| How can I give my senior extemper the best shot at Nationals? | | Print | |
|
Nationals is a real marathon. The tournament itself is a week long and is tremendously stressful. In order to learn how to deal with such situation it is best that the tournaments you do go to have the greatest amount of rounds possible. The number of rounds is much more important than the number of tournaments. Success at Nationals is also made easier if the national circuit knows who you are. Thus it is important to travel to national tournaments so that you can become accustomed to its behaviors, styles, and tastes. However a few words of warning. Since you must qualify to Nationals through your district it is very important to stay active in you home district. Speech is a very political game so alienating the judges in your district or snubbing your league tournaments will come back around--often in the form of a close loss in a key round. Make sure you support you district while also gaining familiarity with the national circuit. Starting now have your senior begin reading the newspaper—at least one every day. There is no substitute for a depth of understanding of current events in extemp so starting early gives you the best shot. If your senior has yet to take the ACT or SAT then get them studying those vocabulary words right now too. Having a command of language will not only help your student’s score on standardized tests but will also develop the sophistication that many judges expect. Developing sophistication and depth in knowledge will also necessitate a diverse file. Simply filing the major national dailies will not be sufficient if you want to maximize your chance at Nationals. Policy papers, journals, think tank reports, and other forms of independent media should be integrated into your file to add uniqueness to how you will approach common topics. Critics are also impressed by citing recent books relevant to the topic. Overall prolific readers will have an easier time. My final suggestion is to construct a rigorous practice regimen and follow it from now until Nationals. In forensics there is little substitute for actually getting on your feet and delivering a speech. Besides dedication, a tool which will help make this time more effective would be to video tape speeches. If you don’t have access to a camera, speaking in front of a full length mirror will allow the student to see their own performance. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|