The passionate tones of a person trying to get their point across. The smiling and nodding coach, admiring the fruits of the speaker’s labor. The judges looking at the most minute details, finding ways to take or give points in the little things.
This, in a nutshell, is speech team.
“You can be who you are in speech,” said senior Sergio Salgado.
In speech, Salgado most enjoys going to competitions. He has been in speech for two years and this year he is doing a speech category similar to acting, called storytelling.
“It’s a lot like theater,” Salgado said. “You’re graded on performance.”
This year, he’s partnering with senior Nick Bera, in the duo category. Bera and Salgado will reenact a scene, relying on each other’s performance, as they will be scored as a team.
There is a lot involved in being a part of the speech team. The speaker begins by selecting a category. Based on the selected category, the speaker selects the topic they want to speak about. With the topic selected, the speaker moves on to write the speech or select the poem, story or speech that they want to reiterate. Upon completion of the speech, practice begins. The bulk of the preparation time is spent on practicing the speech.
“I try to embody myself in my characters,” Salgado said of story telling. “I try to become the prince, or the old lady.”
According to Salgado, speech isn’t just an individual competition.
“I feel like we’re a family,” Salgado said. “We strive to represent ALHS and not ourselves.”
Social Studies teacher Jim Haney is the coach for speech team and has been for five years, with some previous experience as an assistant coach. He said there is a lot to learn in speech, and it is a life skill.
“That skill will take you so far,” Haney said.
This skill is, in effect, speaking, which is used in almost any job. The essence of speaking is interaction, whether with a crowd or with individuals, and interaction is done on a daily basis.
Haney minored in speech in college, so when the team found itself without a coach, he volunteered. Haney thinks speech is very important, and said he applies the skills learned in speech in his everyday teaching. Haney mentioned some of his favorite speeches. One mentioned speech was on child abuse by Sarah Estes (2010 graduate), and another speech mentioned was called the “Rabbit Report” done by Janet Lawler (2010 graduate).
According to Haney, the strongest characteristic he looks for in a speaker is someone who is competitive. Speech, like almost any extracurricular activity, is a competition, and will require challenging oneself and others.
Many things are experienced in speech that the average student is unaware of. Speech is a lot more than public speaking; it’s learning a skill you will use for the rest of your life.