Yale Champion and NSDA Finalist Interview with Chase Harrison (Part One)

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Chase Harrison competed for Millburn High School in New Jersey.  He was the 2011 Yale Invitational winner and a two-time finalist at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament in United States Extemp (2012 and 2013).  He also qualified for the Exhibition Round at the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin two times and was a three-time runner-up at the Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University.  Last fall, Chase became the youngest person elected to a public office in New Jersey history by winning a one-year term on the Millburn Board of Education.

Chase decided to sit down and talk with Extemp Central about his career, future plans, and what made him a successful competitor on the national circuit.

Chase, thank you for sitting down to talk with Extemp Central readers and congratulations on another exciting season.

Thanks, Logan! I’m always excited to talk about my career and the event in general.

Explain to us your role on the Millburn Board of Education. How is that working out?

I am one of the nine members of the Millburn Board of Education, a position I won in November. We provide oversight and policy guidance to the Millburn School District. I sit on the Property and Finance Committees, so I work to maintain the school facilities and craft our nearly 80 million dollar budget. I am also working on writing and promoting policies to help mitigate our district’s high levels of stress and anxiety among students. Much of my campaign was focused on student issues, and though I am no longer a high school student, I want to help advance this message throughout Millburn and beyond!

How did you first get involved with extemporaneous speaking?

I was majorly into theater throughout Middle School. However, when I lost my voice in 8th grade, I knew I had to pivot into a different activity, and Forensics fit everything I was looking for. I didn’t choose Extemp at first because I didn’t realize it was a speech event, so when I looked at the year’s schedule, I thought there were literally zero Extemp tournaments. After a few practices, I realized that Extemp was the blend of speech and debate I was looking for.

What was your first extemp speech on? Was it any good?

“Will Pakistan become a failed state?” I said yes. Obviously, it hasn’t come true.

I would end up giving a speech on a similar question in Harvard Quarterfinals my freshmen year. During the speech, I tripped over an audience member and fell. Cursed topic for me, perhaps.

What is your favorite source to cite? Are there any obscure sources out there that you were found of?

Anyone who’s seen me speak knows I always over-cited the New York Times. Despite their diabolical paywall, I always find their journalism to be engaging and digestible. In a 30 minute prep period, you need sources that you can use swiftly *cough 100 page journal articles cough*. I am firmly of the belief that it is the Extemper’s job to take facts, statistics, and anecdotes (not personal, of course) and synthesize them into an argument. I’m wary of Extempers who utilize a ton of incredibly technical sources and just parrot their analysis. The event isn’t about information recitation. It’s about using the tools and format of Extemp to help guide yourself and then your audience through the process of argumentation.

What source(s) do you think extempers should cut more from?

PRIMARY SOURCES. Don’t be afraid to cut government/ organization press releases reports or official websites. Using that information gives you so much more credibility than using any secondary source. For example, if you are talking about Medicare fraud, why use the Los Angeles Times to explain the US’s programs when you can quote stopmedicarefraud.gov?

What is the best extemporaneous speaking question that you ever drew? What is the worst?

I drew a question about Marijuana legalization in the MBA Exhibition Round my senior year. The round doesn’t count towards final placements, so I just had fun with the topic. There was a blazing amount of puns and a lot of weed jokes in the speech. Still, marijuana legalization and politics are fascinating to me, so I loved the question.

The worst was “Is socialism a bad word?”. If you say yes, does that mean you have to bleep-out the word each time you say it? #thanksobama

New Jersey extempers have done very well at national circuit tournaments for more than two decades now. Tell our readers about what New Jersey extemp is all about.

New Jersey is one NFL district. There aren’t that many schools in the league and all the schools are in a very concentrated area. Thus, the entire state is competing at every local. (We joke that States is just a glorified local). New Jersey has always had stellar extempers and when you are hitting these competitors every week, you all push each other to succeed. My freshman year, New Jersey had 7 Extempers make Quarterfinals or higher at Harvard. Each year since, New Jersey has continued to maintain an intense presence on the National Circuit because novice extempers are nurtured in this competitive yet extremely supportive environment.

What was the best advice you ever received in extemporaneous speaking? Where did you get this advice?

Distinguished extemp coach Beth Harrison (Read: My Mother). My junior year, I did not successfully defend my Yale title but still received 3rd place. In the final round, I gave a speech as Stephen Colbert, which was barely Extemp, but is still one of my favorite speeches I’ve ever given. My Mom reminded me that stockpiling trophies and titles was not nearly as important as giving speeches you and, hopefully, the audience enjoyed. Giving memorable speeches that challenge the bounds of what the event can be in terms of humor, advocacy, or scope of analysis is perhaps the best contribution you can make to Extemp.

Not being able to choose yourself, who you do think was the most distinguished extemper on the national circuit this year? Why?

Josh Wartel continued to prove he is one of the most consistent Extempers by placing in nearly every single major National Circuit tournament. I witnessed Josh give some of the most brilliant analysis I’ve ever seen in Extemp countless times. This season, Josh achieved the potential I and many others saw for him his Freshmen year. And based on what I’ve seen this summer, he will continue to climb.

Do any comments you have received on ballots over the years stand out to you (for good and bad reasons)? If so, what are they?

In an Oratory round: “You are an Extemper with the heart of an Interper”

Explain your development as a speaker. What were some of the biggest challenges and hurdles that you faced when trying to become a nationally recognized speaker?

My biggest challenge my first two years was establishing legitimacy. As a Freshman, I had a sky high voice and was under 5 feet. With my theatrical style, Judges struggled to believe what I had to say about current events. I had to cross-ex NFL Champion Dylan Slinger at the Extemp TOC my freshman year, and he was about 2 feet taller than me with a voice 2 octaves lower than mine. The judges literally laughed for a minute before the CX began because of the contrast.

In your opinion, what were your greatest strengths as a speaker? What were your biggest weaknesses?

Greatest Strengths: Wit, conversationality, ability to explain complex concepts concisely (Alliteration too, apparently)

Weaknesses: Taking miscalculated risks, being a polarizing speaker

Going into 2013-2014, what were your goals for the season?

This year was whirlwind for me. I had to apply for college, run for public office, and deal with senior living. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to devote the kind of time I would like to Extemp. So, my goal was to continue to use Extemp as my reprieve from the mundanity of high school and enjoy every tournament to its fullest. Ideally, I wanted to win one national title (I’ve gotten 2nd and 3rd at oodles of national tournaments). The trend continued, but I still felt like by the end of the season I left the mark I wanted on the Extemp world and was proud of what I accomplished.

Do you think it is somewhat harder to compete as a senior on the circuit knowing that every tournament you go to will be your last time attending that venue as a competitor?

I found it a bit distracting because sometimes I realized I was focusing on the experiences around a tournament (friends, location, food) rather than the competition itself because I really wanted to soak up my last year.

Part two of this interview will be posted tomorrow.