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ness to take the feedback you receive to calm. As Joe and Barbie were developing
make your speech stronger. their speeches I shared what worked for me
and why.
As a mentor, it gave me the opportunity to
enjoy watching both Joe and Barbie com- Watch and learn from others
pete at each level. I knew all they put into
their speeches and watched them shine. I I attended all eight division contests. As a
couldn’t have been more proud, because I competitor you don’t really have time to
knew what it took for them to get there. do this because you’re working on your
speech. But as a mentor, I wanted to see
After the division contest, Joe went on to who the division winners were so I could
compete in the district contest. The district see what techniques they used to win. Of-
contest was a hybrid format, and Joe chose ten it was the word choice, gestures, or call
the opportunity to compete in person to action that made the difference and I
which hadn’t happened for years. Showing could share that information.
up in person takes a different type of cour-
age. I have competed in front of live audi- Make sure your feedback is helpful
ences in the past, and the dynamic is com-
pletely different.
When speeches are new, it’s easy to second
guess yourself. So when Joe and Barbie
Now that our contest season has ended, asked for feedback, I told them what stood
what I gained as a mentor by doing some- out and the areas they could strengthen.
thing else was amazing! Specifically, my
takeaways from this experience were: Because to only focus on improvements
can erode confidence. Over time, their
speeches naturally developed into their
Remember who is competing authentic message to share without being
weighed down by perfectionism.
This was hard at first, because of my ex-
citement for contests. But I soon realized Accentuate the positive
that any advice I gave to Joe and Barbie,
they had to decide if it worked for them. Joe gave his all at the district contest but
Because they were on the stage, not me.
It wasn’t my job to make them into clones didn’t officially place or win. But I still think
he won. Because he did his best and finished
of me, I was there to support their style so what he set out to do. He was a leader, had
they could do their best.
fun, and will always be the 2024 Division E
winner. Barbie also finished strong and won
Share insider information 2nd at the division level. Both Barbie and
Joe were rewarded for their efforts because
Every contest has specific rules which need they cared and faced the challenge head
to be followed, such as, timing and original- on. That’s a win in my book.
ity. But there’s also the other side of com-
peting, including, delivering a core mes- (continued on page 29)
sage, engaging the audience, and staying
Summer 2024 25
