Charles J. McClung Speech Contest 

The Charles J. McClung Speech Contest is the largest public speaking contest in the Southeast. The contest takes place semi-annually, in the fall and spring semesters, featuring unique themes every year. This competition is open to students from the CMST 210 Public Speaking course that is part of the Volunteer Core requirements for all University of Tennessee, Knoxville students. 

Students who want to participate in the competition submit their speech outlines and committee chooses a small group of students to present their speech in front of three judges, who then select five finalists. The finalists then present their speech in front of an audience of about 1,000 people at the Alumni Building Cox Auditorium. 

The themes of the speeches are always centered on intercultural or international topics and are about four to six minutes long. A panel of experienced judges then rank each of the five finalists, all of whom will win a cash prize that is deposited on their student Vol card.

Smokey Talks

The Smokey Talks competition is a small competition that provides students from CMST 240 Business and Professional Communication an opportunity to present a speech in front of their peers. As one of the required Volunteer Core classes for University of Tennessee, Knoxville, this course typically has around 34 sections and one student is nominated from each section to give a business presentation as part of the competition.

The theme of this competition centers around international business or business etiquette. The Smokey Talks speaking competition takes place in the UT Student Union annually. Winners of the competition are determined by fellow students from the CMST 240 Business and Professional Communication.