About this event

Each speaker draws three topics, keeps one and gets exactly 30 minutes to prepare. Up to 10 of those minutes can be online research, and up to five printed references are allowed. The speech runs 4 to 6 minutes and is worth 700 points for oral and non-verbal skills. Each judge takes 1 point off for every second outside that window. Five minutes of questions follow, worth 300 points. Judges score out of 1,000, then rank the speakers, and the lowest rank total wins. Nationals run preliminaries, semifinals and finals, and only the top four finalists get a final rank. This is an individual event with one speaker per state. It is open to grades 7 to 12. FFA Official Dress is highly recommended. Notes go only on the note cards provided and are written during prep. AI may help with research in the 10-minute window, but using it to write any part of the speech means disqualification. Topics come from six published categories. State winners move on to the national event held with the 100th National FFA Convention and Expo, October 27 to 30, 2027, in Indianapolis.

FormatPresentation

DurationPrep 30 min (up to 10 min of online research), speech 4 to 6 min, questions 5 min

Solo or teamIndividual

CategoryLeadership

Your plan

How to study

Built from the official scorecard and the event's own clock.

Read the handbook and the sheet
Everything is scored on the scorecard below. The official handbook has the rules and how the event runs on the day.
Official handbook (opens in a new tab)
Practice on fresh topics
The topic is given at the event, so nothing is written ahead. Practice on topics you have not seen, inside the official prep time, until a clear opening, a few strong points and a close come together in that time.
Learn what judges score
Know every row of the sheet before the day, biggest rows first: it is what judges look for.
See the sheet
Rehearse the speech
Type or say your speech. The judge scores it on the official scorecard and times you against the 4 to 6 minute window.
Get judged on your speech
Rehearse to the clock
Run 4 to 6 minutes, then 5 minutes of questions. At the contest, each judge takes 1 point for every second under 4 or over 6 minutes. Time every run, out loud, start to finish.