LSE INTER-UNIVERSITY PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION 2026…

The LSESU Public Speaking Society, in association with the British Universities Public Speaking Association, proudly presents our inaugural Inter-University Public Speaking Competition 2026.

Bringing together speakers from universities nationwide, the competition recognises that powerful public speaking is not defined by a single style, but by the presence, perspective, and approach of each speaker. It provides a platform for ideas to be shared, conversations to begin, and speakers to demonstrate both careful preparation and the ability to think and speak confidently in the moment.

• The competition will take place on Saturday, 14th March 2026, from 14:00 to 18:00, at the Yangtze Theatre, Centre Building (CBG), London School of Economics.
• Each university may nominate up to two speakers and the speaker registration fee is £5 per participant
• Each university is required to nominate one student judge from their society committee. Registered audience members from participating universities are also welcome to attend.

The competition consists of two rounds.

• In Round One, all speakers will deliver a prepared speech of up to five minutes on a topic of their choice, with all participants progressing to the second round.
• In Round Two, speakers will deliver a 2–3 minute impromptu speech based on a prompt provided on the day, testing adaptability, creativity, and composure under pressure.

Awards will be presented for Best Prepared Speech and Best Impromptu Speech, with trophies awarded to winners. All participants will receive a certificate in recognition of their participation.

For further information, please refer to our information pack. Alternatively, enquiries may be directed to publicspeaking@lsesu.org