Amplify Competition

For the purposes of this competition, we define public speaking as the verbal delivery of knowledge and ideas with the intent of influencing or enhancing a listener’s views on a particular topic or issue. This category will take the form of a public event at which students may perform a “TED”-style talk of no more than five minutes on a topic of their choosing. The event takes place on February 7, 2026, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Judges will be present to evaluate speakers on both content and performance. Attendees of the Public Speaking competition event will have an opportunity to vote to award a $200 People’s Choice prize to one performance. Additionally, judges will announce three $500 prize winners at the Awards Ceremony following the speaking event from 5 to 6 p.m. Performances will be recorded and featured on the Amplify Gallery website after the event.

All students who participate in the Amplify Public Speaking Competition receive support and coaching in advance of their performance through participating in a 1.5-day Public Speaking Workshop, held in-person at Smith College on January 23–24, 2026. Registered speakers will be strongly encouraged to return to campus in time to participate in the Workshop in person. (If a student is unable to return to campus early, please contact Megan Lyster to discuss alternatives). The Workshop will help speakers hone the topic of their talk and research their argument, as well as offer some tips and practice speaking with confidence.

In previous year’s competitions, the most successful talks have been those that focused on a timely and well-researched topic focused on one or two key ideas or calls to action, performed with minimal to no notes. Talks can present a personal connection to the issue for the speaker but are not required to do so; in either case, successful talks tend to be those that combine a human angle with careful research to support the idea being advanced.

Registration

The deadline to register for the competition (and the Public Speaking Workshop) is Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Registration for the competition is limited to 20 students due to time constraints. Registered students will receive further communication about competition logistics and criteria after the deadline. The registration form will be available here starting in mid-November, 2025.

We define public writing as a written piece (published or intended to be published) that seeks to influence or enhance a reader’s views on or raise the visibility or salience of a particular topic or issue. This year’s competition will focus on the op-ed format for all submissions in the Public Writing category. Op-eds are short articles that are grounded in research and express the writer’s informed and focused opinion on a particular issue or topic. Op-eds serve as a form of “thought leadership,” as they are a powerful way of translating a writer’s knowledge and/or experience to influence public opinion. For guidelines on how to write an op-ed, check out some resources from the Jacobson Center.

Op-eds submitted to the competition should be 750–1,000 words, and may be written either as part of a Smith College course assignment or as an independently researched and developed piece of writing. While the op-ed does not need to have been published, students submitting work should have a clear sense of which specific public media outlet(s) they could imagine submitting the piece to.

In previous year’s competitions, the most successful entries have offered well-researched and deeply nuanced perspectives on current issues. Judges in this category generally look for pieces of writing that offer a fresh take on the topic, and that they can imagine encountering in public media outlets. Submissions can present a personal connection to the issue for the author but are not required to do so; in either case, successful submissions tend to be those that combine a human angle with careful research to support the idea being advanced.

Submissions

Submit your op-ed no later than Wednesday, January 21, 2026. The submission form will be available here starting in mid-November, 2025.

The Wild Card category focuses on a particular form of public work each year, drawing from practices in the arts and multimedia. This year, the Wild Card category is field guides.

A field guide is a practical, often portable resource designed to help people identify, understand, and navigate unfamiliar environments or subjects. While field guides began as pocket-sized guide books for people who wanted to explore and identify things in nature (such as birds or plants), the genre can be used creatively to address a range of other kinds of topics. Field guides might cover physical spaces (like ecosystems or neighborhoods), intellectual areas (like theories or fields of study), or social and cultural spaces (like subcultures or communities). They might invite readers into what it looks like to navigate a recent social or political change, or provide a guide into an uncertain future. While traditionally printed, modern field guides can also be digital, making them easy to use on smartphones or other devices.

Your field guide can take a wide range of forms but should include some combination of the following:

• Descriptions of terrain, environments, or concepts. What will the reader encounter when entering into your topic? You might want to share knowledge, elevate lived experience, give examples, and/or orient others within a larger system, history, or movement.
• Detailed information about key elements—such as species, landmarks, cultural practices, or systemic forces—that helps readers recognize and interpret what they encounter
• Images and illustrations that support identification and understanding
• A “how-to” section with tips or instructions for exploring or interacting with the subject, potentially including resources for the reader to engage in public work and activist leadership around the topic (if appropriate)
• A bibliography of references where readers can access your source materials and find more information

Example field guides created by the Wurtele Center for Leadership:

• A Field Guide to Making Field Guides
• Navigating Group Work: A Field Guide to Intentional Collaboration

Feeling lost and need more guidance? Reach out to wurtelecenter@smith.edu to set up a time to chat with a staff member about ideas.

Submissions

We encourage students interested in submitting to this category to consider the Amplify Competition criteria and imagine how your field guide might best fit within them as you design and create it.

Field Guides will be submitted digitally. Because field guides might take a range of forms (e.g. a booklet, an interactive website, a visual map, etc.), there are no specific limits around length. However, aim for your field guide to engage a reader/viewer for roughly 10–15 minutes of attention time, if they were to absorb the field guide fully. If your field guide is printed, it will need to be scanned as a PDF (please reach out to wurtelecenter@smith.edu if you need help with scanning your field guide). Students who have submitted a field guide will then be supported in making their field guide accessible to visitors to a reception we’ll hold in the Campus Center as part of the Amplify festivities on Saturday, February 7, 2026. Submit your field guide no later than Wednesday, January 21, 2026. The submission form will be available here starting in mid-November, 2025.

The Wurtele Center sponsors events and workshops in the fall with guest practitioners, which include a deeper dive into that year’s featured format, providing some inspiration and hands-on practice. Check out this year’s Field Guide events in November!