Wake Forest National Early Bird Preview

by Rohan Bhargava

Rohan Bhargava competed for Jackson High School in Massillon, Ohio. He was last year’s runner up at Wake Forest, a semifinalist at The Glenbrooks, and an invitee to the Montgomery Bell Academy Round Robin. Rohan was the Ohio State Runner Up in 2008 and the State Champion in 2009 and 2010 in international extemp. He broke three consecutive times at NFL Nationals, finishing twelfth in 2009 and third last season. Rohan will attend Princeton University this fall to pursue a degree in molecular biology with a certificate in finance.

Welcome to the start of the 2010-2011 Forensics Season! For me, Wake was always the first tournament I attended each year, and I really enjoyed all aspects of it. The campus, the competitors, and of course, late night food runs really make it a memorable experience. I hope to point out some strategies and secrets that will help make Wake Forest a successful and enjoyable tournament for you. More importantly, most of the concepts I will discuss are applicable to other tournaments as well, so use them!

Because Wake Forest is so early in the year, it will probably be the first tournament most extempers attend. Given this, it is important to dedicate a significant amount of time replenishing your (probably) depleted/out of date files. In addition, keep in mind that extemp at Wake Forest is “mixed extemp.” For competitors from districts like mine, which differentiate between domestic and international extemp, that means ensuring you have material that adequately covers both areas. In terms of filing, try to vary your sources as much as possible. Obviously, drawing from major sources like The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, and The Economist is a given. However, try to include more specific, regional sources as well. On the domestic side, these could be newspapers like The Denver Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, etc. For the international questions, regional sources to cite could include Der Spiegel, The Singapore Strait Times, The Latin American Herald Tribune, etc. To induce even more source variety (and really gain a broader grasp of the topics) into your speeches, delve into the world of think tanks and journals. The Council on Foreign Relations, The Center for Strategic and International Studies, and The Cato Institute all provide very good in depth analysis on a variety of topics. Prominent journals to peruse include Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and the Washington Quarterly. Obviously, if you are just beginning your extemp career, don’t feel pressed to include complex articles from all these sources. Focus on the big issues instead of wasting your time trying to understand, say, microeconomic problems in Burundi. In my experience, the questions at Wake are similar to, or a bit easier, than those written at most national circuit tournaments. At the very least, make sure your files on the mid-term elections, Afghanistan, and other such hot button issues are up to date and highlighted.

In addition to revamping your files, I strongly suggest you practice delivering as many speeches as possible prior to the actual tournament. Because Wake is usually the first tournament of the season, many extempers realize midway through their initial speech (as I did) that summer has deteriorated their fluency and analysis significantly. Don’t be that extemper. Instead, focus on bringing your speaking skills back to (or perhaps above!) their pre-summer levels. Give speeches to anyone that will listen: your coaches, your teammates, or even your parents. Ask them to point out any recurring issues that are most likely related to a lack of practice (e.g. bad gestures, wavering eye contact, etc). Keep in mind that at Wake Forest, a significant portion of your judges will favor delivery over analysis, simply because the tournament uses the entire IE pool for extemp. Thus, focusing on fluid, concise delivery could really make a difference between the one and the two. This is not to say you should skimp on your analysis; on the contrary, work on simplifying your reasoning so as to make it accessible for the judge to understand. To me, being an effective extemper really isn’t about how much you comprehend the intricacies of a topic – it’s about how easily you can teach those very topics to a parent that has no background knowledge of the issues at hand.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the tournament itself. The preliminary rounds as well as the semifinal round should be held at North Forsyth High School, while the final round is usually in nice looking lecture hall on Wake’s campus. The prep room at North Forsyth is an auditorium, which means plenty of physical space to walk around in and arrange tubs, but very little actual writing room. In terms of timing, Wake Forest has a schedule different from most other major tournaments. You’ll have only one prelim round on Friday, followed by three more on Saturday. The semifinal will be held on Saturday evening, and the final round on Sunday morning. My advice is to pace yourself. Saturday can be a very long day, especially for those who eventually break into the semifinal round. Make sure you get plenty of rest on Friday and Saturday evening, and you eat during the day. As much as I love free hotel breakfast, it simply isn’t enough to tide you through a long day of competing. Carry a snack with you, as the cafeteria sometimes stops serving at the most inconvenient times. Keep your eye on the schedule, especially because draw times can often change (after all, this is a speech tournament!). Don’t put too much pressure on yourself – remember that this is just the first tournament of a long season. Finally, don’t be intimidated by any “name dropping” that goes on in the prep room. There will be accomplished extempers at Wake Forest, and some of them will pontificate upon their lengthy accomplishments. Ignore it. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that focusing on others gets you nowhere. Just relax and concentrate on doing your best – the rest will take care of itself.

My last piece of advice is the most important: have fun! Walk around Wake’s beautiful campus, introduce yourself to other competitors, and appreciate the fact that you get to skip school and spend a weekend with some of your closest friends doing something you enjoy. For me, Wake Forest entailed a nine hour drive with my teammates, late night taco bell (which I strongly encourage, minus the late night part), and playing Frisbee on the quad. I met a multitude of new people, several of whom I remain close friends with to this day. Appreciate the fact that you get to do extemp, the coolest category around. Relax and enjoy yourself; hopefully, Wake Forest will be one of the fondest memories of your speech career. I wish you all the very best with the tournament and the rest of the 2010-2011 season!

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