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Hey! I just wanted to thank you so so much for your help at the beginning of the season! It was my first year competing in DP and I was able to place at my first Interleague tournament and qualify for states! I was able to qualify for nationals a couple weeks ago and I just want to thank you so much for what you did for me in the beginning of the season 🥰

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Sad time

Have tournaments been canceled where yall are? CFL states is for my state

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WHAT TO BRING TO TOURNAMENTS

I haven’t seen many of these, so I’m gonna make one based on my experiences at tournaments.

BAG: I either bring a mini backpack or a duffel bag. (A duffel bag is better if you want shoes to change out of)

Deodorant! I always bring two mini deodorants in my bag, because running about schools and performing pieces is very tiring.

Water! On that note, always bring water if your team doesn’t provide it. I would reccomend bringing two plastic water bottles for yourself. Make sure to take care of your voice! (Also: in case you leave it in a round, I would reccomend you write your county/state, initials, and code(s) so it can be returned to you!)

Sewing kits! I got two mini kits with basic colors of thread for around sixty cents at Wal-Mart! Make sure to have these on you in case of a loose thread or ripped suit.

First aid kit! You can get a mini first aid kit at CVS, where I got mine. A WORD OF CAUTION: I got a first aid kit with a disinfecting wipe prepackaged. MOST OF THESE ARE TO BE USED ON SKIN ONLY, NOT OPEN WOUNDS. I learned this the hard way, long story short one of my teammates got a big cut on the bus, I used the wipe, it stung on his arm for the next seven hours and now has a big scar from it. Just switch out the wipes with a Neosporin spray.

An extra tie, just in case. I always bring one or two more in case someone forgets theirs.

Sharpies! If you are forgetful like me, markers like sharpies are good for writing down your code(s) on your wrist or water bottle.

Hair spray! I don’t personally use this very often, but I do have freinds with very snazzy hair that needs to be kept in shape!

Sugar free mints! Me and my duo partner have this running joke where we bring two different flavors of duo icebreakers to tournaments. They are duo Duos for duos of duos in between rounds. Plus they taste nice and don’t hurt your voice!

Book! If you are a heavy reader, I would bring a book to read in between rounds, or while you wait for awards.

Switch! I haven’t been to a tournament yet where at least two people have brought a Nintendo switch to play in between rounds. Bring one if you have it!

Extra cash! You don’t want to miss the five dollar meal deal! That is to say, there is usually food served at tournaments. Even if you are too nervous to eat in between rounds, you might want pizza later!

Fuzzy socks! My heels hurt my feet a lot, so I bring fuzzy multicolored socks to wear with my slides in between rounds. (I actually almost went on stage to accept an award with two different socks on once! It was HI though, so it would’ve went together fine)

Mouthwash! Just in case, I bring a mini mouthwash with me.

Slides! If you want shoes to change out of, I would reccomend you bring slides. Easy to put on and take off!

Bobby pins! There’s nothing like a bun coming undone in the middle of a preformance (which has actually happened to me once). Bring bobby pins just in case!

Portable chargers! It’s terrible when your phone dies at a tournament and you either don’t have a wall adapter or there’s no outlets! Bring one just in case, there’s always someone who’s gonna need it if not you.

Snacks! Like I said, there’s usually food served at tournaments, but in case you get hungry on the bus, I would bring a snack or two! (Make sure there’s no peanut butter or that your careful with it if there is, allergies can be pretty nasty!)

Advil! This is asked for at tournaments more than you would think. I keep one of those mini bottles in my backpack for the people with cramps or headaches!

Headphones! Some people like to sleep on the bus, me and my duo partner listen to some lit tunes! (Africa by Toto on repeat)

Casual clothes! Some people change into sweatpants or other things after rounds or if they haven’t broken to semis or finals. (In the case of one person I know, it’s pajamas)

This is my list of things to bring to tournaments! Tell me if I’ve forgotten anything, or if you want more things like this!

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do you have any tips for writing pf/public forum summaries ?

I'd love to help but I've never done this category, sorry!

To any debaters, please feel free to reblog with tips for anon!

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bro .. nb speech kids unite!!! im so scared to run for management on my team next yr bc im in a weird place where im halfway out??? like I use he/him but I'm not a man and I don't know how to explain that to people so my pronouns are all over the map. I really hope I get the position regardless tho bc I love love love my team sm! also HI RIGHTS it's an awesome style💖💖💓💞💓💕❤️💖

Bro... unite!!!!

If you're in a position where you can, just explain that you use he/him not because you're a guy, but because it feels right/it sounds cool. And good luck on getting management! Being a captain DEFINITELY lives up to the hype! And I hope you're able to safely and fully come out to your team (and that they accept you :) )

I'm lucky bc my pronouns are literally up to the speakers interpretation. I've told people that they can interpret my orientation as brick and use the pronouns clink/clonk if they want to (that's an inside joke)

And you're right! HI is so fun to do! Even if your bad at it, if you're bad enough it seems intentional! It's such a good category!

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Oh! And for the engaging speaker part

Eye contact

If you have a part in your piece that says you and I, make the gesture/hand motion to go with it (most favorably to the judge for bonus)

Meaningful hand motions in general

Dramatic highs and lows! If your piece has the range, go for it! I know mine goes from 0 to 100 real fast in terms of being very softspoken and sullen to loud anger and despair. Always gets everyone's attention

Have fun with it! Doing this will not only make you seem more memorized and comfortable with your piece, but it's usually much more enjoyable to watch when you know the person loves doing what they're doing

What the judge doesn't know that you don't know can't hurt you. Remember that

Go with the flow. If you feel like a movement needs to be changed/added halfway through your performance, either do it or remember to do it next time. This is when you are most aware of your actions

Dear god stop me before this becomes a coaching session

hi! i have a tournament tomorrow and i just finished my oratory on monday lol. i’m mostly memorized but i’m not super comfortable yet and i know the writing is not great. do you have any tips for memorizing quickly? and tips for overall being an engaging speaker? thank you so so much

Bruh me

I've shared some tips before on this, but one I've tried out recently is writing the parts you're not comfortable with in WASHABLE (vvv important) crayola markers on the walls of your shower, then going over your piece in the shower. (This sounds incredibly weird but it works)

Write down all you can remember from your piece without looking at it, then comparing the two before doing it again, this one works soooo well

Hallways, hallways, hallways! Ain't nothing like practicing like you preform!!

No but seriously if you find yourself in a situation the day before where you don't have to do anything for a solid 10 minutes just do your piece. Even if you have to murmur/mouth it it's still good practice for your memory and brain.

Good luck!!!

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hi! i have a tournament tomorrow and i just finished my oratory on monday lol. i’m mostly memorized but i’m not super comfortable yet and i know the writing is not great. do you have any tips for memorizing quickly? and tips for overall being an engaging speaker? thank you so so much

Bruh me

I've shared some tips before on this, but one I've tried out recently is writing the parts you're not comfortable with in WASHABLE (vvv important) crayola markers on the walls of your shower, then going over your piece in the shower. (This sounds incredibly weird but it works)

Write down all you can remember from your piece without looking at it, then comparing the two before doing it again, this one works soooo well

Hallways, hallways, hallways! Ain't nothing like practicing like you preform!!

No but seriously if you find yourself in a situation the day before where you don't have to do anything for a solid 10 minutes just do your piece. Even if you have to murmur/mouth it it's still good practice for your memory and brain.

Good luck!!!

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I will never stop being mad about this :(

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TOURNAMENT TIME, BABEY

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I’m thinking I want to try oo, would talking about my chronic illness and physical abnormality be a good topic 👀❤️

Yes! Personalizing the topic makes the speech all the more impactful. One thing I would take caution with is not making it seem like your saying 'look at me I have all these bad things', which is never the intention when writing on these sorts of topics but they can come across as such. I wanted to write about something similar last year (my rareish mental disorder and how not realizing I had it hurt me) so instead of focusing on just my ailments I focused my speech on the dangers of misdiagnosis. Perhaps talk about the stigma around it, how having these things affect you and the community, whatever feels most important to you.

Good luck, and happy writing! Tell me how this goes! :D

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What's.... what's the drawing game? 😶

if you don’t play the drawing game when watching out rounds you’re soft af

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hey! i’m writing my oratory on empathy (and other things that i can’t think of how to describe correctly lol) and in the first section i talk a lot about how i personally apologize too much and say sorry even when it’s not necessary. i like how it turned out, but i’m afraid it’ll come off as condescending and a kind of ‘oh haha it’s so annoying how polite i am haha’. do you have any advice on how i could address this topic in a better way? thank you so much!!

Hey, I'm doing a speech on empathy too! How cool is that?

Anyway, with this topic, it's really hard not to have that undertone because empathy is based on that aspect of this is sad, it's making me sad and now it's making you sad.

Perhaps bring up the condition known as hyper empathy (which is what it sounds like), and talk about how it makes the feeling all the more worse when you can't control your emotions and people mistake it as a cry for attention and make you feel annoying.

So basically, you have to try and make it come off not like a 'I like putting things in rainbow order, I'm so OCD' type of condition but a 'this is real, it effects my everyday life and it hurts that people don't take it seriously' kind of thing. This will make people feel more connected to what your saying and not going 'wow that's so quirky'

I really hope this goes well for you! Best of luck!!

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If you can't find your own information, make it!

Bit.ly/unusualsurvey

If you could spread this around that would be amazing, I am conducting a research poll for my speech on selective empathy and need public input!

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Hey speech peeps!

What warm ups do you guys do?

(Asking because we need some new ones- any input you guys have would be great)

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That moment when you choose a controversial topic for your OO and can't find anything online on it so you have to send in a request for official government documents

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TIPS ON MEMORIZING DI SCRIPT LIKE 4 DAYS BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT AHHHHHH

Whenever you can, write down everything you can remember from it without looking at the script, then going back and seeing what you forgot

Hallways, hallways, hallways!

Make sure not to stop halfway through when running your piece, memorizing it as one unit will make remembering what comes next muscle memory

Run hallways in a 1 1 or a 1 2 format, doing either one hallway looking at your piece and another without, or doing one looking and two without

Never underestimate the determination of the human spirit under stress! I believe in you! Also sorry, I didn't see this ask until today!

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That moment when you choose a controversial topic for your OO and can't find anything online on it so you have to send in a request for official government documents