On Wednesday, Oct. 24, three members of Forensic Union, senior Dan Carroll, senior Katie Brough, and junior Elan Stadelman, and Forensic Union coach Heather Wayne headed to Toronto, Canada for the International Independent Schools Public Speaking Competition (IISPC) which began on Oct. 25.
The IISPC is an annual competition held for students from all around the world who are interested in public speaking to come together and compete. There are a number of different events competitors can choose to compete in. Each competitor chooses three events. Some of the events include Radio Newscast, After Dinner Speeches, Impromptu Speaking, and Interpretive Reading.
Elan chose to compete in Radio Newscast, Impromptu Speaking, and Interpretive Reading. “Radio Newscast was my favorite,” Elan said. “It is primarily done outside of our country and not in our competitions, but I liked it so much that I want to see if people are willing to compete in it in the States.”
In Radio Newscast the competitor is given a newspaper and given half an hour to prepare. The speech lasts between three minutes and 45 seconds and four minutes and 15 seconds. Then the speaker delivers the news using creative liberties such as a different accent or presenting as a different character.
Katie also competed in Impromptu Speaking, Radio Newscast, and Interpretive Reading. “I was most nervous about Impromptu Speaking,” Katie said. “In Impromptu you get a slip of paper with three things, and two minutes to prep a speech that will be three to five minutes. You don’t even get to use the paper, and while two minutes seems like it is a lot of time, it goes by so quickly.”
The competition is a great chance for the competitors to gain experience and perspective.“I had the best time,” Elan said. “It was amazing being surrounded by so many people, and it was crazy that everyone was there for the same thing. I made a lot of friends and lots of connections and gained a lot of perspective.” Katie agreed that it was a great competition. “It was a really good experience, and I got to meet people from all around the world.”
While Ms. Wayne was not competing, she remained very busy with judging. “Through judging I got to see some really talented kids,” she said. The competition lasted three days, ending on Oct. 28, and Ms. Wayne, Dan, Katie, and Elan all flew back to Connecticut the next day to return to the normal KO routine.
