Members of the speech team said balancing schoolwork with practice was key to preparing for this competitive season.

The most recent competition the speech team attended was over Fall Break at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Edwyn Mitchell, a senior political science major and member of Eastern’s speech team, said he planned to compete in persuasive, impromptu and extemporaneous speech at Ball State.

He said practicing for this competitive season has been a lot of hard work, especially because this is his senior year.

It is important to dedicate just the right amount of time to his current schoolwork, planning for grad school and preparation for speech team, he said. 

“It’s just a bunch of stuff going on right now,” he said. “I’m just taking it day by day.”

Mitchell said even though balancing school and speech team is a challenge, the support he and the other members have make everything possible.

“I would say that we could not do anything that we’re doing without our speech coach Sara (Gronstal),” he said. “I couldn’t do anything without her.”

Cheyenne Flores, a senior theatre major and member of Eastern’s speech team who competed in prose and program oral interpretation at Ball State, said Gronstal plays a key role to the team’s success.

“She finds us suits, she finds us pieces (and) she gives us advice,” she said.

When it comes to managing stress before public speaking, Flores said choosing a subject for the speech that is important to the speaker is essential.

“Choose a topic you love. That’s my biggest advice for people,” she said. “I remember my freshman year choosing a topic I hated, and it just wasn’t successful. Choosing a topic you love that connects to you; it just makes it so much easier.”

Flores said practice is another crucial element to prepare for any speech, but practicing too much can actually harm the speech’s success.

A speech is successful if both the speaker and the listener see it as a conversation, Flores said. 

“Practice, but be casual about it. I know that’s a weird way to say it, but people take speeches a lot better if you’re talking to them like an equal,” she said.

After choosing the topic of a speech comes a great deal of research, which is necessary to having a powerful speech, Flores said. 

The amount of time it takes to create a successful speech can vary depending on factors of the person writing and speaking it, Mitchell said.

Some of these factors include work ethic, focus, how much work is being balanced in what areas and the time of the year the speech is being worked on to name a few, he said.

With all the time it takes to produce and perform a great speech for competition comes a lot of stress, but remaining positive is important to having a fulfilling spot on the speech team, Flores said.

“The reason I stay on this team is (because) the first thing Sara (Gronstal) told me was, ‘We’re a competitive team, but above anything else, we want to be the nicest team on the circuit,’” Flores said.

Additionally, something Mitchell said he has learned from competing on the speech team is that the awards are not as fulfilling as taking advantage of the opportunity to speak with others about important subjects.

“At the end of the day, I don’t care how I do,” he said. “In one hour, (I) hear five other different performers who are speaking about important research on important topics that (I’ve) never heard of.”

Flores said the information she learns from hearing different perspectives at speech competitions is one of the most rewarding aspects of being on the speech team.

“I learn more out of speech tournaments than a semester of class. It’s crazy,” she said.

Logan Raschke can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].