Cameron Roberts competed for Jack C Hays High School in Kyle, Texas. She was the 2022 Extemp TOC Champion, two-time ETOC finalist, two-time Texas state champion winning in both TFA and UIL, 2020 NSDA finalist, and a 2022 MBA invitee. Cameron will be attending New York University in the fall, where she will be studying international relations with a focus on refugees and migration policy.
Scisco: First, Cameron, congratulations on a great season that saw you win the Extemp TOC and place in the top ten of the National Points Race! Briefly tell us how you got started in extemporaneous speaking. Who recruited you? What drew you to the event?
Roberts: I joined speech and debate as a freshman in high school, and enrolled in the debate 1 class at my school after attending a meeting for AP classes where the Hays debate coach advocated for us to join. She basically said “smart kids do debate” and had my former teammate Matthew Boddy, who was valedictorian of his class, back up her bold claim. I joined because I wanted to put it on my college resume and I initially thought it would just be a bunch of arguing. It was after a few weeks in the class where we had to participate in daily speaking exercises that my coach suggested I try extemp. She said I had a good natural speaking ability so I decided to give it a go. If I’m being honest though, my favorite part of extemp at the beginning was that it allowed me time to hangout with my friends, and I loved the adrenaline rush brought on by the limited prep aspect of it.
Scisco: When you were going through your extemp career, what extempers did you try to model or look up to?
Roberts: Coming from a team where extemp is very male dominated I found tons of inspiration from videos of the top women on the national circuit during my first few years competing – whether it was Olivia Shoemaker, Jacqueline Wei, Kay Rollins, or Angela Wang – I tried to model myself off of them. All of them had stellar analysis and unique ways of inserting conversationality and humor into their speeches. I’m grateful I had women in extemp to look up to because they showed me it was possible for me to find success too.
Scisco: What was the biggest struggle that you had to overcome in extemporaneous speaking? How did you overcome it?
Roberts: My biggest struggle in extemp by far was my tone. I feel like this is something a lot of extempers struggle with, and for girls its negative effects are oftentimes magnified. I was very robotic, and to an extent aggressive when speaking during my sophomore and even towards the middle of my junior year. After getting tons of comments from judges telling me to be more conversational (which is super vague advice by the way!) My coach suggested I venture into oratory to work on my baseline public speaking skills. I definitely recommend stepping away from extemp if you struggle with judges disliking your speaking style, as sometimes when I became engrossed in the event I forgot the true purpose which is to articulate a clear answer – and to speak to an audience, not at them.
Scisco: Prior to this season, many on the national circuit had never heard much about Jack C. Hays High School in Texas. Considering how competitive Texas is as a state in forensics generally, were there any unique challenges you faced relative to other competitors from bigger or larger programs?
Roberts: The biggest challenge I faced in Texas was proving myself. It’s definitely true that my school was relatively unknown on the national circuit, and by virtue I was unknown too. Both in Texas and nationally I often felt that I was constantly having to prove my worth as a speaker because my school had fewer accolades than my competitors. Competing in Texas meant going up against competitors from schools with dozens of national champions, while before me, my school never had someone break past octos at NSDA nationals. I quickly grew to realize that competitors gain an advantage if they compete under the umbrella of a well known school, even before winning a big tournament or accumulating bids so many extempers were already ahead of me. And to say these disparities create a cliquey environment would be an understatement. I often felt very lonely on the circuit at the beginning of my career. One such memory that stands out to me was my sophomore year at TFA state. I was the sole sophomore in finals and didn’t know anyone in either division of extemp. I remember sitting alone, watching everyone else interact because they were already friends. It was at that moment I realized I was already being counted out because I didn’t belong to a well known program and had never competed on the national circuit. It was super tough for me to establish myself on the Texas circuit, and only after I found consistent success did I gain the respect from competitors at more well known programs, to the point where some never spoke to me until I beat them at a tournament. Competitors from smaller programs deserve to be taken seriously, and I hope in the future the top extempers on the circuit can become more accepting of newcomers who just like them earned their place.
Scisco: What advice might you give to extempers who are competing for smaller programs about how they can still be successful in extemporaneous speaking?
Roberts: My biggest piece of advice for students at smaller programs is to never count yourself out. It is super easy to count yourself out when you have never seen someone from your area or team have success on the national circuit – but there is a first time for everything. A cheesy but effective quote I relied on a lot over the years was “practice like everyone is better than you, compete like no one is”. Essentially meaning that by virtue of belonging to a smaller program you often have to out work those from bigger programs to find similar levels of success, but despite the challenges you face you should always compete with full confidence. I hope my success can serve as proof that success in extemp isn’t a one way street – you don’t have to attend expensive camps or go to a big school that a houses a historic team- there are other ways to become dominant in this event and I’m always rooting for the underdog at the smaller program.
Scisco: What is the best piece of advice you ever received about extemporaneous speaking? Who gave it to you?
Roberts: The best piece of advice I ever received about extemp was from my coach who taught me the importance of giving speeches that mattered. During my senior year I faced a lot of anxiety about leaving a legacy in extemp and when I started to feel burnt out towards the end of the season I questioned why I was still doing the event. I remember talking with her one on one and her telling me very bluntly that in order to enjoy the event I needed to give speeches I cared about, instead of worrying about what everyone else wanted to hear. I relied on this a lot during NSDA nationals this year when I fell super short of my goals, and still to this day remind myself that I ended my career with speeches I loved, which is all that should matter.
Scisco: Did you ever have a favorite source? If so, what was it?
Roberts: My favorite source by far is Just Security, it is a think tank run by NYU’s law school and I have been reading it for years. It offers great analysis on domestic and international issues, obviously placing a lot of focus on the legal side of the world’s biggest problems. I often used articles from this site to add complexity to my own speeches but also just for supplemental reading. I recommend the site even more now that I am a violet though!
Scisco: Going into this season, what were your goals? How did you “pre-plan” for any possible disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Roberts: Every year in the summer I usually set a list of goals for extemp and going into my senior year I prioritized setting goals to accomplish the feats in extemp that I had yet to achieve. My biggest goals that I got to check off my list were getting invited to MBA and winning the ETOC. I also wanted to prioritize having fun with the event and giving speeches I was proud of. While not everything went to plan this past year I’m overall very pleased with how my year went, I had a lot of consistent success and had tons of fun. In regards to my plans for COVID disruptions I honestly expected everything to be online, I’m lucky that Texas was basically all in person but I didn’t mind competing nationally at home because I had become very comfortable with my setup. I saw opportunities to travel for national tournaments as a surprise but definitely a welcome one.
Scisco: What was your favorite tournament to attend as a competitor during your career, whether it was a local or national circuit event?
Roberts: My favorite tournament I ever attended has to be the MBA round robin. I always viewed this tournament as the end all be all for extemp, and was heartbroken my Junior year when I wasn’t invited as I thought finaling at NSDA would be enough. It’s why the first semester of my senior year I went to as many national tournaments as possible, and was constantly prepping – I didn’t want there to be a doubt in anyone’s mind that I had earned an invite this time around. And when I got the invite in late November it was so rewarding. By the time MBA rolled around I just wanted to go and have fun, I had put in a ton of work to get there and didn’t want it to be a stressful tournament. For me, it was the most fun I’ve ever had at a tournament. Competing in person with so many people I had only ever talked to online and getting the chance to learn from them and the amazing judge pool was a dream come true. I’m very grateful Adam Johnson chose to invite me and that he continues to put on the event. It was so special to be in an environment with so many hard working, smart, and amazing speakers who just like me love this event. No other tournament compares!
Scisco: Briefly discuss what preparations you made going into the Extemp TOC this season.
Roberts: My prep for the ETOC was very similar to my prep for most large national tournaments. I started prep probably around a month before the tournament and started by writing questions for each topic area (I just used the topic areas from the previous year because they usually don’t change much year to year). I was giving 3-4 speeches a week and 5 the week before the actual tournament. My main focus was on analysis, I was filing a ton and trying to expand the variety of sources I was using in speeches as the ETOC tends to be an analysis heavy tournament. My coach and I were also putting an extra emphasis on my impact calculus in speeches during my prep because the year prior I had gotten third at ETOC and received tons of judge comments about having weak impacts and I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again.
Scisco: Walk us through your run through the Extemp TOC. What do you think enabled you to win this major tournament?
Roberts: The honest answer is that I won because of how the ETOC is tabulated, and I gave a really good final round speech. If final ranks were decided on a cumulative basis from the whole tournament though I would’ve been in a different spot as I had a pretty rough run through prelims. I have to give a huge props to Ananth who is a far more consistent extemper than me and basically didn’t drop a single ballot in prelims. I can’t say the same though as I had a sinus infection during the tournament and was super sick on day one. But going into day two, knowing elimination rounds were sudden death I shifted my focus and saw it as a fresh start. I had a lot of fun in the elimination rounds mostly because I enjoyed those topic areas more and in finals my focus was solely on giving a good speech. I still feel that the final round was the best speech I ever gave in a final round and I’m really proud of it. My win though was pure luck, I was lucky to have drawn that question and that the judge panel liked my answer to the question – a factor I think goes into any win on the national circuit. But winning for me was a huge deal, being able to join the ranks of past ETOC champions and being in the same group as some extemp legends who inspired me throughout my career is super gratifying.
Scisco: As someone who participated in multiple national tournaments, what preparations/advice do you give extempers for NSDA?
Roberts: Finding success on the national circuit is super dependent on a speaker’s breadth of knowledge and ability to adapt in a short time frame. Competing in 13 rounds at NSDA for example means being able to give a good speech on 13 different topics and is obviously super difficult because only six speakers make it to that point in the tournament. My biggest piece of advice is to take prep for national tournaments seriously and plan ahead. I was big on making prep schedules for myself and dedicating certain days or weeks to deep dives on different topic areas. I also wrote my own practice questions in every buildup and developed a knack for predicting tournament questions while also challenging myself to step out of my comfort zone with the questions I wrote. As a shameless plug I am actually launching a question writing service this coming year and hope to offer assistance to teams big and small when it comes to prepping for tournaments. The site is https://www.camsquestions.com/ and I would love for anyone still competing to check it out!
The final few words of advice I have though are all about discipline, as prepping for big national tournaments requires a lot of commitment. It means cutting out a portion of your day to read, brainstorm AGDS, and give practice speeches. It takes a lot of work but I found my process worked well for me, even though I only found success once at NSDA nationals.
Scisco: As someone who competed in virtual and in-person settings this season, which did you prefer? Do you think the circuit should continue some virtual offerings in the upcoming years?
Roberts: While I found the most success online, I definitely prefer in-person tournaments. Speaking in person to an audience right in front of you is super powerful, and it allows for things like audience reaction which always made me enjoy the event more. Especially in contrast to a bunch of black screens on zoom. The only issue with in-person tournaments is that they bring with them a very inequitable environment. Online tournaments cut travel costs, allow students to compete at home, and save teams tons of money. I know for small teams like my own traveling outside of the state on multiple occasions throughout the year isn’t in the cards, as we have limited funding from our school and many students who simply cannot afford to drop hundreds of dollars on a plane ticket and other related expenses. In-person tournaments limit the national circuit to only being inclusive for privileged teams, meaning the best extempers in the nation are partially defined by their families and schools financial situation. Online tournaments are the great equalizer, it is what allowed a speaker like me from a small team to break out on the national circuit, and continuing them is critical for building a sense of equity in speech and debate.
Scisco: Do you think extemporaneous speaking needs to make any rule changes? If so, what?
Roberts: I struggled with this prompt at MBA in the dreaded meta hypothetical round, because in all honesty I don’t think any official rules should be changed. But there are definitely norms in extemp that annoy me and I wish would go away. I said in that round that the use of the internet should be made illegal, which is a grievance of mine that stems from speakers simply citing something to cite it. I am a firm believer that quotes, books, expert testimony, or journal articles should contribute to the overall argument of your speech – just using them for fluff or to sound cool is using them incorrectly. I feel like the use of the internet allows speakers to quickly google and use an advanced source without fully comprehending its content, while without the internet speakers would have to know their own files and rely on articles they’ve read and understand. I feel like this is so important because in this event people often tout the real world benefits which I feel are greatly diminished by cutting corners for the sake of flash in a speech.
Scisco: If you had to meet yourself four years ago and give yourself any tips or tricks to get good at extemporaneous speaking?
Roberts: There isn’t a single tip or trick I would give myself but instead the simple advice that hard work pays off. There is no easy way to get good at extemp. Unless you are a phenom, you will have to put in a lot of work to improve. The summer before my sophomore year I spent almost everyday reading, filing, recording speeches and watching them back – and I was still losing at locals at the beginning of the season. It was after a year of constant work towards improving myself in extemp and making the event a part of my daily routine that I broke to finals at NSDA nationals and found consistency. I learned quickly that if you put in the work and trust the process you will see results.
Scisco: What are your future academic and career plans?
Roberts: After I complete my undergraduate at NYU I plan on pursuing a JD in international human rights law, with a focus on refugee law. My dream would be to work for a non-profit like Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International to help advance assistance for refugees, asylum seekers, and displaced people around the world.
Scisco: Thank you again for speaking to us Cameron, and congratulations on your success this season!