NSDA National Champion Interview with Pranav Pattatathunaduvil

Pranav Pattatathunaduvil attended Plano West Senior High School in Plano, Texas. He was the 2021 NSDA National Champion in International Extemp, 2020 Champion of the Glenbrooks in Domestic Extemp, and runner-up at the 2021 Montgomery Bell Academy Round Robin, 2020 Harvard Invitational, and 2020 Tournament of Champions (TOC). He is currently a freshman at Yale University, studying Global Affairs and Economics.

Pranav graciously agreed to talk with Extemp Central about his career, sharing his thoughts on navigating the wild 2020-2021 national circuit season and the people who helped him along the way.

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

Pranav Pattatathunaduvil:  I actually got into extemp by chance. My parents signed me up for a summer debate camp in middle school, and when I got there, I chose PF and Extemp as my two events since those seemed to be the most common. I was drawn very quickly to extemp because I just loved the thrill of learning about a topic and analyzing its nuances in just thirty minutes. There was so much fascinating complexity in every issue, and I really enjoyed speaking about it.

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

Pattatathunaduvil:  The moment I really gained confidence in extemp was probably my first high school tournament, the Plano Senior-Clark Swing. I was the only freshman who broke to finals on both sides of the swing, and I found myself competing against juniors and seniors that I had always seen as legends in extemp. Being in that position gave me so much confidence because it made me realize that all my practice during middle school and the summer was paying off.

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

Pattatathunaduvil:  My biggest struggle was becoming a more conversational speaker. For years, my speaking style was too formal and “extempy”. I worked with my mentors, coaches, and teammates for several years to address it, using many different strategies. For example, I would explain my points in casual terms, have listeners make me restart my points whenever I became too “extempy”, and identify specific formal words that I overused. Honestly, taking a more relaxed approach to extemp my senior year, especially after college applications were over, was probably the number one reason my style became a lot more laid back.

Scisco:  Plano West has gone on a great winning streak at NSDA national and elsewhere in recent years. What do you credit this too?

Pattatathunaduvil:  Several things for sure. First, a lot of credit goes to the coaches of Plano West, from Ms. Smith (who retired a few years ago) to Mr. Holland and Mrs. Leito today. They’ve been so supportive, and their guidance has allowed all of us to improve substantially. Another reason for Plano West’s success is definitely the student culture in the speech and debate team. During the years I was there, I felt that almost everyone was very encouraging and willing to help each other out; in fact, I think the positive relationship between upperclassmen and underclassmen at our feeder schools is a big factor behind Plano West’s achievements. Finally, credit also goes to the strong speech and debate programs in several Plano ISD middle schools and the great coaching of Mr. McCaffrey at Jasper High School, which is one of Plano West’s main feeder schools. The success of the programs from 6^th-10^th grades is what creates a continuous pipeline of talented students to Plano West.

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?

Pattatathunaduvil:  I would describe my style as relaxed, funny (hopefully), and informative. I’m really thankful to Jackie Wei, my mentor, and Angela Wang, my teammate and one of my best friends, for helping me develop that style. Giving so many speeches to them helped me identify where I was becoming too rigid in my speaking and where my explanations could be more accessible. The drills I did with them helped me home in on those issues and create a distinctive style of my own.

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?

Pattatathunaduvil:  After the pandemic began, I reminded myself of my dream ever since joining extemp: winning Nationals. After getting so close my sophomore year, I wanted to make that dream a reality, which is what drove me to stay in practice over COVID by regularly going to online tournaments during my senior year. As a competitor, I would call some of my teammates or spend time with family between rounds so that I could stay motivated during tournament days. I would also focus on what I always found most interesting in extemp: learning something new through each speech.

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?

Pattatathunaduvil:  Because you’re not physically in the same room as the judge, strong room presence and volume will not help you stand out as much as before. Therefore, things like facial expressions, jokes, and strong analysis become more important. I’d argue that humor is especially important given that it’s so much easier for a judge to get distracted or bored during a video call. Also, give practice speeches to people over Zoom to make sure that you sound good for the people on the other side of the screen. Finally, make sure to do other fun things during the day as opposed to sitting in front of your computer between rounds. It’s so easy to get burnt out during an online tournament, so taking breaks is really important.

Scisco:  Texas is a big speech state. How would you characterize the circuit there?

Pattatathunaduvil:  The circuit is honestly huge, with quite a few strong speech programs. There are so many good extempers from across the state every year, and at every decently-sized tournament, at least a few would be there. One benefit of this was that we would generally know each other, so it was great to see some familiar faces. Also, having tournaments like Grapevine, UT, and the Capital City Round Robin would be great because they gave us practice for the TFA State Tournament itself and larger national-circuit tournaments later on. As a whole, I’d characterize the circuit as competitive but fun.

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?

Pattatathunaduvil:  Generally, for about a month before Nationals every year, I’d always give a practice speech or do some targeted drills daily. I wrote down beforehand all the major issues that I needed to fix, splitting up content and delivery-related things and brainstorming potential drills/approaches I could use to address them. Then, I’d try to focus each practice and sometimes even a week at a time on specific concerns. I would also vary up my speech audiences. I would give practice speeches to each of my coaches, my parents, Angela, and Jackie so that I could get a wide variety of perspectives. Finally, I would read the news daily, from my daily newsletters to more in-depth analysis articles from sources like Foreign Policy Magazine. I would also identify any topic areas from the released list that I had less knowledge about and do more targeted reading on them.

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?

Pattatathunaduvil:  Competing online was definitely not as fun as competing in-person, but honestly, it wasn’t terrible. There were a handful of rounds each day, though they were well-spaced, which gave me a decent amount of time to do other things. However, in the online format, I felt that my judges had a lot more varied reactions during my speeches, which made me more unsure of how I was doing throughout the rounds. But as I navigated through the competition, I also really tried to focus on each speech individually as opposed to looking far ahead to future rounds. Finally, during the nights before semifinals and finals, I spent time preparing potential jokes and reading up on the most recent news related to the topic areas.

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

Pattatathunaduvil:  First, try to find time for regular practice, especially in the 1-2 months leading up to big tournaments. While an entire practice speech a day might not be feasible, even doing a small 10- or 15-minute drill on the days you’re busy (and full speeches on more convenient days) can help create a practice routine. I’d also recommend writing down the main issues in your speeches, brainstorming targeted approaches to address each of them, and then focusing on one issue at a time (possibly allocating certain days or weeks to them). Additionally, don’t just read breaking news; read analysis articles from good sources. I’d recommend Foreign Policy Magazine, The Economist, CSIS, Vox, and Politico. Another tip is to remember that extemp honestly isn’t a solo event. Extemp success happened for me as a result of the mutual collaboration and encouragement between me and my teammates; we truly helped each other grow. Also, try to be as relaxed and fun as you can in extemp. I see far too many young extempers who are so passionate yet start off with stilted vocal cadences because they get too wrapped up in what they’re saying. Bringing in humor and a more laid-back style can really help out. Finally, extemp can be an emotional roller-coaster. The best piece of advice I got was from my friend Anuj, who said “tough times don’t last, but tough people do.” Try not to focus too much on the wins or losses (even if you’re having tough streaks); focus more on what you can learn from each experience.

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?

Pattatathunaduvil:  My favorite tournament to attend was always Harvard. I just loved walking through the snow, visiting the cool places near campus with my friends, and, most definitely, the hypothetical triads in finals. The hypothetical triads were always so fun to visualize and creating answers to them was always a blast.

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

Pattatathunaduvil:  The only real change I would make is that I would increase the speech time limit to around ten minutes. One reason is that complex issues often have to be reduced to simple ideas that prevent the speaker from really addressing the nuances of the topics and the listeners from actually understanding the concepts.

Scisco:  What are your future academic and career plans?

Pattatathunaduvil:  I’m a prospective global affairs and economics double major, and I’m currently considering future careers in foreign policy or finance.

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