It's that time in the "pre-season", where some students are starting to feel panicked. "I haven't found my epic piece!" "My research is going no where!" "I hate my topic already!" Or my favorite, "We were supposed to have a piece picked by now?!" I know Practice Tournaments are starting... But take a deep breath... You still have time- plenty of time!
I am always amazed every year when I talk to a speech camp or club about goals. It’s strange to me to think that so many students are in speech competitions without goals! For me, creating a goal is one of the first steps toward the path of success….
The simple definition of goal from Merriam Webster is- something that you are trying to do or achieve. However, I think most students need to start with setting a goal. The definition of goal setting according to mindtools.com is “a process that starts with careful consideration of what you want to achieve, and ends with a lot of hard work to actually do it.”
How is one supposed to know what they want to achieve with out thinking about it and making a plan? If my goal is to make it to The National Championship, but I don’t plan on putting much time into my speech… How is that going to work? Or worse, I want to go to Regionals, but I haven’t told my parents and they are planning a vacation that weekend. Goal setting will help you in the long run create those tasks that need to get done in order to achieve the grand prize.
So why do I think goal setting is so important? Reasons to create goals…
1. Creating a goal allows you to be the best you possible.
Sometimes I find kids go into “I don’t care” mode. This is usually a coping-mechanism. Students feel like if they don’t put forth effort, it won’t matter as much- if they don’t do well. However, by creating goals they own what they are doing. They become accountable to their dreams.
APPLICATION- Try choosing a goal to stretch yourself. By getting out of your comfort zone, you will grow, and potentially become better. Don’t stay safe!
2. Making a goal keeps you focused.
By creating goals you are more likely to keep your eye on the prize. Imagine being a soccer player with out a soccer goal, a basketball player without a hoop? Speech should have similar goals. The goal to break or advance to Regionals or Nationals will drive you, because you will continue to strive toward that goal. By setting goals it allows you to stay focused and gives you a target to shoot for.
3. Sharing your goals keeps you accountable.
Goals are meant to be shared. So many kids I coach don’t tell their parents or peers their goals! What?! Who is going to keep you accountable? If I really don’t want to eat that last piece of chocolate cake, the more family members I tell, the more likely they will help me not eat the cake! Your support system (mainly your parents) want to help you succeed. Be sure to include them on the path. Whether the path leads to success or not, it is always nice to have someone cheering you on, or waiting to give you that hug!!
4. Goal setting keeps you motivated.
Having goals gives you something to focus your energy, your mind, and your emotions on. Setting goals gives students the drive sometimes they will need when things don’t go their way. Having something to strive toward can be just the motivation to make sure what needs to be done.
5. Goals keep you on track.
When you measure your goals progress, you don’t have to start with ultimate goals. You can create small goals to keep you on track. Early in the season you can create target dates and experience the excitement of achievement with each mini goal that will propel you to reach your larger goals.
You picked your piece and really thought about why you wanted it. You’ve made a list of all the parts you want to keep. Perhaps you already know that you have too much to keep all of it. Now….what should you eliminate when you are cutting it?
Every work of literature is made up of five literary elements. You may have had an English teacher that made you study these ad nauseam! (I may have been that English teacher!) But these five mechanisms make any story work. They affect the reader or audience in specific ways. They are manipulated by the author to specific purpose. Understanding what they are and how they work helps you make a good cut for your interp.
Cutting your interp piece can be a DAUNTING task. There simply are not that many scripts out there designed for 10 minute presentations, so chances are, you are holding a book that you need to squeeze down into just 10 minutes. Where do you begin?
Spending some quality time researching and thinking about what you want to speak about is a pretty great idea. It's an important decision on your "Platform Journey". I actually keep an on-going list of ideas (and I'm not even a competitor). You should too! With phones that take notes and access to computers, jotting down a few ideas that you can explore when your ready to dive in, is pretty easy. This list doesn't start when the speech season starts... It's on-going.
There are so many fascinating subjects, people, events, etc. I honestly don't know if I was competing, if I would ever be able to choose?
In 2015, the NCFCA introduced a new Speech category- Biblical Presentation. Having coached several qualifying National BP's, including the first place National Champion. I analyzed the Biblical Presentation category and saw this as an exciting opportunity for competitors to learn a new interpretation skill. Here is how we tackled the learning curve of this new speech...
You are working on a hot topic. You have a killer idea for a speech this year. You want to try something outside-the-box in one of your interps. This is the kind of thinking I LOVE! I get excited when I have conversations along these lines with my students. But I always advise them to check the rules BEFORE they get too deep in the development.
Kristi and I both agree that we don’t know what those 5-7 random judges will want to hear or see in the final round in the middle of June (at The National Championship). Some competitors stew and anguish over picking their piece or topic. Some cut and recut, some choose new pieces all together… Mid-season!
Here is some advice when picking your perfect Interp piece… Continue reading “Picking YOUR Perfect Interp Piece”
Lasting Impact! is excited to announce “Online Apol”… Coming in October!
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By: Heather Neumann
This is probably one of the most asked questions for my kids and me. The fact of the matter is, I have "a vault" of stashed possible Interp pieces for future years and for kids I coach. I know Kristi has one too! Once we find a book that could be a possible speech, they go in to "the vault"... Ok so really, it's just a book shelf, but it sounds so much more exciting as a vault! So, where did find them? It's like looking for treasure...
By: Heather Neumann
Anyone with an idea or concept is capable of giving a powerful speech! But what if that theme has been done before? What if Cinderella was done last year? The Sneeches has been done thousands of times! No one can claim ownership of an idea. However you can claim ownership of your OWN Speech. And just like you are unique - the Speech you create will become uniquely yours! You don't even have to come up with a rocket science invention.
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