POI (Program Oral Interpretation)

Program Oral Interpretation (POI) is an individual speech event in which a student selects multiple genres (poetry, prose, drama) of excerpts with a central or unifying theme of interest. The student creates an original speech of no more than ten minutes which introduces and transitions between each selection. Rather than memorize, the speaker uses a printed manuscript book as a prop for added effect. The speaker focuses on delivering with vocal inflection, facial expression, and gestures to enhance their interpretation and the overall mood of their speech. See the above PDFs for the event rules as well as a sample ballot a judge uses to evaluate a round. 

See the tool to the right for creating an introduction.

See also an example to the right of a POI draft arranged by a student.

View the below videos for performance examples.