go to a speech & debate tournament with me!! impromptu + declamation reflections (april 2024)
Hello to the ≈ 3 people who somehow stumbled upon this post (probably while looking for something else, lol). I am currently at a debate competition, and I have some extra free time, so... here I am.
Note: This post is mainly for me. I like to wrap up debate tournaments by writing a reflection, and I decided to publish it on this blog because why not. So there might be some debate jargon or confusing bits that only make sense in my head. I'd like to apologize in advance for that.
This post was inspired by this paragraph in my monthly wrap-up for February.
table of contents
a little bit of context
It's 11:21 am (not pm, lol) as I'm writing this, and I'm between rounds 2 and 3. It's lunch break, but I finished eating early, so here I am.
The events I'm doing are impromptu and declamation, and I've done... somewhat decently in them so far. There's only one prelim round left before elimination rounds, which you only get to go to if you've done well in the tournament so far.
midpoint reflection
Do I think I'll make it to the finals?
I... don't know. Realistically, it depends on how well everyone else did. I think I'm somewhere near the middle, so if everyone else sucked, I'll probably make it. But if everyone else gave a 5/5 speech, then I definitely didn't make it.
Things I Did Well So Far
- I used a variety of examples to support my impromptu speeches
- I spoke slowly and with good pauses
- I arrived on time to all my rounds and handled being double entered well
- I followed debate ettiquite (thanking the judge and stuff)
- I wrote down the prompts for practice
Things I Could Have Done Better So Far
- Worn better shoes because these heels ARE GIVING ME SHOEBITE!! LIKE I MIGHT DIE
- Used my prep time wisely- I should have picked something and stuck with it
- I should have tried to stand out from everyone else
- Spoke slowly with a lot of pauses to use the full time
- Maybe I shouldn't have spilt tomato sauce on my dress (but i fixed it in time)
Advice for myself
- Win.
thoughts right after the finals
I don't know what place I'm going to get. I know I got top 7, because finals is top 7, but I don't know what place yet. Realistically, I think I got 5th. Out of 50. Which, to be frank, is not that good. But we'll see.
Okay, umm, the awards are starting soon, so I should probably put this device away. Here comes the moment of truth...
post-awards ramblings
declamation full reflection
stuff I slayed
- The judges said I appeared to be very confident while speaking (I was faking it, though, but whatever. Fake it until you make it.)
- I had "great energy," whatever that means
- I started my speech with an up-beat tempo, which helped bring the judges in & is super important in a highly competitive round.
- I had a really interesting content selection.
- The way I cut the speech was good.
- My gestures were used appropriately to help add emphasis on key points/ideas.
- One judge wrote, "I really like the passion you displayed while talking, it was very clear you really cared about the topic you were discussing which is SUPER IMPORTANT for any speech, particularly OI. Great job with this!"
- I had good projection (I could be heard throughout the room).
- One judge said the best part of my speech was my performance of the fiction of money.
things to improve on
- I have room to improve on making the topic more simple to add add clarity.
- During transitions, I was moving too fast. I lost my clarity and tone range when I went faster. This was obvious when doing lists and transitions.
- The "If I were a chimp, if you were a chimp.." line was way too fast
- I have a small speaking pattern that causes me to be overly dramatic on lines that are not dramatic. This makes it tough to distinguish the significant moments in my speech
- A couple of times, I looked at my hands while gesturing, which is bad because it takes my eye contact away from the judges
- I stepped forward and back a few times in the middle of speech, especially when my volume increased.
- My intro seems longer than it is because the transition is so quick.
- Some of my analogies are overdone with my body language. "You've got a lot going on, like with the hypothetical murder of the queen bee or the evil chimpanzee. It can get distracting vs effective," wrote a judge.
- The way that I do my hand movements sometimes suggests that I'm questioning something. "That's really good for certain parts of your speech, but it makes you less confident when you're trying to sound like an expert vs a quirky presenter of anthropology."
- I need a more serious voice for talking about the bad impacts of collaboration and the concept of human rights.
- I get blocky moving from point to point later on, like rights to stories. I shouldn't look down as I move on from the next point, because it made me look like you're confused and trying to think of the next line.
impromptu full reflection
stuff I slayed
- I have "good energy" (yes, another judge said it too)
- I had a relevant topic on current issues.
- My pace and delivery was effective.
- I started off with a personal touch.
- I had "good quick thinking on the feet to add content to the topic".
things to improve on
- One judge said that he was "expecting more depth in your 3 points to connect to your topic".
- I should make more eye contact.
- Some more voice modulation is necessary.
conclusion
If you managed to make it to the end, I appreciate it!! This tournament had really unexpected results, but I certainly learned a lot.
Paige, signing off.
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