Poetry Spoken Word Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A team spoken-word item in the Literature section of the Folk Presentations part of a Trinidad and Tobago village competition, where a community group delivers a poem aloud and is scored out of 100.

Poetry Spoken Word is the second of the Literature items in the Folk Presentations part of a national village competition in Trinidad and Tobago. A poem is not handed in on paper: it is spoken to a live audience, and the panel marks how well the words are understood, felt and carried.

In eTalenter the item is one open team group, mixed gender, any language, marked out of 100. The template prints no time limit and no number of speakers, so a group should ask the organiser how long the piece may run and whether the poem may be shared between several voices before it chooses and rehearses its text.

The panel marks six heads: Content 25 (theme, language, literary devices and figurative language, portrayal of character), Articulation 20 (fluidity and rhythm of speech, pronunciation), Presentation 20 (delivery, interpretation, and how suited the delivery and the poem are to the presenters), Use of voice 15, Use of body 10 and Impact 10. Roughly four-fifths of the marks therefore reward the poem and the voice, and only a tenth reward movement.

Organisers run it beside the story item so that groups with strong speakers have a place in the literary part of the programme. It suits communities that write or keep their own verse and want to hear it performed, whether the poem is original or a well-known work the group has made its own.

Where Poetry Spoken Word is run

In eTalenter’s data this item appears in one template: the Literature part of the Folk Presentations section of a national village competition in Trinidad and Tobago, listed after Short Story Performance and before Village Chat. This page makes no claim that it is judged the same way anywhere else.

• Trinidad and Tobago

Key facts

• Team entry by a village or community group; the template does not print a number of speakers.
• Marked out of 100: Content 25, Articulation 20, Presentation 20, Use of voice 15, Use of body 10, Impact 10.
• The template prints no time limit; language is any. Confirm the time limit with the organiser.
• The Presentation head asks whether the delivery and the poem suit the presenters, so the choice of poem is itself marked.
• Idea starters, not rules: a poem about the harvest or the sea read in alternating voices; a call-and-response piece where one speaker asks and the group answers; a short verse on village life that builds in volume towards its last line.

On eTalenter, Poetry Spoken Word is filed under Literary and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Poetry Spoken Word is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100.

What judges look at in Poetry Spoken Word

What a Poetry Spoken Word panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Content (25): theme, language, literary devices and figurative language, portrayal of character. A poem with a clear idea and rich imagery that the speakers understand earns marks; a flat list of rhymes with no theme loses them.
• Articulation (20): fluidity and rhythm of speech, pronunciation. Clear words at a pace that keeps the poem’s rhythm score; swallowed endings and hurried lines cost marks.
• Presentation (20): delivery, interpretation, and suitability of the delivery and of the poem to the presenters. Speakers who show they understand the poem and choose a piece that fits them earn marks; a mismatch loses them.
• Use of voice (15): inflection and intonation, projection, fluid delivery. Changes of pitch and volume that follow the meaning, audible to the back of the hall, score here.
• Use of body (10): expressions and gestures, body language. Small, purposeful movement that supports the words earns marks; distracting gestures lose them.
• Impact (10): emotional response and overall impact. A strong opening and a closing line that lands leave the audience moved, which is what these marks reward.

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Poetry Spoken Word under Scoring Setup, or start from how judge scoring and tabulation software works.

How to prepare for Poetry Spoken Word

How entrants and their teachers usually get Poetry Spoken Word right on the day:

• Ask the organiser for the time limit, the number of speakers allowed and any language rules before choosing the poem.
• Pick a poem the speakers genuinely connect with; the content and presentation heads reward understanding, not just memory.
• Mark the poem for breath, pauses and stressed words, and agree who speaks each line or stanza if the group shares it.
• Practise in a large space with a listener at the far end who calls out any word they cannot hear.
• Vary pace and volume with the meaning, and keep the rhythm steady so that articulation and flow marks hold together.
• Add gestures last, once the words are secure, and keep only those that help the listener feel the poem.
• Rehearse the opening and the final line until they land cleanly; impact depends on how the piece starts and ends.
• Time a full run-through and trim to the limit with a few seconds spare.
• Record a rehearsal and score it yourselves on the six heads; after a loss, work first on the lowest-scoring one.

Frequently asked questions

Is Poetry Spoken Word judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Is Poetry Spoken Word judged as a team?

Yes. In eTalenter it is a team item, marked out of 100, with one mark sheet for the group. Check with the organiser how many speakers may take part.

How is Poetry Spoken Word marked?

Out of 100: Content 25, Articulation 20, Presentation 20, Use of voice 15, Use of body 10 and Impact 10.

How long can the poem be?

The template prints no time limit, so confirm it with the organiser before rehearsing.

Does the poem have to be original?

The template does not say. The content head marks theme, language and literary devices whoever wrote the poem, so confirm with the organiser whether original work is required.

Want the full judging picture? Read how judge scoring and tabulation software works, or browse every literary competition item.