Speech And Debate

Despite my speech disfluency, I have made it into our school's speech and debate team!!The Arcadia High School Speech and Debate Team came 3rd in the State of California last year. It is an honor and prestige for anyone to enter the team for there are a great many who try out but few who actually make it. But for me, it is an even greater accomplishment for I have conquered my fear of speaking to large audiences and my confidence has been raised. I am also the only stutterer to join the team.

I used to be an extremely quite kid and I never participated in ANYTHING. I used to talk to animals or just read. But during the years, I started to become more and more involved and interacted with my own species. I became interested in history and science and starting at 8th grade I loved participating in the debates we had in history class, and giving oral presentations. Even in a group project in which I did little work, I easily remembered the information and during the presentation, made it seem like I really worked on the project because everyone else was shy and just looked down reading off notes. I became inspired by god-like historical figures such as the powerful men of Rome (mainly Claudius), and Napoleon, Mussolini, Churchill, all of whom used their talent of speaking to inspire people and get them to support their cause.

When my friend(already a member) told me of the tryouts to the speech and debate team, I grabbed an application right away. Other than the application, there are teacher reviews and a you have to present a speech in front of some people and after that, those same people will give the interview. I was really nervous for I didn't think my chances were at all any good even my friends didn't think I could do it. The number of people and the availability of slots weren't very encouraging either. Well they say the tougher it is to do something, the greater the rewards are! I am really looking forward to working with the team this coming year.

My tips to others about public speaking is:
1. Don't be intimidated by others.
2. Interact with the audience.
3. Good posture and voice.
4. Think that you are someone great.
5. Confidence is key.
6. Don't make your speeches too long.
7. Be animated.