The jocks of my day (1970s-1980s) were football players. They were the cool kids who walked on air through the hallways of school. Everyone wanted to be like the quarterback or wide receiver who scored the big touchdown in the last week’s game.
I train different kinds of “jocks,” and they are way cooler: speakers and debaters. And oh, my. Compared to football, this “academic sport” is much more rewarding. Nothing against young kids smashing helmeted heads against each other, if that’s your thing. I have higher aspirations for my kids, so I have them in speech and debate.
Speech and debate kids grow the most important skills of communication, leadership, and confidence that goes with them throughout their lives. I could boast all day long on the success of my kids and my students, how they were accepted into top colleges, earned thousands in scholarships, breezed into top-paying jobs, and are today’s executives and business owners. As a teacher and coach, it is tremendously rewarding to see how speech and debate kids are “a head above the rest,” in school and beyond.
But it’s overwhelming, isn’t it? Speech and debate is an entire world of rules, events, tournaments, organizations, leagues, and all-new vocabulary to study and understand. My bookshelves are loaded with thick textbooks and source material that dig deep into the complexities of competition. Learning speech and debate is like learning a whole new language! To someone just entering, speech and debate is a confusing mess.
I have been in the middle of the speech and debate world for nearly 30 years. I have run clubs, taught classes, hosted camps, and directed tournaments. I’ve actually read all those books on my bookshelves, making speech and debate my life study. It has paid off handsomely, having the privilege of coaching national champions, some my own children. You should see my trophy shelf! It literally stretches from one end of my house to the other, a proud display of years of hard work in academic speech and debate.
You see, I don’t think the world of speech and debate should be overwhelming. It should be rewarding! It’s hard work, sure, just like any sport, but the pathway to success isn’t complicated. Entering into the wonderful world of speech and debate is easy.
Hence the title of my newest book, Easy Entry to the World of Speech and Debate. If you’re someone who wants to enter into this world, my book lays out the pathway in an easy-to-understand format, answering the myriad questions you have, and probably offering much that you didn’t even think you needed to know. The book’s purpose is simple: make your entrance into the world of speech and debate EASY.
I’m super excited for the release of Easy Entry to the World of Speech and Debate. I hope you are, too! Ordering information will be posted soon, but you can preorder a free copy by joining my Patron Campaign (and joining gets you the best deal on the first shipment). I’ll be posting more in the coming days…posts that will keep making your competitive success easy!