**UPDATE: The 2020 competition and ceremony have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Do you enjoy watching TED Talks? Do you have an idea that is worth spreading? The University of Iowa’s Rhetoric and Persuasion minor hosts a semi-annual TED Talk competition that offers prizes for the top three participants. The speech must be 8-10 minutes long and on a topic that-in the spirit of the TED Talk genre-is based on an idea worth spreading. For info on TED Talks click here.

To be eligible, you must have been or are currently enrolled in a Rhetoric and Persuasion minor course. If you are unsure about a certain course’s eligibility, please visit https://clas.uiowa.edu/rhetoric/rhetoric-minor/requirements-minor for further clarification. Prizes for the competition are $300, $250 and $200 for first, second and third place. The judges will be various members from the Iowa City community. To enter the TED Talk competition please post your speech on YouTube and send the link of the YouTube video to the competition organizer. Submissions must be emailed by (PLEASE NOTE: The 2020 competition has been cancelled).

By submitting your speech, you are giving the Rhetoric and Persuasion department the right to publicize it for the benefit of other students. If you need any examples of speeches, look below to find past participants who have been placed in the top three!

The winners of the speeches will be announced at the Rhetoric and Persuasion graduation ceremony that celebrates students in the minor who are finishing up their last semester. This ceremony is held on finals week and all students in the minor degree are welcome to come!

If you have any questions, please email joseph-steinitz@uiowa.edu or takis-poulakos@uiowa.edu

2019 Winners

First place: Becca Scadden “Angie’s hope” https://youtu.be/UdLh6Sqr5XY

Second place: Derik Rush’s  “What I Learned From Being a Tour Guide"   https://youtu.be/uU70IPfalcc

Third place: Jesus Rasgado Lopez "Sweet on the outside…”  https://youtu.be/FSaNUKuR8gQ 

2018 Winners

First place: Addison Martin, “Cultural Humanity” https://youtu.be/RJ4fXYOhclo
                    Abby Haynes
Second place: Noel Mills, "How Community Gardens Can Save the World" https://youtu.be/7oUetYyq4OE

Third place: Kendall Johnson, “The Selfless Shellfish” https://youtu.be/vwvYioiweD0

2017 Winners:

First place: Daniel Rodriguez's, "Refugees in the United States." https://youtu.be/ZO7lvZARpjg

Second place: Alaina Handrick's, "The Wage Gap." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw8bFg4-PQ0&t=61s

Third place: Darby Drenzek's, "Sex Education." https://youtu.be/4qvArQuYDfQ

Honorable Mention Award: Riley Lewers's, "Global Warming."  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hw9NC9ePrY&t=1s

2016 Winner: 

First place: Maximillian Franze-Soeln's, "Overfishing and Its Impacts."   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlJmToAC8Bo