Hi everyone! I am so glad to be back again. In honor of school starting, I thought it would be great to post a forensics speech "how-to." If you didn't know, I am in my school's forensics speech team and usually compete in the categories poetry and prose. I have always loved public speaking since I was young, and so naturally, forensics became (and still is) a major part of my high school life.

Before I get into the details, I want to say that you don't always have to be a great speaker from the beginning. Forensics is a wonderful opportunity to improve your speaking skills. Even just watching other competitors can be a unique learning opportunity, as each performer brings their own distinct flavor to a piece. So, don't be scared or embarrassed to make mistakes in the beginning!

Finding Your Piece

When I first started forensics, one of the hardest tasks was finding a piece that fit the brief. By "brief" I mean the category you are competing in, and also how well a piece matches you. For example, if I were to compete in poetry, I would preferably choose a piece that is *longer and more serious/emotional since I am more of a dramatic reader. If you are better at humor, then I suggest you choose a piece that reflects your ability. In my first ever competition, I was so unsure of what kind of piece to do that I did a more classic one: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. This is undoubtedly a masterfully written poem, but now that I have seen others perform and been in the competition for a long time, I recommend choosing a piece that allows you to display a wider range of emotion.

Some websites that are popular amongst forensics competitors in the poetry and prose category are:

1. Button Poetry

Most of the pieces on button poetry are uploaded in video form, so here is a mini tutorial on how to get the transcript of the piece without having to listen and type everything the reader says down word for word.

*The transcript is not always accurate though, so make sure to go through the piece at least once so you can correct any errors.

       2. Poetry Foundation‍

3. ‍Poets.org

Don't forget that books are another fantastic option to finding pieces. Especially for prose, using books are a great way to curate your piece. Last year, I used a segment of the book Night by Elie Wiesel. I was so moved by the part where Juliek, the young violinst dies after playing his last piece. Here is a sneak peek:

"The darkness enveloped us. All I could hear was the violin, and it was as if Juliek's soul had become his bow. He was playing his life. His whole being was gliding over the strings. His unfulfilled hopes. His charred past, his extinguished future. He played that which he would never play again."

*Although I prefer using only one poem that fits into the 5-6 minute time limit, using multiple poems is definitely allowed as long as they are all related to each other.

Writing the Introduction

Every piece needs an introduction as they help the judges, who are only hearing your piece once, to understand the themes behind your pieces and why you chose them. I find that the judges appreciate an introduction that is clear and direct. Do not try to make it into some complex, beautifully written paragraph. Instead, be precise and to the point. Adding a personal aspect to your poem is definitely a bonus.

Here are two examples of my own introductions:

1) The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. ELIOT paints the image of loneliness and unrest as the times he is living in are shifting and losing sense of direction. By utilizing the concept of time, he entraps a moment where the clock is neither ticking in a certain direction. More spoken to his individual self than this so-called “J. Alfred Prufrock,” Eliot shows us the qualms of a man stuck between time and fear towards the real, ticking world.

2) Both written by Korean poets, Honey Nut Cheerios by Arpi Park and American Dream by Emily Jungmin Yoon, explore the struggles of americanization as a Korean and not knowing how one fits into society. Honey Nut Cheerios portrays the difficulties of fitting into American society as an Asian American in stark contrast to the caucasian majority, whereas American Dream focuses more on the difficulty of keeping in touch with one’s Korean roots. Though both ideas explore opposite perspectives, they mutually complement each other as they have an overarching theme of feeling out of place.

I realize that my examples do not have a personal aspect to them, so I'll give a brief idea of what a personal account would look like. One girl in my last competition chose a piece on gun violence, and she recalled a lockdown experience where a gunman came to her school in her introduction.

Interpretive Reading: Let's Break Down the Poem

Alas, here is my favorite part! How to read out your poem in a way that effectively communicates the poem's meaning.

To demonstrate my points clearly, I will give advice on one specific poem: Butterflies by Maia Mayor. For copyright reasons, I will only use certain stanzas. Click on the link above to see the full poem.

When I was little
I used to rip the wings off of butterflies so they would never leave me.
Crippled their beauty so they knew the hurt of being lonely.
And while the rest of the world flew by,
I watched as their broken bodies tried to fly without wings thinking
these were the things I'd take with me—
the lessons I'd learn in how to love you selfishly.

‍But still I was yours, fully and wholeheartedly
Still you were mine
And I would've spent centuries exploring the emptiness in your eyes,
letting gravity's relentless pull bring me closer to those black holes so dark
I'd see the reflection of heartache staring back at me.

First of all, TONE is a major part of what makes your reading expressive and powerful. To convey your tone, emphasize and read certain action words in ways that show the emotional connection behind a word. For example, when you read the words "rip," "crippled," and "broken," your voice should probably crack or tremble. In contrast, the words "flew," "fully," and "wholeheartedly" should be lengthened and said in a manner that is more lighthearted and passionate. If I were performing this poem, I would say the word "wholeheartedly" like w-h-o-l-eheartedly, emphasizing the wholeness of the term. Make sure you also have the right pitch when reciting your poem. For example, when reading aloud more emotional and dark parts of a poem, I would lower my pitch to bring a depth to my voice.

You have to feel what you are saying. Words are there for a reason, and as an interpretive reader, your job is to translate the meaning of the poem through your recitation.

Another important aspect is the RHYTHM AND BEAT of the poem. Often there are youtube videos or recordings of the piece (read by the writer), so you should check these out and listen carefully to how the piece you've chosen is read by other people. I find it tricky to perfectly figure out the rhythm of pieces by myself, so these recordings are really helpful. However, when I can't find a pre-recorded version, I try to read the piece aloud several times to naturally figure out the rhythmic pattern.

I usually don't focus on the rhythm too much though, because I find that overly emphasizing the rhythm can be a distraction to my performance. When your main focus is on the rhythm, you may fail to fully translate the message/meaning of your poem to the judges.

Finally, the SPEED and VOLUME at which you read your piece is also something to think about. Does a particular line or stanza in the poem feel desperate? Or calm? For the poem Butterflies, I would quicken and raise my volume slightly when saying the lines "I used to rip the wings off of butterflies so they would never leave me. Crippled their beauty so they knew the hurt of being lonely" because the words reflect a mix of anger and sadness. Usually, when people are angry or upset, they talk more loudly and rapidly. In contrast, I would slow down when saying "But still I was yours, fully and wholeheartedly Still you were mine" because these lines reflect bittersweet longing.

Hand Gestures

What are hand gestures for? Hand gestures are motions to aid your interpretive reading, and give the judges some imagery that lines up with your piece.

Although hand gestures seem simple enough, you could easily jeopardize your performance by going overboard with too many hand gestures or by lacking hand gestures. For example, I have been told that my abundant hand gestures were distracting to my performance. To avoid this, you should practice your hand gestures in the mirror multiple times to see what works for you and your poem.

I think the best hand gestures are the ones that reflect power words in your piece. For example, if you have the word "bang" in your piece, you could create a gun shape with your hand.

Timing is also really important with hand gestures. You should always ask yourself: Why am I putting in a hand gesture at this moment? Imagine how awkward it would be if you did the gun hand motion several seconds after you said the word "bang." The word and your motion would not align, and would probably confuse the judges.

To really ace your hand gestures, try to be as subtle and smooth with them as possible. Think about choreographing a dance routine, except with your hands.

_____________________

Thanks so much for reading, and I genuinely hope you guys can learn a lot about forensics speech (prose and poetry) through my tips, and even feel motivated to try out interpretive reading! I wanted to make this blog post more about skills behind being a good interpretive reader so I didn't focus as much on the forensics rules (especially since the rules may be different depending on the competition). If you would like me to elaborate on  KAIAC forensics speech rules though, please send me a DM through instagram @nhighteaters. Lots of love, Nicole. xx.

One last tip: a great way to improve your performance is to videotape yourself. That way, you can analyze yourself and pinpoint which areas need help.