by Molly Vincent |
It was still dark out as Mayetta Martel and Anna Murphy stood outside the Pilot House, silently rehearsing in their heads.
At 6 a.m. on Feb. 20, they headed out to the 2016 National Individual Events Tournament (NIET) District 2 Qualifier speech and debate competition at Oregon State University.
Both speakers placed within the top five competitors of their categories, which means they automatically qualify for the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament speech and debate nationals in Gainesville, Florida, April 1-3.
Martel, a freshman secondary education and English major, competed in three categories: impromptu speaking, extemporaneous speaking and program of oral interpretation.
Impromptu speaking requires competitors to create a speech after the judges give them quotes based on current event topics. They have two minutes to write a speech and five minutes to perform it.
For program of oral interpretation, Martel did a 10-minute reading of different cuttings from plays, books, articles and media.
For extemporaneous speaking, she was split into a group of six to prepare for 30 minutes.
“You’ll all go into a room, which is called a prep room, and the speaker who was on the list first will get a choice from three topics,” Martel said.
Since speakers were not allowed to use the internet to research their topics, they had to rely on previously saved articles on a variety of current events.
Though Martel was nervous to get in front of a crowd and speak for seven minutes in this event, she placed second out of 11 other competitors.
“It’s a really fun thing to do,” Martel said. “You get to learn about a lot of different things that you wouldn’t research too much if you weren’t in speech and debate.”
Martel is dedicated to continuing her role on the Speech and Debate Team for the years to come and has even started working on writing-prepared speeches for next year. She knows that these experiences will help in her future career as a teacher.
“It will definitely help me speak in front of my students better,” Martel said.
Though Martel is still in her first year on the team, Speech and Debate Team adviser Bohn Lattin has seen her excel.
“She’s added so much to the team … not only her ability to debate, but her camaraderie,” Lattin said. “Even though you compete as an individual, you … work as a team.”
Senior Anna Murphy, who is completing a dual degree in Spanish and economics, aspired to be an attorney from a young age and is heading off to law school after graduation. She joined the Speech and Debate Team her freshman year to refine her speaking skills.
Murphy, who placed fourth in extemporaneous speaking, is most excited for Nationals so she can compete against students from all over the country.
“I’m most excited about competing against other regions … different regions have different styles of speaking, whether that be their pace or their format,” Murphy said.
Speech and Debate practices for three hours every Monday.
The team works on giving speeches in a limited amount of time with Lattin and graduate students Beau Woodward and Krista Simonis.
For some exercises, the coaches put quotes on the board and team members give a speech based on those quotes. After, the coaches give feedback and tips.
“They do a fabulous job at preparing us,” Murphy said.
Simonis believes speech and debate will help UP competitors with future endeavors.
“If you can get and be successful at speech and debate … then you can be successful in life because it does teach you to speak to people,” Simonis said.
Murphy and Martel have also been preparing for Nationals by practicing with teammates, as well as using tongue twister exercises to refine their speaking skills.
“I just hope to see that everyone leaves there with a sense of satisfaction that they did their best,” Murphy said.
Molly Vincent is a news reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at vincentm17@up.edu.
If you’re interested in joining the Speech and Debate Team, contact Anna Murphy at murphya16@up.edu.
