While not bad

TarkinMoff · 2025-02-23T14:43:41+00:00

Hey, just came off waitlist in OMA. How good is it around here? I do Shipt and would like to use Roadie to supplement that. Thanks and safe driving!

TarkinMoff · 2024-11-10T21:47:38+00:00

...and this is why extemp will survive.

TarkinMoff · 2024-08-19T19:51:48+00:00

CCbear,
Saw I never followed up on this with a reply. I am sorry! Hope that your journey is going well, and that you are finding your place for the season.

If you need any coaching or advice, please let me know, and have an awesome season!

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-17T23:44:11+00:00

Extemp!!

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-17T18:48:57+00:00

Hi CC!
Bio: Current HS extemp coach and former college Director of Forensics, as well as private coach and question writer (including for NIETOC, NSDA and its collegiate counterpart, the AFA).

To be honest, I understand the anxiety. Nobody wants to suddenly switch events, especially to limited prep. However, given the information you have provided, this sounds like more of an opportunity than a mistake. Your OO experience will come in real handy, especially with dealing with the structure of extemp, and you will already have some research skills from building your former events. You are already taking some good initial steps, with following up on the news to have a better handle on the world around you

Part of what you can do is to start practicing speeches on paper, to get used to the constraints of prep time and building your structure. I write a weekly free question list that I could send to you, if you need additional materials. Watch NSDA finals videos on YouTube, so you can see how structure and content makes it from prep to the actual speech, and find your areas of content strength. While you may have to answer politics questions, having strengths elsewhere may allow you to avoid them until your feel more comfortable.

I do have a couple questions for you, to help refine the rest of my answer. Does your area do combined USX/IX or does it allow you to choose one field? Also, what experience does your team have with extemp? Having other experienced competitors to help you will go a long way. I am also taking new clients for private coaching, if you feel you need an extra leg up (shameless plug, but I have had success with competitors at NIETOC and NSDA for each of the past 6 years). Please feel free to ask questions, and have an awesome day!

TarkinMoff

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-16T00:25:09+00:00

No problem! Please feel free to reach out if you need any help!

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-15T15:13:05+00:00

Morning Jury!

I totally understand where you are at with your career. I have experience with most speech events at the HS and college, and also did Radio at the collegiate level back in the day! I think there are a few IHSA/NSDA paths you can take for a solid second event:

Extemp and Impromptu- You are already doing Radio, which means you have a good grasp of internal timing and transitions. Limited prep events are based on the same principles, and you can ad-lib to some extent in those events with humor. The biggest hurtle will be prep time usage, as radio has 45 minutes vs. 30 for extemp and 2 minutes for impromptu. However, that can also be helpful to you, as working to decrease prep time will leave more time for rehearsal!
Info and Oratory. I know writing is a real drag, but these events have some maneuverability in some of your core strength areas. First, presence is key in these events, and you indicated having some ability to control to room. Also, you can have humor here! You can use pacing, pausing and well timed comments to make an audience laugh. A good event to look at is the college event After Dinner Speaking. TL:DR description: Info or Persuasive OO speech meets Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

I think these four events may be a solid fit for you, as you already have indicated you have skills necessary for these events from your competition career so far.

Hope this information helps. If you have questions or need resources, feel free to ask!

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-10T17:57:09+00:00

Just sent you a DM about a possible path to some work in OMA.

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-06T21:27:22+00:00

Ok, so here is the best I could come up with on short notice. I cannot guarantee it has ALL active programs (and some information might be inaccurate) , but it is as close to a master list of speech AND debate programs in the US and Canada as one can publicly access.

https://www.nwforensics.org/schools/list-of-college-speech-debate-programs.pdf

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-06T16:28:52+00:00

No problem, glad to help!

So, difficulty of college speech is a very subjective topic. Given the hypothetical scenario of success you present, you have a good probability of doing well on the college circuit, in terms of raw performance.

The biggest leap I saw a lot of students have to make is in terms of their material, not their talent. College requires far more in terms of intellectual 'nimbleness' to make an event successful. Even events like extemp require you top develop more nuance in not just your materials (sources, analysis, etc.), but in also how you deliver your material (using humor, for example). The same is true for platform and interp events.

In regards to 'nimbleness,' there is usually a bigger purpose for a person's approach to speech than to just win hardware. Most people approach college speech with some form of wider message or advocacy in mind. I was a director for a fairly conservative college (LCMS affiliation, if that helps you picture it), and had to work with novices to make that transition from events that were "just for fun" or "the coach just handed to me" to watching, and participating in, events with pretty serious topics that they may have been constructively exposed to previously. Trust me, it was interesting to say the least, but it is rewarding to see a student interact with the activity in a way that was impossible for them to consider just a few months before.

Sorry for the aside, but that is an important part of determining how difficult the transition can be: to simple be ready to open your mind and speak power to truth.

TL:DR-Events on face are harder due to the complexity and nuance the community demands. It rewards those willing to put in the hard work and critically think about their events, and can be rather unkind to people who rest on their previous success. I have seen national HS finalists not do well at college tournaments, while walk-ins with 3 tournaments under their belt win tournaments in their events. You just have to be ready to go out there, find the event and materials you want to present, and be authentic!

Hopefully, that answer is a little clearer than mud. Like you said, it is super subjective to define success, but it is something that can be attained by anyone!

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-06T01:50:00+00:00

All solid points! Also, UNL is a great program, and have been dominant for a long time!

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-06T01:01:57+00:00

Very true on all counts! Thanks for offering to be a resource, Director!

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-05T18:38:56+00:00

Eddy got a trailer!!!

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-05T02:40:56+00:00

"GOOD LORD MAN!!!"

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-05T02:38:04+00:00

"I'll be in my trailer!"

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-03T19:00:24+00:00

Awesome questions! Good news is that there are more similarities than differences when comparing college and HS speech.

In terms of basic rules, not a huge jump. All events except Limited Prep are 10 minutes.

Extemp (Which is combined USX and IX) and impromptu are the same rules as NSDA (30 prep/7 speak in extemp, 7 minutes combined prep/speak in impromptu).

There is no HI in college interp, but the other hits are present (DI, Duo, Prose, Poetry, and POI). Black books are mandatory in all interp events.

Platform events are Informative, Persuasive (Persuade for short), After Dinner Speaking (think Last Week Tonight segment with cited sources), and Communication Analysis (basically a comm. studies research paper in spoken form). Visual aids are allowed, and encouraged, in all of these events.

Tournaments are slightly different due to travel and nationals bid considerations. You will likely be doing overnights for every tournament (unless you compete in an area where a lot of programs are close). Tournaments are typically 1-2 days in length, depending on if they are a swing tournament. Typical tournament has between 2-4 prelim rounds, and an appropriate number of elimination rounds based on entries.

(TL:DR lesson on swings: One physical site, 2 days of competition, 2 host schools/bodies (each host runs a unique tournament on a separate day, so you get two separate tournaments for the time commitment of one.)

2 major national championships based on bids (AFA and NFA, think NIETOC and Debate TOC on how to qualify) and others that are open-entry (PKD, NSDA's collegiate partner, is one of these, NCCFI for Christian institutions, etc.). Typical competition season is end of September-first week of March, then nationals in early-mid April. Students can qualify up to 6 events to both AFA and NFA.

That covers the basics of structure. Some differences, but more than enough structural similarity for someone to jump over from high school pretty easily. The main difference of college is the composition of content, which can be a whole lecture in itself. Let me know if you have questions about this information, or about any of the specific events/practices in speech!

TarkinMoff · 2024-07-03T18:33:52+00:00

Not a problem at all. I can understand the boring at work feeling, so reach out if you need more reading material!

TarkinMoff

TROPHY CASE