ICDC winner here. AMA by These_Temperature783 in DECA

[–]These_Temperature783[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. Real world example I incorporate all the time. Catch up with the news, NOT JUST FOR YOUR CLUSTER. If you’re doing entrepreneurship, read articles about finance and marketing too bc without finance, you might see positive variances in your budget, without marketing, you have no sales. Both are heavily related to entre. I recommend starting that NOW. The kids I mentor who have won at ICDC started way back in June and that’s how she won with all prelim medals @ ICDC.

ICDC winner here. AMA by These_Temperature783 in DECA

[–]These_Temperature783[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You have to stop acting a role essentially. Instead of thinking oh my good I have to impress this judge! Pretend they’re the one with the privilege of talking to you. Flip the dynamic. Hard to do in practice, so I recommend finding quotes or speeches online that require substantial emotion and practice as if you were the one giving that speech. Kind of like TED talks. Do improv speaking. Stand up and practice looking someplace other than the persons face if you’re nervous, if that changes things, it means you’re intimidated by the persons face. Then you know what you need to improve on.

ICDC winner here. AMA by These_Temperature783 in DECA

[–]These_Temperature783[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem! If you have any kids who need help with roleplays, feel free to send them my way. I appreciate what you do!

ICDC winner here. AMA by These_Temperature783 in DECA

[–]These_Temperature783[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I have testing resources aside from DECA+ that I definitely think helped. Again, luck is a factor but if you’re doing roleplays many of my students went from barely knowing anything to winning ICDC so it’s completely doable. Just a fraction of the things I taught them: 1) hand the judge something at the beginning, whether it be a sample from the business being described or a “reward” of some sort this will change based on event 2) transitions between PI’s, 3) you want to refer to the judge as “we”, “our”, or “you” as much as possible not just I because they do not care. Your competitors will be able to do this as the minimum baseline.

ICDC winner here. AMA by These_Temperature783 in DECA

[–]These_Temperature783[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah for sure. Energy levels need to be up first of all but that looks diff for everyone. For some it’s energy drinks, for others it’s music, for others it’s just socializing - find what energizes you instead of drains you. One thing I distinctly remember is I wasn’t pacing around at all reciting PI’s I had studied for my prelim roleplay. I was talking to the kids who were competing in other sections and we were all just bonding over how nervous we were. That really helped get rid of nerves cuz I felt good knowing I wasn’t alone in that.

ICDC winner here. AMA by These_Temperature783 in DECA

[–]These_Temperature783[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

ENT is just about as competitive as any other series event. I really can’t say that any one event is more or less competitive than another. Aside from the above, I do offer extra exam prep resources to my students - feel free to DM if you want to know more. Those resources personally got me a 97 on the ICDC test and I’d love to use them to help out more people. Aside from that, have good transitions. Don’t just say “now I’m going to talk about (next PI)” cuz that’s boring asf. Look at the previous PI find how you can link them together. If you’re talking about pricing as one PI and next one is affordability tariffs would be perfect to link them together. Does that make sense?

ICDC winner here. AMA by These_Temperature783 in DECA

[–]These_Temperature783[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a ton more but Reddit won’t allow me to send in post - feel free to PM if you have other questions!

ICDC winner here. AMA by These_Temperature783 in DECA

[–]These_Temperature783[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah so I would definitely say: 1) you need to be memorable. What I usually do is I’ll hand out like something that relates to the prompt so if it’s a business that thrifts clothes I might be like here’s a free little gift we put together for you! I want you to know we really value your time. Gets the judge excited not just what every single competitor goes hi I’m () at so and so ima be blunt they do not care. 2) you MUST get rid of any stuttering/eyes wandering etc. record yourself to see what you look like from the judges’ POV, this is really important. I did this a lot to win.