NSDA National Champion Interview with Laurel Holley

Laurel Holley competed for Riverside High School in Greenville, South Carolina. She was the 2021 NSDA U.S. Extemp National Champion, 2021 Ronald Reagan Great Communicator Debate Series National Champion, two-time South Carolina state champion in Extemporaneous Speaking and Impromptu Speaking, and a two-time NSDA Nationals finalist. Laurel will be attending Duke University in the fall, where she will study public policy, global health, and Chinese.

Laurel agreed to sit down with Extemp Central to talk about her road to the NSDA National Championship and what advice she would give current extempers.

Logan Scisco:  First Laurel, congratulations on winning the 2021 NSDA National Tournament and navigating a difficult season!

Laurel Holley:  Thank you so much! It’s been a wild ride, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Scisco:  What drew you to extemporaneous speaking? Who got you involved in this event and was it the first event you picked up or was your initial interest in doing something else?

Holley:  I started extemp my sophomore year, after a freshman year of jumping around. Freshman year, I did Declamation, Impromptu, Informative, Congress, and Lincoln Douglas – I really wanted to be an LD debater. But my mentor, who got me into Speech and Debate in the first place, Julia Murray, was an extemper. She pushed really hard for me to try out extemp. I started it at my second sophomore year tournament and have competed in it ever since! I love it because it’s always changing. The world is always changing, and extemp keeps you aware, informed, and in-touch.

Scisco:  At what moment did you start to feel like extemporaneous speaking was something you could excel at? What gave you confidence?

Holley:  The first time that extemp clicked for me was November of my sophomore year when my ExtempGenie started working properly! My laptop had a very, very limited amount of storage, so my articles wouldn’t file properly. But right before November, I just wiped my laptop memory and started fresh. That did wonders. But having access to quality sources definitely wasn’t all. I began to feel truly confident in myself towards the end of junior year, when I was finally understanding what “analysis” really means for an extemper. It’s constantly asking yourself “why, why, why?” and not being afraid to draw your own conclusions.

Scisco:  What was your biggest struggle as an extemporaneous speaker? How did you work to overcome it?

Holley:  Going off of that, my biggest struggle was – and still is – analysis. At first, I stuck to quoting the conclusions that articles made, which really doesn’t get you far. And I stayed doing that for about a year and a half.  It took consistent work with my coaches and the older members of my team for me to first recognize my problem, and second, to actually do something about it. Listen to your coaches and peers! When I learned to only use articles for their facts, and let my brain explain the “so what” behind it all, that was when I started to improve. The beauty of extemp is that YOU get to draw the conclusions and tell your judge why it matters.

Scisco:  Riverside High School has been one of the strongest extemp programs in South Carolina for a long time. What do you credit this level of success to?

Holley:  I absolutely have to credit it to our coach-alumni network. Mr. Dejesa and Mr. Cook, coaches of the program for over 10 years now, provide a surreal mix of political knowledge and analytical techniques. They’re incredible. They’re also extremely dedicated to bringing back our past alumni from all sorts of events – OO, Extemp, LD, everything. When current students in the program, like me, get to learn from people who’ve excelled in speaking, emoting, and arguing, it creates the perfect skill set for extempers.

Scisco:  For readers who may not be familiar with your area, talk about the South Carolina extemp circuit. How would you characterize it?

Holley:  South Carolina is a small, traditional extemp circuit. Our local tournaments have about 10-12 competitors, which makes the community extremely tight-knit. By traditional, I mean that our circuit places a lot of emphasis on citing your sources and drawing fact-based conclusions that are as objective as possible. What makes me really excited is how we’re evolving to also include an element of performance: human interest intros or comedic intros, and purposeful transitions between points. I love the direction that South Carolina extemp is headed.

Scisco:  If you had to characterize your style of extemporaneous speaking, how would you do that? Do you credit any particular individuals with helping you develop this style?  If so, who?

Holley:  My style is grounded in human interest and a healthy dose of optimism. I’ve never been a very funny person, so where I really found my niche was telling people’s stories. Extemp is a public speaking event! It has so much power to influence people’s views on life. In the second round of Nats semis, as well as Nats finals, I took the opportunity to share the stories of families who had lost loved ones due to COVID-19, highlighting structural vulnerability in the American healthcare system. With such an incredible platform at NSDAs, it was important to me that I raise awareness about America’s problems – and also what we need to do to solve them. That’s the optimism.

My human interest focus is largely thanks to Mr. Dejesa and Mr. Cook. I competed in Declamation and OO throughout my years in speech and debate as well, and Mr. Cook really helped me develop myself as a storyteller who isn’t afraid to be vulnerable and bold. They taught me to be myself as a performer, which is fantastic advice. Not just for speech, but also for life!

Scisco:  The COVID-19 pandemic was a disruptive force on the circuit over the last year and a half. How did you cope with this as a competitor and stay motivated?

Holley:  COVID-19 changed nearly everything in the circuit, from practices to tournaments and more. Speech and Debate lost a lot of traditional, face-to-face human interaction, and that took a toll on all of us. The season was a game of endurance, and I just want to commend every single competitor who stuck with it. I think, for me, I drew a lot of motivation from my brother and my team. My brother was a freshman while I was senior, and we’d compete at tournaments in our respective bedrooms which are across the hall from each other. After each of his rounds, he’d come to my room and give me an argument-by-argument breakdown, and his excitement and passion was so refreshing. It was his excitement and love for the activity that kept me excited about it too. I wouldn’t be where I am without him. My teammates also always brought so much energy, to virtual practices and virtual tournaments alike. Screaming our tongue-twister warm-ups at the top of our lungs, over Zoom, was what made me excited to compete every Saturday. I drew my motivation from the people around me, and I am so grateful to have had such an amazing team.

Scisco:  Since it looks like a lot of fall tournaments, especially national circuit competitions, will be online, what advice would you have to other competitors for competing in that environment?

Holley:  Don’t believe that your impact will be lessened because you are competing over Zoom. Your voice is just as powerful, and people ARE listening to what you have to say. Craft speeches that you are proud of, with messages that you are proud of, and you’re going to make an impact on the way people think.

More concretely, don’t let the fact that tournaments are virtual lull you into complacency. You are still competing and still learning about the world, albeit through a screen. But also, take care of yourself. Competing virtually is just as exhausting as competing in-person. Give yourself screen breaks between rounds, grab a snack, even go outside. By taking care of yourself, you’ll be able to remain passionate and competitive in your events!

Scisco:  How did you prepare for the NSDA National Tournament? What were the steps that you took to put yourself in a strong competitive position in the month before the tournament and as it drew closer?

Holley:  Preparing for the NSDA National Tournament was such a fun experience. This was my second Online NSDAs, but my first time competing at NSDAs in USX. I was excited for the opportunity to explore the nuances of American politics and economy and the like more deeply. I read up on political trends at a local and national level mainly through nationally-based newsletters, but I also looked into BBC and other international sources. Podcasts were also my best friend – the beauty of podcasts is that you can listen anywhere. I would listen whenever I could, to get more insights on different political happenings. The more angles you can get, the more complete your speech will be.

Speech-wise, I gave speeches every practice. Never underestimate the value of practice speeches. It was so critical for me to give those speeches in the lead-up to NSDA Nationals, because if not, my extemporaneous muscle would have been extremely rusty. Thinking on your feet is definitely a skill that needs honing, and by regularly giving speeches, I feel like I kept in shape.

Scisco:  Walk us through your experience at the recent NSDA National Tournament. What was it like to compete online and how were you feeling as you navigated through the competition?

Holley:  Round 0 was an adventure, because I wasn’t able to get into my corresponding prep room. The connection had timed out, so I had to go through the ombudsperson and the tech support room to get to my prep room (shout out to them, because they got me in in time for draw!). After Round 0, it was a bit more smooth-sailing. Prelims were an endurance game, as they always are, but I was drawing topics that I had prepped for, so that was reaffirming. I was also competing at school, with my teammates in neighboring rooms, so after each round we’d get to hang out. That was so much fun.

When I hit outrounds, I began to come across more challenging questions. I was nervous at that point, but also so excited. I felt like I could be really creative with the questions. When I made it to quarterfinals, and the judge panels started getting bigger, I was like “oh my gosh, I’m starting to really get an audience. People could actually hear what I have to say.” I think a switch flipped at that moment. I finally realized that what I was saying has an impact. I am so proud of the speeches I gave in quarters, semis, and finals at Nationals. I covered topics like free speech and the American healthcare system. While those topics can be scary to discuss, they were also so rewarding to explore and speak on. I genuinely believe I did my best work at the 2021 NSDA National Tournament, and I’m so incredibly happy to be able to say that.

Scisco:  You are the first NSDA extemporaneous speaking champion ever from South Carolina. How does that feel?

Holley:  It makes me speechless even today. I’m so proud to have represented South Carolina’s strong history in extemp. So many extempers, from Riverside and other South Carolina schools, paved the way for me to be here today. I owe it all to them, to the entire Riverside speech and debate community, and to my family. I’m so honored that I could do it for South Carolina. I heard that there are young girls who joined Riverside speech and debate because I won, and it means the world to me that I can inspire young girls from my hometown to speak and be heard.

Scisco:  What general advice (or specific advice) would you give to aspiring extemporaneous speakers who want to reach your level of success?

Holley:  There are two big things that come to mind. First, don’t give up at any point in the process. Don’t give up if you don’t do as well as you want, at a local or national circuit tournament – that’s motivation to keep working. Don’t give up if you draw a question that discusses something you’ve never heard of – that often is an opportunity for you to learn something new and give a great speech along the way. Always have hope and believe in yourself.

Second, don’t ever stop learning. If you’ve competed in extemp for a while, it may be tempting to say “hey, I know everything already, I don’t have to practice.” That’s a trap! Extemp is an event that’s always changing. Performance trends are evolving, and the news is different every single day. You have to stay on your toes and have to stay committed to doing better. If you can do that, it’ll pay off.

Scisco:  The disruptions created by COVID-19 might make this a difficult question to answer, but what was your favorite tournament to attend, whether it be a local event or a national circuit event? Why?

Holley:  In the NSDA circuit, Harvard was really exciting to attend. It was my first time competing, and I witnessed such incredible performers. I was so inspired by all of the Original Oratories and all of the extempers that I watched.

In Speech and Debate in general, the Ronald Reagan Great Communicator Debate Series was incredible. It’s run by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute. They hold various qualifiers across the United States (now virtually) for their National Championship which occurs in July. I competed at two of the qualifiers when the pandemic began, because I wanted to debate, and it was so much fun. The tournament staff ran trivia rounds between competition rounds. The form of debate really caters to public speaking and argumentation, which was amazing because I love direct debates.

Then, after I won NSDAs this year, I was invited to compete at the National Championship. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation invited the top two finishers in USX to compete at their national championship, so Gabriel Frank-McPheter and I got to go. It was held in person in Simi Valley, California, at the Reagan Presidential Library. Debating in person, for my last tournament ever, was invaluable. It was perfect. I’m so grateful for that opportunity, and I highly recommend the Great Communicator Debate Series to everyone – public speaker, debater, or interper.

Scisco:  If you could make any changes to extemporaneous speaking, what would they be and why?

Holley:  This is a really good question. I think I’d like to emphasize the presentation aspect of the event. It’s easy for extempers to fall into monotone – I know that I have – but I think that an extra emphasis on emoting, and really feeling what you’re saying, can add so much. Clever transitions between points, whether they be jokes or specific stories relating to what you’re saying, elevate performances. I think standardizing that would elevate the event as a whole.

Scisco:  What are your future academic and career plans?

Holley:  I plan to graduate from Duke with a B.A. in Public Policy, and I’m also looking into a major in Chinese or Global Health. I want to work on Capitol Hill in foreign relations, or in the United Nations in diplomacy. My biggest dream is to be a negotiator for the United States, and to stop wars before they begin. I’m so grateful for all that speech and debate has brought me, and I’m incredibly excited for the future.

Scisco:  Thank you again for speaking to us Laurel, and congratulations on winning the 2021 NSDA National Tournament!

Holley:  Thank you so much for having me!