A team speech in which a small group of speakers shares one topic and one time allowance, judged on content, language and delivery across the whole team.
Team public speaking takes the solo speech class and gives it to a group. Several speakers stand together, deliver a prepared speech or a connected set of speeches on one subject, and are marked as a single entry. The words are the team's own, so the class tests how well the speakers plan together as much as how well each one talks.
A round runs like a solo speech with more moving parts. The team is called, takes its place, and the speakers deliver in turn, each picking up where the last stopped. The adjudicator listens for one argument or story that runs from the first voice to the last, with handovers that feel planned rather than a string of separate mini-speeches.
A strong entry has a shared opening, a clear role for every speaker and a closing line that pulls the points together. Common shapes are one speaker per main point, or a framing speaker at each end with others filling the middle. Whatever the shape, every voice should be heard and the speeches should answer the same question.
Organisers run the class because it builds a skill that solo classes cannot: speaking as part of a group, sharing time fairly and supporting a teammate's point. It also gives confident and nervous speakers a way to compete together, which suits school and youth programmes.
Where Team Public Speaking is run
On the eTalenter templates this item is carried by two speech and drama programmes: a Sri Lankan speech and drama festival, which runs it for ages 10-14 and 15 and over, and a Singapore speech and drama festival, which offers it in three older bands. Both place it in a Literary group alongside the solo public speaking class.
- Sri Lanka
- Singapore
Key facts
- Team entry, open to boys and girls together, in English on both templates
- Sri Lankan template bands: 10-14 years and 15 and over, each with a limit of 8 minutes, counted per head
- Singapore template bands: 13-14 years at 7 minutes, 15-16 years at 7 minutes 30 seconds and 19 and over at 8 minutes, also counted per head
- Marked out of 10 on both templates, as one mark for the team
- A different entry from the solo Public Speaking class, which is judged speaker by speaker and has younger bands
On eTalenter, Team Public Speaking is filed under Literary and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 2 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Team Public Speaking is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 10, commonly time-limited to 7–8 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Team Public Speaking
What a Team Public Speaking panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Content: one clear message or argument that the whole team builds on, with examples, rather than separate unconnected talks
- Teamwork: balanced speaking parts, so no speaker is clearly carrying the entry or has a token line
- Handovers: smooth, quick transitions between speakers that keep the thread of the speech moving
- Language: accurate, vivid and age-appropriate wording, delivered naturally rather than recited from memory
- Delivery: clear voices, steady pace and eye contact with the room from every speaker, not only the strongest
- Time discipline: finishing inside the band limit, with the time shared sensibly across the team
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Team Public Speaking under Scoring Setup, or start from the full elocution & speech judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Team Public Speaking
How entrants and their teachers usually get Team Public Speaking right on the day:
- Agree the team's single message first, and make sure every speaker can state it in one sentence
- Give each speaker a distinct role, such as opening, main points and closing, and write the handovers into the plan
- Rehearse with the whole team together; a speech that works for each person alone can still fall apart at the joins
- Time a full run, then trim the longest part so the team finishes just inside the limit without rushing the end
- Practise the first and last lines until they are secure, since listeners remember how a team begins and ends
- Pair the nervous speaker with a confident one in the order, and give them a short, strong section they know well
- Record a run and listen for uneven volume, filler words and gaps at handovers, then fix one fault at a time
Frequently asked questions
Is Team Public Speaking 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.
Is Team Public Speaking the same as Public Speaking?
No. Public Speaking is a solo class in which one speaker gives one speech. Team Public Speaking is a group entry that shares one topic and one time allowance, so teams must plan roles and handovers as well as content.
Is a team judged as one or speaker by speaker?
On the eTalenter templates that carry it, a team entry receives a single mark out of 10. Panels still notice an uneven team, so every speaker should carry a real part of the speech.
How long can a team speak?
It depends on the festival and the age band. The Sri Lankan template allows 8 minutes for 10-14 and for 15 and over, counted per head. The Singapore template runs from 7 minutes for 13-14 to 8 minutes for 19 and over. Always check your own syllabus.
How many speakers should be in a team?
The templates do not fix a number, so check your syllabus. Organisers should state the minimum and maximum team size in the entry rules so teams plan their parts accordingly.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full elocution & speech judging criteria guide, or browse every literary competition item.
Try Team Public Speaking in eTalenter
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