- Author: Sophie Loeb
On Saturday, February 13th, San Mateo County 4-H held its annual Presentation Day at the College of San Mateo. The program schedule included a Welcome Assembly, followed by the Presentations and Interview Contest, and concluding with the Award Presentations and Photos. Participants could receive either White, Red, Blue, or Gold metals; Gold Medalists were invited to attend the North Central 4-H Sectional Presentation Day to be held on March 26th. Presenters showcased topics ranging from the “History of the Saxophone” to “What is Cage Free and Free Range”.
The 4-H program emphasizes public speaking since this ability is ranked number one among professionals. In 4-H, youth learn this skill by sharing ideas and information with a group, and by doing so, are able to develop many life skills including the ability to speak persuasively and informatively in front of a group, how to organize ideas, and create and use graphics. The main goal is to provide opportunities for our 4-H'ers to learn how to do presentations, provide, positive reinforcement and suggestions for areas for improvement, and nurture the self-confidence to apply their practice to real-world scenarios.
Organizers Linnaea Knisely and Jane Stahl were involved in the planning, though the two were not part of the assessment of the presentations. Knisley recruited judges, who represent a mix of civic leaders (Mayors, City Council members, County Supervisors, Librarians), adult 4-H parent or community volunteers, outstanding current youth members who are veterans at this event, and recent alumnae who value Presentation Day. Knisley also generated name tags, assessed the consistency of scoring across judges, hosted a special event/activity for beginning 4-Hers, and made sure that youth volunteers were comfortable in their roles.
“I like what I've chosen to do because I see this event building skills among our current 4-H member community, and bridges to the larger community, as civic leaders attend, and better understand the amazing opportunities that 4-H represents for youth development,” Knisley commented.
Presentation judges reflect the dynamics of 4-H community partnerships - this year, the Mayor pro-tem of Menlo Park, Council Member Charles Stone from Belmont, San Mateo County Supervisor Don Horsley, and the Director of the Belmont Library, all participated. Last year, the Mayors of San Carlos, Belmont, Menlo Park and San Mateo served as judges, together with a leader from the Lions Club in San Carlos.
“The main reason I've been involved in this event is that I see it as such a wonderful opportunity for youth to develop a really important skill that will stand them in good stead in 4-H, school, college, career, citizenship and much more,” commented Stahl, who continued: “I want them to have fun too so we try to make the event as informal and upbeat as possible while still being polished.”
Participants begin their preparation early: several clubs offer public speaking, or demonstration projects. In these projects, youth learn about the various presentation categories defined by 4-H (eg. impromptu speaking vs. an illustrated talk vs. a demonstration), choose a category which they are comfortable talking on, and then pick the subject that they're interested in addressing this year. Members of a public speaking project can address any topic that they want, and use project meeting times to research, create and practice their presentations. 4-H's projects rely on the Presentation Manual created by the California State Office, videos of different presentation styles on the state website, plus coaching from project leaders.
Non-public speaking project 4-H'ers need to relate their specific presentation to a 4-H project that they're taking. For example, an appropriate topic for someone involved in a Rabbit Project might be bunny body types. These 4-H'ers rely on the Presentation Manual created by the California State Office, videos of different presentation styles on the state website, plus additional advice tt from parents or other mentors.
Many youth have moved on in past years to sectional and state competitions. Last year, Mallika Agrawal won gold at sectionals and state for her Bollywood dance, Jessica Russell won gold at sectionals for her Folklorico dance, La Paloma, and a group of 8 headed to sectionals for their skit "Belmont 4-H news".
Stahl reflected on the event: “I've seen youth go from being quiet and shy to happily talking to any size of audience almost at the drop of a hat! It's truly remarkable.”