Why You Should Do Speech & Debate in High School

Ever since middle school, I've participated in Speech & Debate, also called Forensics. 5 years later, I'm so glad that I chose to do this extracurricular. But what is it, really?

Forensics is a high school (and sometimes college) extracurricular club, focused on oral presentation in varying forms. There are generally two sides: people who interpret a previously written work, and people who create and perform some form of original content (be it their own poetry, radio show, or debate). I personally participate in poetry, where I pick out a group of similar poems, and then interpret and perform them.

When I started forensics in seventh grade, I was incredibly shy--I was a smart kid, but I wasn't bold enough to ever really express my opinions! For the first two years or so in forensics, I was constantly being told to be louder. It is very apparent to me that being in an extracurricular that teaches me how to speak helped me not only with being more outgoing, but also with school projects and being a leader in groups!

You'd also be quite surprised how many kids do forensics; my school is one of the smallest teams in the state, with about 8-10 kids who regularly perform during the season. However, there are some schools that are huge, with like, 40-80 kids on any given team! I'm not the most personable while at meets, but if you're the type of person who likes to talk and meet people, forensics definitely has lots of people who are like-minded!

I have also found forensics a really creative way to express my thoughts and opinions. In poetry especially, people often perform about things that they care about--things like feminism, patriotism, politics. People in debate can talk about current events. People in informational can talk about a topic they're passionate about. Basically, if you want to talk about a subject you really care about, forensics is a really easy place to do that!

All in all, I wouldn't trade my forensics experience for anything. Even though our team is small, we really are a family, and being in forensics has taught me so much, recreationally, personally, and professionally! If you're looking for a fun extracurricular (maybe even just one to put on your college apps), this one is definitely a great and exciting options! If you've done forensics ever before, feel free to post in the comments telling me how it was for you!

Kekai