Hi, I am an undergrad student at Portland State University and former speech and debate finalist and coordinator at Crescent Valley High School. I started speech and debate when I was a freshman in high school. Since then I've instructed dozens of high school students in an after-school team setting. I became a captain of the team my senior year which is certainly when I went from instructing teammates in my areas of expertise to giving general instruction in all fields of speech and debate....
Hi, I am an undergrad student at Portland State University and former speech and debate finalist and coordinator at Crescent Valley High School. I started speech and debate when I was a freshman in high school. Since then I've instructed dozens of high school students in an after-school team setting. I became a captain of the team my senior year which is certainly when I went from instructing teammates in my areas of expertise to giving general instruction in all fields of speech and debate. Because speech and debate is so tied to politics, I scored a five on both the AP US History and AP US Government tests. In my senior year I won two state-level NSDA awards for reaching the finals and semi-finals of a speech and debate event. Since my sophomore year of high school I've been involved in theater both in high school and at PSU as both an actor and playwright. This is where my experience with body language comes from, while my speech and debate experience has given me understanding of argumentation and public speaking.
In my experience instructing high school students I’ve found the most common traits that impede communication are not being able to think on the fly, having trouble speaking within a time limit, and/or lacking confidence. My methodology for tutoring includes a focus on studying the science of communication and argumentation, and then practicing it with structured exercises used in actual competitive events such as impromptu speech rounds or policy debate structures. I judge improvement based on clarity, depth of arguments, and pacing of speech within a time limit. I know that someone is improving in their speech abilities when they are becoming a more clear, thoughtful, timely, and confident speaker. Each practice should be followed by analysis of what went poorly and what went well, followed by more doing as speech is behavioral. I am hoping to give my experience and knowledge, as well as see real change in your ability to communicate and discuss in your life. Communication really is key.
