For most people, standing up in front of a class and presenting a two minute speech is extremely nerve wracking, leaving many with dry mouths, shaky hands, and ceaseless stuttering. But for senior Jack Disselhorst and junior Kathryn Teberg, presenting an eight minute speech in front of an auditorium full of people is a hobby, and one at which they excel, both having qualified to represent the Prairie Ridge High School speech team at the at the state competition this weekend.
With his eloquence, resonance, confidence, quick-thinking, and outgoing personality, Jack competed for speech team his senior year in both Impromptu and Special Occasion Speaking, although he will be advancing to State for his Impromptu.
“Impromptu Speaking… involves receiving a topic, preparing for two minutes, and then giving a six minute speech on it, so it’s all about thinking on your feet,” explained Jack. “[It’s] like making up a story, just in a suit, and for six minutes on end!”
While Jack presents a new speech every single round, Kathryn, with her vivacious personality, her attitude, and her style, competes in Prose Reading, in which she reads a story of her choice, and Informative Speaking, in which she creates her own speech with information on a certain topic.
She will advance to state for her Informative Speaking with a speech on the evolving definition of being a lady.
“In the beginning of the season, I approached Mrs. Hartnett, with the idea of [wanting to present] something about being a lady, what it means [today], and what it used to mean,” Kathryn described. “From there, we had to figure out what speech would fit best. So instead of picking an event and then writing a speech, I wrote the speech and then picked the event.”
Instead of practicing a speech only a few times to present for an English class, being a speech team member requires several hours of hard work, dedication, and effort to make the perfect finished product. For Kathryn, this involved many different ideas on putting together her speech.
“At first, it was going to just be about women who did not technically qualify as ladies in their time period. People like Cleopatra and Queen Elizabeth,” she stated. “But after writing that and not feeling it, I scrapped it and wanted to start a little earlier in history…I began in the 19th century and worked my way up to now.”
In addition to this aspect, Kathryn spent much of her time researching, practicing speech techniques, and constantly editing her essay. Her speech continues to be a work-in-progress, as she “constantly [has] different parts, lines, jokes, and sources rewritten… [She has] printed [a new speech] at least every week.” She also added how she “work[s] on details you would never even imagine, like where to breathe and who to look at during different sentences.”
Although Jack has not memorized a speech like Kathryn, nonetheless, he spends countless hours preparing for his event by choosing new topics, writing an outline in two minutes, and presenting a speech in six minutes – without notes. His event requires a vast arsenal of examples from literature, movies, television, and pop culture to help him develop an argument throughout the six-minute speech.
Advancing to state came as a surprise for both Jack and Kathryn. As Jack waited to receive the results of the sectionals tournament this past Saturday, February 9th, he was extremely nervous. “I felt very unsure of myself and was actually convinced I wouldn’t make it,” he admitted. “When I was on stage and they announced I was once of the four people from Impromptu advancing, I immediately grabbed and hugged the boy standing next to me.”
Kathryn felt the same way. “It has been a goal of mine [to go to state] this entire season, although I never thought it would happen,” she said.
Jack has been thinking about getting to state since his sophomore year when “a very talented speaker named Sydney Birnbaum from PR went to State in Impromptu, and from then on, I hoped that I would fill her shoes!” exclaimed Jack. “My biggest goal on speech team has just been to make it to State. Making it to the final round and bringing home a trophy wouldn’t hurt, but I’m already very content.”
Kathryn wants to surpass all other former PR speech state qualifiers. “My goal at state is to make it to the final rounds,” said Kathryn. “No one from Prairie Ridge has ever been a state finalist.”
Both are especially looking forward to the challenges to come. “I’m excited to see what my prompts for my speeches will be!” declared Jack. “The topics get tougher and more obscure the farther you advance, so I’m curious to see what I’ll be speaking about!”
Ultimately, as they head off to the State competition, Kathryn explained that “the key is not to try to be better than the other competitors. It’s to do your own personal best. That’s all you can control, so it’s all you should worry about.”
See SpeechWire.com for state series results.
