The objectives of this event are for each House to research their history, write a comprehensive outline, and develop an inspirational presentation that captures that history.

Competition Rules:

1. Each House must have five orators: one freshman, one sophomore, one junior, one senior, and one alumnus or alumna.
2. Each orator will cover one year of the House’s history.
3. Each House’s entire presentation must be between seven and ten minutes in length.
4. No orator may use notes or written material, and any substantive deviations from the outline will be penalized.
5. Orators must speak primarily in English.
6. Failing to start or finish on time will result in a penalty of 2 to 5 points. Egregious infractions will result in disqualification.
7. Each House must have at least five additional current House members participate in the House history research and outline writing.
8. The outline must be given to the judges prior to the presentation.

General Judging Criteria:

Content (50%)

Accuracy, substance, and relevance of content (pivotal stories, defining moments, key individuals)

Required elements:

• Founding of the House
• Significance of namesake
• Significant events/defining moments of each year
• Creation of the crest (include symbolism)
• Creation/development of House traditions
• House identity, vision, mission, and values
• Comprehensive and detailed outline

Presentation (40%)

1. Tone and inflection (appropriate to topic; effective)
2. Physical presence (hands, face, movement, gestures)
3. Volume and enunciation (heard clearly by entire audience)
4. Pacing and timing (appropriate tempo, pauses, length)
5. Audience connection (eye contact; appropriate judgments of who the audience is and what mood it is in; appropriate adjustments in light of audience behavior)

Participation (10%)

1. House participation: points will be awarded for the percentage of each House present in the audience.

Landmines. Presentation can lose up to three points each for the following infractions:

1. Meta-speech
2. Going off topic or losing train of thought
3. Observable nervousness
4. Too much information
5. Substantive deviation from the outline (i.e. winging it)
6. Fewer than five orators and/or researchers

Bonus points. Presentation can win up to four points for successfully:

Current Standings
Event Dates
General Rules
The Great Race
Drama Competition
House GPA
BB Tournament
House History
Interregnum