Last Story Standing Applications Are Open

Calling All Storytellers!

The National Speakers Association (NSA) is hosting its third Last Story Standing Storytelling Contest this year, and NSA Carolinas is excited to participate once again! 

Designed by professional speakers for professional speakers, this storytelling competition is your opportunity to take your storytelling skills to the next level!

And to compete, the contest begins at the Chapter Level! 

NSA Carolinas Chapter Competition Details:

• Date: Saturday, January 30 | 10:00 am - 1pm ET (competitors will arrive at 9:30 am)

• Location: Attended Events Studio, 434 Fayetteville Street, Suite 650, Raleigh, NC

• Submissions:  12 initial submissions on a first-come first-served basis and 8 final submissions will be chosen for the competition

• Fee: $50 for submission entry. Final competitors - $200 ($50 for submission entry applied to final contestants

• Eligibility: You must be an NSA Chapter member to compete (as a proud NSA Carolinas member, you qualify!) 

• Not eligible to compete: Previous year’s Chapter Champion, Chapter Executives, and Competition Planning Committee Members 

Why Participate? 

• Develop a signature story that will transform your audiences

• Receive a video of your story for use in reels and marketing

• Win the chapter and you’ll advance to regionals, where you’ll be assigned an NSA National mentor coach to improve your story

• Advance to the national level, and you’ll have the chance to present your story live at NSA’s Influence Conference—a powerful platform to showcase your craft.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Your story should be one clear, compelling story with a beginning, middle, and end, one primary theme, one outcome, and a meaningful takeaway or call to action.

Your story must be no more than 5 minutes, measured from your first word to your last. There is no grace period, and stories that exceed 5 minutes will be disqualified. Contestants may not restart or begin again. 

Competitors will be evaluated on:

• Purpose: How well the story reveals and communicates a clear lesson, point, or action step an audience can leverage.

• Impact: The story’s ability to entertain, educate, and motivate through expert craftsmanship.

• Delivery: The speaker’s professional use of eye contact, vocal tone, and body language.

HOW FINALISTS WILL BE SELECTED

NSA Carolinas will review up to 12 completed applications and select up to 8 finalists for the live chapter competition.

Applicants will submit a completed application and a 5-minute story video. Reviewers will consider the overall strength of the story, including:

• clarity of purpose 
  

• story structure and cohesion 

• impact and audience takeaway 

• delivery and storytelling skill 

• ability to meet the competition rules and 5-minute limit 

• professional preparation and storytelling potential.
  

Submitting an application and paying the $50 application fee does not guarantee selection as a finalist. For applicants who are selected, the $50 fee will be applied toward the $200 total finalist fee.

Finalist selection is separate from the live competition. Application review scores or rankings do not carry forward into the chapter competition.

All applicants must also meet NSA National eligibility, conduct, and competition requirements. 

Please review the official contest rules on the NSA Last Story Standing website:

NSA Last Story Standing Rules & FAQs

For additional details and to watch the 2026 chapter champion videos, visit the Last Story Standing page:

NSA Last Story Standing

A special thank you to Attended Events, our event location sponsor, for partnering with NSA Carolinas to help bring Last Story Standing 2027 to life.

We are also incredibly grateful to Chuck Gallagher, our video sponsor and longtime NSA Carolinas member, for his continued support and professional video expertise in helping us showcase our storytellers at their very best.

The winner of our Chapter contest will advance to the Regional contest, with the ultimate goal of reaching the National Contest, which will take place live on the main stage at NSA’s INFLUENCE conference from July 17 – 19, 2027 at the Weston Human Resort & in Scottsdale, Arizona. The audience at the conference will determine the Storytelling National Champion!