2021 County Events Tips & Tricks

County Events is a countywide competition where 4-H members compete in several categories including Public Speaking, Demonstrations/Illustrated Talks, and Share the Fun. Blue ribbon winners will be eligible to move on to District Events, and senior blue ribbon district winners are eligible for the statewide competition at 4-H University. Entries are due online by January 1st. Showcase and Awards will be on Facebook Live on January 23rd at 6pm.

As you all are getting ready for County Events, we wanted to provide you with some tips and tricks to make your video submissions the best that they can be

Planning

Plan the same way that you would for an in-person presentation. Pretend that you will be speaking in front of an audience. If it makes it easier, you can try surrounding your camera with photographs or stuffed animals to make it feel like you are speaking to a group. You will still want to use note cards or PowerPoints in the same way that you would in-person.

Background

A plain background is best. You can use a wall, a sheet, or get creative with large things in your house. You can also go outside and stand at the side of your house, in front of a fence, or just have nature as the background. If you don’t have any plain backgrounds available, just try to keep things balanced and not distracting. Try to have at least the area around your face clear and plain.

Lighting

In addition to having a good background, lighting is also important. Natural light will be the best, so if you have a window available, try standing facing the window so that the light shines toward you. If you are relying on your ceiling lights, avoid standing directly under them since they will cast harsh shadows. Take a few steps back so that the light is in front of you and not directly above or behind you. Do the same things with lamps if you are using those.

Environment

Make sure to keep outside distractions at bay when recording. Let your family members know that you are working on your County Events entry so that they can help you by keeping quiet and not showing up on screen. You can even get them to help you out by acting as your audience and sitting near the camera if you find that helps you. Also, if you have pets, they should be kept off camera. Close your door or ask a family member to keep them occupied for you so that pets don’t make distracting noise or walk by during your presentation.

Recording

Test out your camera for audio and visual quality before recording your whole presentation. Just do a test video of you speaking for a minute or two and make sure you like how it looks and sounds. Make any adjustments to your background, lighting, or environment and then test again. Once you are happy with the audio and visual quality of your video, you can start your presentation! Remember, you should present as though you are in-person, so don’t stress over little mistakes. Just move past them and continue your presentation. We just want one take of your presentation!

Submitting Your Entries

To submit your entries, you should record a video of yourself presenting your speech, demonstration, and/or Share the Fun act. Then, complete the registration form and submit your file(s) at the link(s) below (also included at the end of the registration form).