Listening as a Leadership Skill: What FFA Contest Judges Actually Reward

What FFA Actually Teaches (Core Leadership Curriculum)

By FFApresident.com Editorial

Public speaking gets the trophies and the photographs. Listening gets quietly rewarded in the background, and most members discover it only when a debate, an interview or a team practice goes wrong. The headline promises what contest judges “actually reward.” To be clear about sourcing: this article relies on FFA staff, professional parliamentarians and chapter advisors, plus the workplace frameworks. It does not reproduce official event scoresheets, which vary by event and year and should be read directly from the current FFA handbooks.

The workplace standard is explicit. Advance CTE’s Career Ready Practices say effective communication includes actively listening to peers and colleagues regardless of level and ensuring diverse perspectives are heard, considered and fostered, and that individuals understand a specific audience’s needs and tailor their message. NACE’s communication competency lists employing active listening, persuasion and influencing skills, asking appropriate questions and framing communication around diverse learning styles and cultural differences.

Key takeaway: the listener often steers the room, and FFA settings reward the people who can show they heard.
Where it shows up: parliamentary procedure, officer interviews, team events and retreats.

Parliamentary Procedure: Listening by Rule

Kay Crews, a professional parliamentarian who works with National FFA, lists good listening among five lifelong skills in 5 Skills Developed Through Parliamentary Procedure. According to the article, you need to hear opposing viewpoints to evaluate your own position and decide how to persuade others, and you may find you understand where another person is coming from even if you disagree. Crews also says learning to disagree without thinking of the other person as evil is part of the discipline.

The rules enforce this structurally. Members take turns, motions must be stated clearly and debate remains impersonal. Remarks are expected to address the question before the group. The article adds that when two-thirds of the group is ready to end discussion, it is time to vote, which means a leader must also listen for when the room is done.

Officer Interviews: What Advisors Say They Listen For

FFA’s feature on how to become a chapter officer gathers advice from advisors who have interviewed hundreds of candidates. Their remarks show what interview panels value:

A memorable personal story. One advisor wants candidates to say something about themselves that stands out and to tell about a time they led.
Authenticity and drive. Another says the main thing candidates must demonstrate is the desire and will to do the job.
Guiding, not ordering. The same advisor adds that candidates who know how to guide peers rather than tell them what to do tend to do well.
Team orientation. An advisor says officers are an entire team, not the president alone, and wants evidence you can work in a group.
Quiet leadership counts. An advisor notes that remarkable officers are not always comfortable in front of crowds, and describes an officer whose organizational skill and attention to detail made her a strong fit.

Each point reads as a listening skill in disguise. Guiding peers requires knowing what they need. Team orientation requires noticing what teammates are doing. This reading is this site’s interpretation of the advisors’ comments.

Reading the Rubric Is Listening to the Judge

FFA staff advise members to read event rules and rubrics ahead of time so their response addresses the judges’ concerns, as covered in FFA’s guidance on competing ethically. That is listening before the event even starts: the rubric is a message from the judge about what matters.

Teams Practice Listening on Purpose

Brawley FFA in California sent its new officer team on a two-day retreat with no phones or social media. According to the chapter’s account in Teamwork in Action, without technology the officers had to talk and build relationships, and they quickly discovered the value of direct communication. They solved an escape room against the clock, a task that punishes anyone who talks over teammates.

How to Practice Listening

Summarize before you answer. Start with “What I heard was…” and check it.
Ask one follow-up question before offering your view.
Take minutes at a meeting. Taking notes forces attention, as parliamentary procedure’s emphasis on minutes suggests.
Notice who has not spoken and invite them in.
Debrief: after any event, ask a teammate what you missed.

Honest Limits

This article draws on advice and commentary, not on a study of judging outcomes, so it cannot tell you which skill wins a particular contest. Event rubrics differ; some weight delivery heavily and others reward technical accuracy. Treat the observations here as characteristics of leadership settings in FFA and check the current handbook for your event.

Past presidents on this site built public careers where listening matters: Mark Sanborn as a leadership speaker and author, Jan Eberly as a Treasury economist and Nels Ackerson as a Washington lawyer.

Sources

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