, so ask the organiser before adding anything.
Can we write our own piece?
The templates do not restrict it, and original writing is common for this item. Organisers may set a theme or require a chosen text, so read the notice.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full recitation and poetry judging criteria guide, or browse every drama competition item.
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