Interps: Club Practice and Methods for Planning

By René Schiltz

Interp practices at club provide so many options.  When people ask me, “What is the best method for practicing and coaching interps at club?” I usually respond with something like, “Which month of the year?”  This may sound like a silly answer, but like all speech categories, interps begin with early adaptations and progress as feedback is given and weekly practice results in the final piece ready for the first tournament.

The first thing I will say is that all interps done by students who are members of a club should have his or her piece seen at club.  Occasionally, it seems an interp gets through to competition and no parental eyes have been on it.  I cannot speak to those not in a club allowing this to happen, as parents must decide what they feel is best (although not ever having seen your child’s interp or speech can result in a quick visit to compliance so I would encourage all parents to see them).  But at club there seems to be one particular member goal: the reason we are in a club is to get feedback on all of our speeches and debates.

Knowing that all students truly want good feedback before tournament season can drive club goals to create an organized way to achieve this. Below I am offering some tips from life experience as the leader of, or member of a club, as I have participated in both roles.  This feedback is for organization and planning as well as execution of time and coaching/feedback for interps during club time.

Sometimes, if there is only one or two students doing an interp I have noticed that without prioritization, they can fall through the cracks.  Even if only one student is doing an interp, following this plan will help them get the feedback they need.

Club leaders usually plan every moment of club time with the best of intentions.  But before you can plan, you need to know how much time is needed for each interp.  And that is the biggest challenge from week to week.

Whether a small or large club, the fact is that interps require time for workshopping. Planning time to actually coach and give feedback on interps is challenging; each week you may not know how much time you will need with each person or team. Of course duos take more time because there are two students involved.

I have noticed many clubs offer the following weekly method for the practice of all speech types:

1. The student enters the room and performs the speech

2. Parents take notes

3. Parents give 5-6 minutes of total feedback 

4. Students move to the next room

Total time elapsed for the speech: 15 minutes

Focused time on feedback: 5-7 minutes (depending on length of speech)

Practice time applying the feedback in the moment: zero

The students listen to the feedback but often do not get to apply it immediately because there is no more time.  They go home and if they did not write down the feedback they may not remember all of it, especially if they gave three speeches and got three different rooms of feedback.  In addition, the motivation to practice in front of judges is usually higher than in front of the mirror, or even mom or dad.

This seems to be a standard method for practicing at club and many clubs use it.  But there are other ways to practice at club that do provide time for applying the feedback and putting it to immediate use. 

I call it the group workshop method.  The easiest way to teach is a classroom setting where as you work with one student the other students watch and can then apply the teaching to their own speeches. In addition, the younger students are seeing and hearing the older and likely more experienced students give their speeches.  This helps the younger students see and hear speeches that demonstrate the goals they are working toward.

As I teach camps and use this method, I don’t get much push back from students as I ask them to come forward and workshop a skill using their interp piece.  And what is pretty exciting is when they try their scene initially, then we give them some feedback and they try it again, the audience (their peers) love it when they have a breakthrough and a performance improves.  Ballot items like tempo, articulation, and characterization that are not currently as effective as they could be are workshopped and the spectators watch; learning and thinking about how to apply the skills in their own pieces.  So now I may not have to work as long with each of the following students, because as they watch they learn and apply the techniques as they are workshopped.

There is nothing more wonderful than your peers cheering for you as you achieve a goal.  Workshopping builds team spirit and generosity.

I am aware that some students just have some anxiety about getting up at the beginning of their speech and debate experience.  If that is you, I want to encourage you and tell you that your club is the safest place to be vulnerable.  The people there are cheering for you and they care about you.  Nowhere else have I seen such love when it comes to getting up and trying something new like this, and having people love you and share with you ways to improve while at the same time celebrating your bravery as you make the effort. To deny yourself this experience is something I would encourage you not to do.  My own son had a few moments of tears when he first began speaking - and he will tell you now that speech and debate helped develop the skills he values today.  And you know what?  He is now teaching others these amazing skills and helping them overcome their fears and tears!

The following charts may help you see the stages interps go through during the practice and competition season, and how clubs can work with them over the course of the year. The first chart is based on the traditional room method, followed by a chart showing ideas for the workshopping method.

Tournament Room Method

Early Fall - Bits and Pieces	15 minute slots.  Feedback given. Any time left over is not always utilized.
Mid-fall - First full draft	15 minute slots. Feedback given. Most of the time is used for each competitor.
Late fall - Final draft	15 minute slots. Feedback given in a rush as very little time for it. Sometimes not enough time for details.

Workshopping Method

Early Fall - Bits and Pieces	30-45 minutes. 3-4 Interps per room. Weekly goal:  choose one ballot section (example: weeks 1-2 are “Content”) 2-4 parents present to give feedback.	Work the first interp: students perform some of what they have, not all. This is scene work. Students will begin and you will stop them when the story is unclear or confusing. Ask questions about the story. Explain your confusion. Make suggestions regarding ballot points. Have them try again using the same part that was confusing and see if it improves. Continue working the scene to achieve a better result. 5-10 minutes of working the scene using the feedback should result in improvement. Bring up the next interp and work the issues related to their content. It may be similar or different than the first one. Everyone is learning as they watch others learn and can go home and work to improve.
Mid-fall - First full draft	30-45 minutes.  2-3 Interps per room.  2-4 parents giving feedback.	Now it’s time to watch more of the piece or a different scene, maybe even the entire piece. The story should be coming through better. It’s time to focus more on cohesiveness and consistency - so you may find this time devoted to characterization and blocking. Again, after seeing the whole piece once, and only if it is 9-10 minutes (meaning getting closer to tournament ready - not 12-15 minutes long because there are so many rough spots) write down any feedback and choose a scene to workshop the ballot issue in question. That first time watching the 10 minute piece might mean less time to workshop that day, but it is important to occasionally see how the whole thing is coming together. Students who are used to this method may come in with a section and questions about how effective it is.  This is the goal because students are now focused on being effective communicators rather than choosing blocking and characterization that is fun or cool or their own idea of what they think is effective. Instead they desire to learn what actually effectively influences the audience.
Late fall - Final draft	Now it is time to switch to the tournament room method. I recommend 20 minute rotations the first few weeks. Many speeches may still require a few minutes of application of feedback.	Students should perform the entire piece and listen to feedback. A short workshopping of a short section to apply the feedback can be done, but there isn’t much time. You have developed a system and practice that will allow students at this point to better take the feedback and know how to apply it.  You can always schedule a once a month workshopping club day if it is still needed.

These methods can work as clubs plan from week to week who will speak or workshop in what room at a certain time.  Rotate weekly or monthly through all of the parents so students get the benefit of everyone’s feedback.  Not exposing interps to all of the parents at club can mean frustrating results on the ballots.  All people do not like the same things.  So find out at club if the interps have a universal appeal and if not, figure out how to help the students there.

Now we all know the best laid plans sometimes fail here and there; student and/or parent absences affect the plan as in-the-moment re-arranging is not ideal but is sometimes required due to absences.  When clubs make parents aware of this problem and emphasize attendance, you get the best results. Students who tend to be absent more often may find themselves in front of the same judges as the last time they attended club - this can be due to them missing a judge rotation.  But this cannot be helped.  Absences mean that potentially fewer judges will see you practice at club.

As you plan for the upcoming year, keep in mind as you plan to review interps at club that the best help happens when students can apply feedback immediately and try again.  Consider giving the workshop method a go to see if students will enjoy learning from the seats and practicing their interps with a bigger audience at club.  Whichever method you choose, I wish you all the best as the stories emerge and the audiences are captivated by the impact of the interp.