Correcting People Who Call Impromptu "Improv"

Last year, my youth group had a talent night sort of thing, and I offered to do one of my interps. They were kind of confused, first of all because they didn't know what an interp was and I had to try to explain it to them, and they didn't really get it (What? She's just gonna give a speech? Like, talk?). But then once they saw it, they were blown away, probably because it was unlike anything they'd ever seen. That's not saying the speech was amazing, they just literally hadn't seen anything like it. So, now they ask about competitions and how speeches are going and stuff all the time, and it's great. There is, however, one event that they are still having a bit of difficulty understanding: impromptu.


Now, I would love to give an impromptu speech for my youth group. Even if thirty people were watching, it would be the least stressful speech ever because I could use ten minutes of prep-time with a two minute speech and they would be blown away. Maybe if I did give an impromptu for them, they'd get how it works, but for now they don't. They consistently refer to it as "improv" which is something else entirely and only adds to the confusion. (By the way, I once got an HI ballot telling me I was good at improv. Kind of random. Did she think I was making it up?) I try to explain to the kids and leaders the difference between impromptu and improv, but it is to no avail. It's not worth actually correcting them anymore.


You're homeschooled, and the kind of improv you like is duo impromptu, but I'll save that for another post... 

Breaking to Finals With A Bunch Of Awesome People

There's nothing more thrilling at a tournament than breaking to finals. Even if you don't think you'll win, you still get to compete one more time, and by this point, you know your competition is good. Well, great, usually. And plus, hello? You get a trophy. That confirms it: finals is the best.

Do you know who was in DI finals at the Riverside tournament last year? A bunch of famous interpers, that's who. Really good famous interpers. Here's the list: Annie Newman, Sarah Dasgupta, Daniel Sheahan, Giovanna Cabrera, Mary York, Patrick Ortiz, and Elena Trueba. Oh, and me. Yes, little Chandler, at her second tournament ever and first with a DI, somehow wound up in finals with a bunch of awesome people. It felt pretty unreal to hear my name called during breaks. I remember waiting in the wings at the award ceremony later and looking at my competition and being in awe, thinking, "What am I doing here?" It was ridiculous.

Naturally, all of them beat me. I guess the judges wondered what I was doing there too. But still, it was great just to be there, grinning from ear to ear in a group picture with a great group of talented individuals.

You're homeschooled, and you like breaking to finals, especially if a bunch of great people break with you, unless that means you lose and if you're really competitive you wouldn't like that, but then if you're really competitive you'd still like it somewhat 'cause you broke to finals... so yea.

Tournament Buddies! :D

I have several tournament buddies. They are awesome. A tournament buddy is a kid that you pretty much see only at tournaments so you're really excited each time you get to see them. The best is when you see your tournament buddy on the first day of a tournament and you get to freak out and be like "HII!!!" It's also great when you pass them in the halls and wave, give a quick thumbs-up, smile, hug, high-five, ect. Whatever it is, it's between you and your buddies, and it's great.

One time, I walked up to my friend and she was talking to this kid I sorta knew but had never really talked to but apparently he knew me 'cause the next thing I knew he was hugging me and shouting my name. We're buddies now. He's a high-fiver. It's fantastic. I know another girl who I met after she timed me in a round and then we talked a couple times after that and found we have a lot in common and now we're friends. I know a girl who became my buddy after she found out I was interping one of her favorite books which is also one of my favorite books. I have several friends that I love to be around despite the fact that I cannot remember when and how we met. I know other kids that I met and talk to primarily online so I kinda freaked out the first time I met them. It really is wonderful.

You're homeschooled. Let's be buddies.

Forgetting an Impromptu Example and Remembering It at the Last Second

At a tournament earlier this year, I was finishing up my second point of an impromptu speech when I realized that I could not for the life of me remember my next example. I gave a "moving onto my third point" and then quickly made something up. I talked about that for about two sentences when the real third point came back to me and I transitioned into that. None of the judges said anything about it on the ballots,  except one who labeled my thinkfast point as a subpoint, so that was really great. Forgetting an impromptu example and then remembering it at the last second is a lot of fun, but it can be quite stressful.

I don't know if you know this about me, but I'm really competitive. My goal this year was to win a speech event. At the first competition of the year, I was in finals in one event: novice impromptu. I thought, ok, well this is it. I really really want to win now. She & Him's cover of "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" is playing in my head as I make my way over to the room in the gym where I'm listed as the first speaker. I make sure all of the judges and timer and are there and ready, and then I'm handed a big yellow envelople and the prep-time begins.

I begin to pull out the contents of the envelope. I catch the word "BINGO" and my mind automatically begins forming a speech on luck when I realize that there isn't anything else in the enevelope but there is more on the card. I see that it is a Roadtrip Bingo card and all of the bingo items have been punched out except three. I pick "Flat Tire" and away I go.

I come up with two examples and have my third by the time the one minute mark rolls around. The timer soon informs me that I have thirty seconds left. I smile and nod at him and then realize something: I completely forgot my third example. This is the most important and most stressful impromptu speech I've ever given and I'm pressuring myself to win and I CAN'T REMEMBER MY THIRD POINT? I started to wrack my brain for another when, right in the nick of time, I remember it. -sigh of relief- I glance at the timer, which I can read from where I'm sitting. Ten seconds left. Naturally, I immediately forget the third point again. And I panic inside again. The timer goes off. I stand up slowly. I make my way over to the center of the room. I ask if the judges are ready. I hope that they aren't, but they are. I ask if the timer is ready, and he is too. I take a deep breath and I'm about to start speaking when suddenly: I remember my third point. In fact, I remember all of my points. That speech was one of the best I've ever given. Yay!

You're homeschooled, and you like... I forgot.

Confusing Terminology

TP does not stand for toilet paper. LD has almost nothing to do with Lincoln or Douglas. NCFCA stands for the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association. STOA does not stand for anything. HI is not pronounced "hi." And the list goes on...

Do you know how hard it was for me to remember the difference between an expos and an extemp? I've mentioned that several times, but it really was a problem. I mean, one is a platform speech with visual aids and the other is a limited-prep about current events, but how am I supposed to figure out which is which? It took a while.

What about OO and OI? What's that about? They're two totally different events, but the names are extremely similar. I was explaining an OI I might write to my sister when she said, "Wait, I thought if you wrote it, it has to be an OO?" It took me a really long time to try to explain her mistake, and I think she still doesn't understand.

You know what's the worst and most confusing acronym of all? IE. It stands for individual events. Oh, but not LD, because you technically need two competitors for a Lincoln-Douglas round. IE is just the speech events. It does, therefore, include Duo, which, like LD, requires two competitors, but is still an individual event. My question is, why don't they just call IEs speech? No one calls TP an MPE, or Multiple Persons Event.

You're homeschooled, and you're reading a blog with a really long name that is abbreviated to "SCHSADKL," and I write the blog so I have no room to talk about confusing terminology.

Cross-Ex

I've been making it a point to watch a bunch of debate rounds this year. Last year I watched one. It was an LD round and it changed my life, but that's not that point. I've been learning about debate and it's been an interesting experience. I've discovered something: Cross-Examination is my favorite part of debate. It definitely seems like the hardest part of a round, and therefore the most fun to watch. For once, the competitors are actually talking TO each other instead of at each other and at the judge. It's great. I'm telling you, if I ever feel like falling asleep in-round, that all goes away once Cross-Ex starts.

Here's what I like: figuring out what the debaters are thinking. Sometimes the questions are really random. Sometimes they're sneaky. Sometimes they're just ridiculous. Often I wonder what I would say. One time I saw a round in which one debater asked another what he thought about something and I realized that I didn't have an answer so I thought long and hard and have thus come up with a lengthy and clever response, so should anyone ask me that question in Cross-Ex, I'll be ready.

Cross-Ex does seem pretty hard, though. It seems hard to think that fast. It seems hard to only ask questions. It seems hard to not start arguing. It seems hard to not look at the person you're talking to. Actually, for me, that's the funniest thing about Cross-Ex. The debaters either look like they're doing a duo or they're mad at each other. I know they're supposed to look at the judge, but doesn't that get old? If you're talking to each other, shouldn't you look at each other?

You're homeschooled, and you are now open for Cross-Examination.