extracurricular

Speech and Debate is an activity that I have really loved for my entirety of being at Jackson High School. However what really makes my speech and debate career unique to others, is how I have intertwined JAGS with the speeches that I have given. I am in international Extemporaneous Speaking, also known as IX or International Extemp.

In International Extemp, students are given three questions about international current events and given 30 minutes to create a seven-minute speech answering the chosen question. Students may review materials and evidence gathered before to the competition, as well as utilize the Internet for preparation. Topics span from country-specific concerns to regional challenges to foreign policy. I picked International Extemporaneous Speaking because I was curious about what was going on in countries other than the United States. Nobody tends to care about what occurs in other nations. That is why I selected IX over USX: it allows me to enlighten people about what is going on outside of the United States.

Finding a means to address and clarify a complicated issue in seven minutes is one of the most difficult problems. While I understand the subject well, it has been difficult to condense hours of reading and research into a seven-minute speech. But, this aligns with the ISSN goal of communicating ideas. It is rather simple in the sense that it is the most basic way to deliver a message. but the spoken word is still heavily effective.