Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld put it best when he explained this odd phenomenon,, “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Look, I get it speaking in front of people can be scary. Nobody wakes up and knows how to public speak, it is not a skill that comes naturally, but it is such an important skill. The only way to ever get better at a subject is, practice. This is not a new and crazy phenomenon right? In our sports and music classes that is the one consistent motto our coaches and teachers preach. Public speaking is no different.

Now enter debate and speech. Debate has existed as an activity since 1925 and is the Minnesota State High School League’s oldest event. With all of this in mind I have broken down a top 10 reasons you should join speech and debate…

10. You meet so many new people. And I am not talking about just the kids at Blaine. I have met so many interesting people from other schools and still keep in contact with them. It’s definitely weird at first, competing against a new friend, but you get over it quick.

9. Travel to cool places. This is the first year Blaine will be taking kids to Harvard University for a competition. You also get to travel to even cooler places such as, Fargo! Kids lucky enough to qualify to nationals travel with the team to foreign places such as Indiana and Kansas, I know sounds exciting.

8.  The trophies. This may sound a bit shallow, but I am not ashamed to admit I like my trophies. Every week you have the opportunity to win one of your own. Yes, learning is important, but a shiny statue to prove your knowledge doesn’t hurt either.

7. You get to spend every day after school with Mr. Eichele. Now don’t let that poker face fool you, he is actually excited to have you on the team.

6.  Free Ice Cream. You heard me right. Every Year those who qualify to State earn themselves some free Ice Cream, oh yea!

5.  You get to wear an awesome suit every weekend. A suit is a powerful piece of clothing, put it on and you feel invincible. Plus, the looks you get from adults at post-tournament outings are always priceless.

4. You will impress your friends with your infinite knowledge of anything from Africa to the US criminal justice system to the NSA… I mean what NSA? You will never have to struggle over another research assignment for a class again; you will have already done the research for competition.

3. There have been a laundry list of celebrities involved in speech and debate including Oprah Winfrey and Stephen Colbert. Don’t you want to be as cool as Oprah and Colbert?

2. Debate is the number one activities colleges ask for because they know debaters have an edge when it comes critical thinking and problem solving.

1. Gives you skills for life. Confession time, I use to hate speaking in front of people and I avoided it all costs. Now, I love it. Speech and Debate has helped me so much with skills such as critical thinking, argumentation, and time management. These are skills that I know I will have with me for the rest of my life. And while yes it is pretty bittersweet to see my season come to an end, I am so thankful for everything I have learned these past four years. Maybe it’s a tad cheesy but I’m going to say it anyways, speech and debate has changed my life.

So if I have persuaded you over to our side stop by Mr. Eichele’s room, number 143. It is never too late to join.