Talon Talks offers speakers opportunity to hit the stage

CHEYENNE, Wyoming – Laramie County Community College and the Communication and Creative Arts Pathway are once again spotlighting the art of oration with its annual Talon Talks event, inviting the public to witness a dynamic range of student speeches.

Talon Talks, inspired by the world-renowned Ted Talks series, is open to all current LCCC students who are interested in showcasing their presentation skills. The event is designed to offer students the opportunity to practice their public speaking skills and to celebrate students' confidence and accomplishments as public speakers. 

“We believe it is important for students to have a platform to talk about things they are passionate about,” said Julie Semlak, LCCC Communication instructor. “Being able to give a speech for strangers is very empowering and allows students to feel more confident in their public speaking skills as they progress through LCCC.”

Participating students are eligible to win scholarships, LCCC Bookstore Scholarships and LCCC swag by entering submissions in two categories: Compelling Voices and Creative Voices. Compelling Voices entries are either informative or persuasive speeches lasting 5-8 minutes. The Creative Voices category includes various styles of presentations, such as infomercials, motivational speech, special occasion-type speech, slam poetry, spoken word or storytelling. Entries in this category will be 2-4 minutes. 

Finalists from preliminary judging will advance to participate in a live, in-person competition from 6-7 p.m. Apr. 23 at the Laramie High School auditorium. Those unable to participate in the live portion of the final round will still be eligible as finalists, but will be ineligible to win a scholarship award prize for placement. The Final Showcase event is free and open to the public.

“We are excited to share what our students have to say with the wider LCCC community,” Semlak said. “We hope you will come out to Laramie High School on Apr. 23 to support our students.” 

Organizers are seeking 10-12 judges for the preliminary and final rounds. No experience is required; just a couple hours of spare time. Those interested in participating as a judge should contact Julie Semlak at jsemlak@lccc.wy.edu.