Speech and Debate

With the end of every speech year comes several feelings. Some are unfortunate but unavoidable like the regret that you feel for every stumble, every 4th place, every ballot you just know you could have taken. But, for me at least, these few bad thoughts are always overwhelmed by the good. The times I felt invincible walking out of a round, the friends I’ve met, and my wonderful team. As I’ve just finished my final year in speech and debate I think it’s particularly important to pay homage to these good things. So, here is a list of ten (reduced from roughly 1 million) things that keep me psyched through each season:

1. The first round in any event- scary, but sooo exciting.

2. Tournament food- ewww... and also yum.

3. Warm-ups- I don’t know when in adult life I will need to quickly repeat “red-leather-yellow-leather” but I’m ready.

4. Bus talk- why isn’t it acceptable to contemplate the universe all the time?

5. That kind of euphoric high between sleep deprivation, starvation, and the adrenaline of breaking to finals... irreplaceable.

6. Growth. Personal, social, performative, work-based, other people’s- it all feels good.

7. Trophies- let’s get real, it feels damn good to have these useless pieces of plastic.

8. Hearing someone say they connected with what you said.

9. New pieces- there is nothing better than getting excited about a new topic.

The final truly costly part of speech can be finding good pieces. My best advice here is to know where to look to find good lit without having to pay for it. So here are a couple helpful places that I use:

1. The Moth

This is the best website for finding a good prose or drama piece for free. It has an endless collection of stories from real people that range from heartwrenching to hilarious. I actually found the prose piece that I performed this year on The Moth (I’ll post a link to it later).

2. Youtube Slam Poetry 

If you are looking for a poetry program or pieces to spice up your POI look no further than easy to access youtube channels. I personally follow Button Poetry, Poetry Slam Inc, STS Poetry, Slam Find, and All Def Poetry. Each of these post videos of amazing slam poets doing their thing.

3. Blogs and Editorials

If you know what your general topic is going to be, look around for blogs, discussion groups, forums, and editorials on the topic. This takes a bit of time and energy, but it often yields the best results. This past season I put together a POI about asexuality and some of the most inspiring pieces I found were personal testimonies on LGBT+ forums. These even lead me to the prose that I used in the program.

CAUTION: If you use any of these sources you run the risk of using a piece that is overused. So be careful. Spend the time to find a unique piece that matters to you. Find something no one on your circuit has seen and make it special.

Another really expensive part of being in the speech community is the clothing. Walking into a round in an expensive, well put together outfit is not guaranteed to win you a medal, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Here are a couple helpful tips for looking like a champion without breaking the bank: 1. Consignment and secondhand stores

This is always my first stop. You would be surprised at the gems you can find at a local goodwill. I have bought several gorgeous suits at our local consignment store and I’m always excited to see what they stock. The greatest bonus to such stores is that the suits are often less than 20$!

2. eBay First, go to a department store like Dillards or Macy’s. Spend time to find clothes that you like and what sizes fit you. Make sure to keep track of your size and the brand of the clothes as well as any other helpful information. Finally, look up your favorite suits/dresses/shoes/whatever on eBay. I thought this was a bit strange when I first heard about it, then I bought a 300$ dollar Tahari suit for 30$. This is magic.

3. Poshmark 

I was planning to make the final post in this series about my own motivations and love for speech. However, in the past couple weeks I lost a teammate and good friend because of the ridiculous immigration laws in this country. Today I’d like to share her story instead.

Marisela was brought into this country legally as a toddler. She was raised here, worked here, and grew roots here. But because she was not technically a citizen she recently told our team that she often felt voiceless or helpless in her community. She found that speech gave her a voice and a platform to express herself. When she turned 16 she was not able to get a drivers license, at 18 she was unable to vote, and occurrences like these were discouraging. Nonetheless, through speech she had a platform to express herself, tell her story, and even open peoples minds to her position and to the position of individuals like her. She found motivation in the power that she could regain through speech. 

Now Marisela is stuck in Mexico, fighting to come back to her home. To learn more about Marisela’s situation and support her you can visit the GoFundMe page our forensics team has set up to help her.

Every coach and student motivates themselves and their team differently. This week I’d like to spotlight some of the motivational tactics that I’ve come across. 

Earlier this month my coach walked into our team room, tacked up several copies of this posters, and walked out. Another time we walked into the room to see a dollar value written on the board. After having us guess what the number was all through class, he revealed it was the amount the school pays for each forensics student per year. This is his form of motivating. While it can be aggressive, or passive aggressive... it also makes a point. He wants our team to know that the most important thing we can bring to the table is work ethic. That we are, in fact, worth something and that we should reflect that in everything we do.