RIT Story Slam Preliminaries

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A promotional banner for "Story Slam! A Live Storytelling Competition" with a bold design featuring an orange and blue color scheme. The words "STORY SLAM!" are displayed in large, white, distressed text on an orange background. Below, "A LIVE STORYTELLING COMPETITION" and "$700 IN PRIZES" are written in white capital letters on a blue background. On the left side, there is a black circular graphic containing a stylized white illustration of a vintage microphone. The background also features faint chemical

A Live Storytelling Competition

Students are invited to participate in a live storytelling competition where they tell a personal, true story inspired by the theme INSTINCTS. Share a true story about your gut — a premonition, a snap judgment, a door you walked through (or away from) without quite knowing why. We want to know what happened when you listened. Or when you didn't.

Rules

  • Open to full-time RIT undergrad & grad students
  • Stories must be told, not read
  • No notes, props, multimedia, costumes, or instruments
  • 4–6 minute time limit
  • Personal, true, first-person narratives only
  • Must fit the theme; no stand-up, essays, or rants
  • Stories may be recorded for ECC website & YouTube
  • No discrimination, bullying, or harassment

Scoring Criteria

  • Clear structure
  • Poise, stage presence, and expressive delivery
  • Strong voice and enunciation (not applicable to ASL)
  • Adherence to time limit
  • Memorization, pace, and flow
  • Connection to the theme
  • Impact, uniqueness, and appeal

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Monday, April 13 at 12 p.m.
PRELIMINARY ROUND: April 14-16

JUDGING: Preliminary rounds will be recorded and scored by a panel of faculty and student judges The top three scorers advance to the final round. Finalists will be announced no later than Friday, April 17.

View past finalists on the RIT ECC YouTube Channel: For inspiration, check out previous year's Story Slam finalists:  https://www.youtube.com/@eccrit, and these examples from The Moth: https://www.youtube.com/c/themoth.

FINAL ROUND: Saturday, April 25 During Imagine RIT: Creativity and Innovation Festival (Time/Location TBD)

PRIZES: $500 for first place; $100 for each runner-up

Contact
Elizabeth Reeves O'Connor
eargpt@rit.edu
This event may be photographed/videoed by RIT. By attending, you grant Rochester Institute of Technology (“RIT”) permission to use photographs and/or audio-visual recordings in which you appear, now and in the future, for illustration, promotion, art, editorial, advertising, and trade, or any other purpose.
Event Snapshot
When and Where
April 14, 2026
Times TBA
Room/Location: See registration link
April 15, 2026
Times TBA
Room/Location: See registration link
April 16, 2026
Times TBA
Room/Location: See registration link
Who

This is an RIT Only Event

Interpreter Requested?

No

Topics
experiential learning
student experience
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