For many adults, public speaking can be a difficult task, but for the 4-H children who participate in the demonstration and speaking competition at the Butler Farm Show.

Each year, 4-H students have the option to do a judged demonstration or a prepared speech — or both, in two different age divisions, according to Jean Kummer, a 4-H educator.

The junior division is for children between 8 and 12 years old, and the senior division is for 13- to 18-year-old students, based on their “4-H age,” how old the child is as of Jan. 1 of that year, Kummer said.

Demonstrations can run between five and seven minutes in the junior division, up to 15 minutes in the senior division. Speeches range between three to five minutes for juniors and between five and seven minutes for seniors.

Kummer said the goal of the project is to use the student’s 4-H project to teach them public speaking skills.

And last year’s winners, Hannah Titley and Courtney Callen, both have worked at developing those skills, albeit with different levels of comfort.

Titley, 12, won first place for a speech in the junior division, speaking on organizations that work with dogs and veterans.

“This year I talked about good organizations for dogs and warriors,” she said. “I talked about Wounded Warriors, K9s for Warriors and Tripawds.

Service dogs for veterans often can be a way to help people deal with things like post-traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries, Titley said. Her speech detailed what the different organizations do and how to support them.

“This topic is very important to me,” she said. “It helps a bunch of other veterans who need service dogs or had trouble in the military.”

For Titley, hours of rehearsing isn’t needed. She simply knows what information she wants to cover and improvises the speech, she said.

“I think it does help because you don’t have a lot of time to overthink and write too much,” she said. “I just make sure I know the topic I’m talking about. If I have a note card, I make sure not to look at it. I just write down key notes on it.”

In her opinion, the best way to give a speech is to ensure the audience is engaged.

“I like to try to make the judges laugh. If you make them laugh, you know they’re into your speech,” she said.

But if you can’t make them laugh? “You either have to make them laugh or cry,” she said, using that as her guideline to make sure the audience is hearing her message.

This year will be her fourth year speaking, and for the past three years, Titley went home with a blue ribbon, she said.

“Every time I speak, I normally get first (place),” she said “I love (public speaking). I just love the idea of telling people about the things I am into and give information on that.”

In the senior division, Courtney Callen won three awards: outstanding presenter, senior speech winner and first place general category demonstration.

Twenty-year-old Callen of Valencia did a demonstration on farm safety since she felt a need to make sure people stay aware of their surroundings.

“There are so many farm accidents that I feel like can be prevented, and things happen so fast,” she said. “Those can be prevented if kids are educated about that.”

For instance, loose shirts can be easily caught in farm machinery and equipment, as can longer hair that isn’t tied back, she said.

Callen’s speech focused on the impact 4-H has had on her throughout her nine years in the program, she said.

“Although I may not have placed so high in my class each time, it was very rewarding because I was able to be around people who influenced me. It really goes back to the people who helped us get here.”

Callen said she was inspired by how much collaboration was valued and encouraged in 4-H.

“That was the highlight of my 4-H experience, seeing people work together.”

While she admits she was fairly nervous before her performances, she felt like she grew a lot as a result of pushing through it.

During one of her performances, there was a loud crash off the side of the stage. Though she was distracted and so was the audience, she knew she had to stay calm.

Despite losing her train of thought, Callen continued on, and she said she was proud of how she remained focused.

“Take a deep breath before you go out there and focus on your point,” she said. “If you really desire to get your point across and you’re passionate, you’ll be able to get your point across no matter what distractions come your way.”

While Titley uses emotion to engage her audience, Callen likes to have a balance of personality and information, she said, knowing that humor doesn’t come as naturally to her as it does to others.

“I try to have a balance of (seriousness and humor),” she said. “I’m not-naturally funny, but I have a balance of light and interactive and some just to get the point across. If it’s too much of one, people won’t be listening.”

Ultimately, Kummer believes that the children grow by having more experience speaking in front of an audience.

“I think that it’s a really important skill for them to have; to have the confidence to stand up in front of a group and give a presentation is hard even for adults,” Kummer said. “We’re always proud of the kids when they’re willing to stand up ... It’s an important life skill for them to have and develop.”