Extra Credit: Chinese National Debate Team

Marissa Perszyk

February 7, 2011

Comm. 1212

Extra Credit

Chinese National Debate Team

I attended the impromptu debate /speech meeting that was held Thursday, February 3^rd, in room HSC 102 from 3:30-4:30. I am glad that I took time to attend this event because I am beginning to feel more confident in my own speaking capabilities by watching others. The event was very relaxed and was even entertaining. The floor was open up to anybody who desired to speak. A total of seven people spoke. Our guests, The Chinese Debate Team, had three members (one boy and two girls) and a coach (who was also a woman), but only the two girls had the urge to speak. Even our President, Dr. Castleberry spoke! Each person that chose to speak had 2-4mins to give an impromptu speech on a random topic were given. Kay, the first Chinese student that went, was the winner of the event. She spoke about Chinese food vs. American food. She was very confident and both her poise and her language that she used. She was also very funny in the way that she described “American Chinese food.” Another thing that I noticed is that she incorporated some funny personal stories into her two minute speech. In doing this she was able to draw the audience in (at least me anyway). James is a Northwest student and I think that he did a wonderful job in delivering a concise, funny speech. His topic was “Roommates from hell.” With this topic he was able to make his speech delivery very personal which made his speech that much more interesting to listen to. He also did a good job at projecting his voice and making good eye contact with the audience. Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, Joe Castleberry also got the courage to deliver a speech, his topic was “ghosts I would like to meet.” With his speech, Dr. Castleberry had a lot of good, solid facts to support his point and also gave examples of what he was talking about. He talked to us about how he would like to meet the ghost of Gorge Washington. Even if you had no idea who George Washington was, after listening to Dr. Castleberry talk for a couple minutes you would know because he did a very good job at educating his audience. He also used repetition in his wording which helped engrave in me the main points of his speech. He also shared a joke that got a good laugh out of the audience, which is a wonderful way to engage your audience. He also used his hands to help the audience further visualize what he was talking about.

All in all, I am glad that I took the time to attend this event. I feel like by attending these events, I am able to further build confidence and also further understand the correct way to deliver a speech. My goal by attending these events is to become a better public speaker by learning from those who do it best.