NFL Champion Interview with Ashesh Rambachan (Part One)

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Ashesh Rambachan competed for Eastview High School (MN) and was the 2012 NFL National Champion in International Extemporaneous Speaking.  Ashesh was also the runner-up in International Extemporaneous Speaking at the 2011 and 2013 NFL national tournaments and was a semi-finalist in that category his freshman year.  In fact, since the inception of the United States Extemp/International Extemp category split, no extemper has had a better three year record at the NFL National Tournament than Rambachan.  Ashesh is also the only extemper in the history of the NFL National Tournament to win consecutive final round national championships in the same extemporaneous speaking category (2012 & 2013).  Ashesh was the runner-up at the 2012 NCFL Grand National Tournament and was a two-time Minnesota state champion in extemporaneous speaking (2012 & 2013).  Ashesh agreed to sit down with Extemp Central for a two part interview to share his thoughts on extemporaneous speaking, reflect on his career, and provide advice to future extemporaneous speakers.

Your family has quite the pedigree in extemporaneous speaking (Editor’s Note:  Ashesh’s sister Ishanaa won IX in 2004 and his brother Akshar won IX in 2008). Did you know from a young age that you would eventually be doing this event in high school?

When I was in elementary school, I would go to speech tournaments to support my siblings, but I never really understood what was going on. Back then, I thought I wanted to play baseball in high school. By the time I was freshman, I became fascinated by extemporaneous speaking and I realized I was not very athletic.

Minnesota has had a long stretch of success in extemp on the national circuit, notably starting with Kevin Troy winning NFL Nationals in United States Extemp in 2003. Why do you think the state has had this level of success?

I think there are two reasons. First, the local extemp circuit in Minnesota emphasizes a unique, teaching style. This means that to be successful in Minnesota, it’s not enough to be the smartest or the most well read person in the round. You have to be an accessible, down-to-earth and engaging speaker. I believe that style appeals to a wide-audience, leading to success at the national level. Also, the level of competition pushes us all to be better. My freshman year, I remember that the final round at the state tournament had 5 extempers, who went on to break to semifinals or final round at NFL Nationals. When I was a sophomore, every week at a tournament ten minutes away from my home, I had the opportunity to compete against Dylan Slinger. That high-quality competition pushed me to be better and provided me with invaluable experience.

One of the most impressive parts of your speaking style was that it was very conversational. How did you master this style?

Repetition. Being more conversational and engaging is something my coach and I worked on throughout my entire career. The key for me was to build up a large knowledge base. The more comfortable I was with a topic, the more comfortable I felt when speaking. My coach and I would also record speeches and watch them. Hearing and seeing myself speak made it easy for me to know what I had to improve upon.

During your time competing, what was your favorite tournament to attend? Is there a tournament you wish you could have attended and did not?

I loved NFL Nationals. The format of the tournament is fantastic. The people running the tournament are incredibly friendly and it is an amazing opportunity to spend time and bond with teammates. I wish I could have attended the Montgomery Bell Academy Round Robin. It sounds like a really competitive atmosphere and a great way to start off the extemp season.

You have an uncanny track record at NFL Nationals in your four years there, with a semi-final, two runner-up finishes, and a national championship in International Extemp, arguably the stronger of the two categories. What helped you get through the grueling nature of the NFL tournament and what advice can you give to others who wish to have your success at this tournament?

That is the perfect description of NFL Nationals. It’s grueling and it’s a grind. If you make it to semifinals, you give twelve speeches over three days. I’m not sure there is any way to prepare for that. To be successful, you need to find a way to decompress and relax between rounds and at the end of the day. If you are always worrying about the next topic area or obsessing over your last speech, you will be too stressed to compete at a high level. The most important reason I was successful was my coach and teammates. Because of them, I had friends to discuss my last round with, but more importantly, I had friends that could, for lack of a better word, “distract” me. We could talk about sports, TV, movies- pretty much anything that wasn’t extemp related. In the evenings, we would go play ultimate or football. So, that’d be the best piece of advice I can give for NFL Nationals- find a way to relax.