Katie Peterson wins KSU's Second Annual Public Speaking Showcase

KENNESAW, Ga. (Mar 24, 2010) — Katie Peterson, a sophomore communication major, won first place in KSU's second annual Public Speaking Showcase, held November 11, 2008. The Communication Department sponsored the event, which featured 26 speakers. To be eligible to enter, the contestants were current students in the Public Speaking course, or had previous credit for the course. Each student delivered a speech that was 8-10 minutes in length with an extemporaneous delivery style. The event was open to the public and consisted of 5 semi-final rooms of speeches to begin the evening. Then, one speaker from each of the semi-final rounds competed in the final competition. Judges were KSU Communication Department faculty members.

Peterson's speech title was, "The TV Diet: The Answer to America's Addition." She explained how excessive television watching is an addictive behavior and urged audience members to monitor and cut down the amount of television watched each day. Peterson won a glass trophy and $300 cash award for her award-winning speech.

Erica Eckman won second place with her speech "Making Music Gives Life" persuading people that music can improve the quality of peoples' lives. She also took home a trophy and $200 cash award. Third place went to Andrew Groom who presented, "Censor This Speech." Groom stressed the importance of the Internet being free of censorship and won a trophy and $100 cash award. Katie Davis and Trey Toler were also speakers in the final round of competition.

The Public Speaking Coordinator at KSU and showcase organizer, Emily Holler, said the number of participants nearly doubled from last year’s event. She invites students of Public Speaking to enter the contest next fall.