By Tiffany N. Thompson
(PHAA 2000) [Copyright by the author]
Okay, breathe!! I internally screamed at myself. But my lungs refused
to cooperate, my breath came sporadically, and I could feel approximately 2
million odd butterflies trying to escape their captivity inside my stomach.
Mentally, I did a frantic scramble, desperately trying to remember who I was,
where I was, why I was here, and what I was about to do. Okay, name, Tiffany
Thompson, age seventeen. Day....um, December 4th 2000? My eyes were glued
to the young man after whom I was to speak. Place: Elverson Community Church
and I am about to stand up and deliver a speech on why the Sixteenth Amendment
should be repealed. Why am I doing this??! Before I could answer my own
question, the young man finished, sat down, and with an odd sinking feeling I
willed myself up out of the chair, and over to the podium. To this day I’m
still not exactly sure what I said, Time has kindly and mercifully blurred my
memory. But I do know this......I was lousy. My speech was taken up with
numerous eloquent and flowery “Ums” and “likes.” It was a grateful and much
humbled Me that slid into my seat after the end of the speech. That was
awful, terrible, humiliating! I berated myself. And yet I had submitted
willing to this public torture known as, debate. How am I ever going to
survive this day? My mind reflected back through the span of time to mid
September, the starting point of my debate experience.
When I arrived at the Communicators For
Christ conference 1999 I was, shall we say, less than enthusiastic. The only
reasons I had even considered coming were:
1.
My former drama teacher,
Mrs. Kuehne, and her daughter, Shaina were attending.
2.
My mother had ‘strongly
suggested’ I attend.
3.
And most importantly was
that each person was to dramatically present a piece of some kind.
Now, drama of any kind is near and dear to my
heart, hence, my presence at the conference. But I was suspicious and cautious.
The very mention of the word debate conjured up images of presidential
and political figures, waxing eloquent on abstract philosophies and mindless
rhetoric. Boring, long, and intimidating.
The rest, as they say, is history. I quickly
learned that debate was not as boring as it sounded, and could actually be fun.
Within weeks I was attending a local debate club, and the rest of my senior
year was spent traveling all over the state and country, just so I could to stand
up in front of people and humiliate myself some more. And I loved (almost)
every minute of it.
The world of public speaking which opened up
for me is truly one of the best things that happened to me. There were two main
ways in which it benefited me. The first area was confidence.
Through debate I was able to develop a confidence that up till that time I had
only had around my own family, or in drama class. It was the Jekyll under the
Hyde, so to speak. The wall flower coming off the wall. How shy and introverted
was I? So shy, I didn’t like calling the operator for directory assistance
because I wouldn’t know what to say.
The second area was
critical thinking. Suddenly I discovered that the organ known as the
brain had a purpose for something other than just doing my Algebra. I could use
it to research and speak intelligently on such complex topics as the income
tax. Debate stimulated my brain with such a rush of thinking, that soon I
couldn’t do without it, and the more I had, the more I realized I enjoyed and
wanted it.
So perhaps you are thinking at this point:
Okay this was great experience, but how is it going to help my kids? For a
moment, allow me to digress and relate some background information. This world
of debate and individual speaking events was brought about with the aid of
Michael Farris, former President of HSLDA , and his daughter, Christy Farris
Shipe. Looking for ways to further the skills of analytical thinking and
communication, they founded HSLDA policy debate, adding in later the individual
speaking events. Just this past year, due to the overwhelming response from the
homeschool world, it become a separate entity known as the National Christian
Forensics Communication Association (NCFCA), complete with competitions on
the local, state, and national level.
But returning to my main question: what will
public speaking do for your children? I will start with the assumption that you
desire that your children might be well-educated in life skills. And here lies
the basic and crucial point of debate. One of the most necessary life
skills is communication. Communication is a vital part of the workplace, the
home, and relationships. But let us make the distinction between ‘speaking’ and
‘communication.’ Webster’s dictionary defines ‘To speak’ as: “To utter
words.” ‘Communicate’ on the other hand is defined as: ‘To succeed in
conveying one’s meaning to others.’ We as humans have been speaking since Time
first began. It is an essential part of life and our society as a whole. But
what good will this skill be if it is not accurate? From the time they are
born, children learn to speak, but are they taught to communicate effectively,
and make others understand exactly what they have to say? If a child were
aquainted with only basic addition, would you consider him well-equipped in the
mathematics department? No, the skill would have to be refined further to be
put to any practical use in the adult world. The same is true of speech. With
only the basics an adult can survive, but he or she will not thrive, or be able
to impart their ideas and thoughts clearly.
This is the skill that NCFCA seeks to
develop-- to take the basics of speech, and through debate and individual
events, craft the skill of effective communication. Perhaps you might be
skeptical. “It might work for you, but MY child can hardly speak to strangers.”
Let me reassure you it is for precisely these type of children which public
speaking helps the most. I have seen young teenagers, hardly able to make eye
contact with me, transformed into confident, articulate young people. No, it
was not a miracle that took place overnight, but a process— a long, difficult,
at times even tearful, process. But in the end the new found confidence in
self, and the budding skills of communication, well outweighed the struggle.
For those of us who are Christians there is
an additional consideration. In the Bible it says: “Be ready to give an answer
for the hope that is in you.” Yet if we cannot communicate, we will be unable
to convey this hope, and thus we shall be ineffective witnesses.
So I would heartily urge those of you out
there to consider this worthwhile activity. The results will surprise even you.
In case you are wondering-- yes I did survive
my first debate tournament. Little did I know that day what lay ahead. The
experience I would gain, the confidence I would develop, and the friends I
would make across the country. The best was yet to come.
For those interested in more information,
visit the NCFCA website at www.ncfca.org.
Tiffany, a state and national award-winning
public speaker, is a graduate of PHAA 2000.
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