This competition for Associate Members of the PSA is an ideal way for emerging speakers to show off their speaking skills in front of their peers. To enter, please read these guidelines carefully and if this is the right competition for you (and you qualify), please click on the entry form at the bottom of this page.
Entry Criteria
The contest is only open to those who have been a fully paid-up associate member by the 1 st of February in the competition year and attended at least two regional PSA events as a member, up to but not including, the regional final event
- Contestants may only compete once, and only in their chosen region, where they
have attended their qualifying events - Contestants may compete only once but at any point while an associate (i.e.,
they do not have to compete in their first year of associate membership), but
may not compete once they are professional members - Contestants must be able to attend Impact; if they think they may be unable to
attend for any reason, then they cannot enter a regional final
Talk Requirements
- Each contestant should speak for exactly 5 minutes
- Slides may not be used, but props are allowed.
- The talk must be entirely the contestant’s own work (work (mentions of others
work must be referenced). - Each contestant should provide an introduction of no more than 40 words. This
is to include, the title of the talk, their name and region as well as the target
audience - Regional final winners must give the same talk in the national semi-finals and
finals as they gave in the regional finals
Entry Procedures
- To enter, individuals will need to inform their Regional President and then
complete the entry form on the PSA website (at the bottom of this page) - The Regional President will liaise with head office to ensure each individual
qualifies to enter the competition - Contestants will be told that they can only enter the regional final if they are
going to be available to attend Impact - Once an individual has agreed to enter the regional final they must attend, only
exceptional circumstances such as ill health or bereavement will be accepted for
failure to attend the heats. If they do not attend their heat, they cannot enter any
subsequent ESY contest in the future
Dates
- Applications to enter will be accepted from 1 st November for the following spring.
- Regions will run their ESY regional finals between the end of January and the
beginning of March - The national semi-finals and finals take place at Impact held in April each year
Competition Timing
- Each contestant should speak for exactly 5 minutes with an allowance 15
seconds. If speakers go over 30 seconds or are more than 30 seconds under the
contestant will not be eligible for the next round, or if it is the final they will be
disqualified - These rules will be made very clear at the beginning of each stage of the
competition so judges, contestants and the audience are all aware - A timer will be visible to all contestants at every stage of the competition. All
timings will also be recorded by separate and dedicated timekeeper - Timing starts from the contestant’s first word and ends on the last word of their
talk - In the unlikely event of all contestants overrunning, the contestant(s) with the
shortest overrun should be selected to go forward to the next stage
Judging Criteria
The judges will look for overall quality of the presentation. They will judge the
entrants on six criteria, weighted as indicated:
- Engagement – how well the contestant engaged with the audience (10%)
- Originality – how innovative the contestant’s topic, delivery and style is (10%)
- Stagecraft – how well the contestant used the stage and props (20%)
- Script – how well the presentation was constructed and worded (20%)
- Delivery – how well the contestant delivered the talk, including vocal
performance and body language (20%) - Bookability – is the contestant likely to be booked and paid for their talk? (20%).
- The ‘bookability’ of a speech is defined as being something the intended market
would pay for, as discerned by the judges at the event
Judges
- The judging panel at all stages of the competition will consist of the head judge
and two other judges. No judge at the regional finals may judge another region
or the national semi final or final - At the regional finals the head judge should be a fellow and the other two judges
may be fellows or very experienced professional members - The national semi-finals and finals will be judged by the same judges and will be
appointed by the SCC in association with the PSA National President and
Director of Regions. These judges will be selected before any of the regional
finals which these judges should not attend
Announcement of Winners
- At the regional finals, the winner will be announced by the head judge at a point
in the event’s proceedings decided by the Regional President. - At the national semi-finals, three winners will be announced as soon as is
practicable after the semi-finals have concluded. The three winners will move on
to take part in the national finals, the following day - In the national finals, the winner will be announced later in the day
Runners-up - In each of the regional finals, the judges will also decide upon a runner-up. This individual will be able to enter the national semi-final in the event, that due to exceptional circumstances, the regional winner is unable to attend
Prizes
- The prize for winning a regional final is a place in the national semi-finals
- Contestants in the national semi-finals will each receive a certificate indicating
their participation - The winner of the ESY competition will receive a framed certificate indicating
they are that year’s winner. In addition, they will receive publicity for their win via
the PSA website and email system. They may also indicate they are the ‘PSA
Emerging Speaker of the Year’ in their own promotional materials. - The winner also gets a guaranteed 15 minute speaking slot on the main stage at
the following year’s Impact.
Feedback
- In the regional finals, general feedback will be provided by the lead judge at the
end of the contest, but before the winner is announced. Detailed and specific
feedback will not be provided, although the head judge may outline why the
winning speech won, highlighting elements that other speakers could learn from - Contestants should not contact the judges after the event for more specific
feedback - At the national semi-finals, no feedback will be provided
Click here to enter
ESY Competition Entry Form 2025
