Speech and debate is an activity rooted in activism and protest. Through community, forensics competitors are given a platform to use their voices to uplift the marginalized and bring attention to the societal and political issues that mean the most to them. Though every competition event faces its own struggles concerning ethicality in advocacy, extemp is at the forefront of this issue. Whereas a interp kid’s reaction when coming across a news article detailing horrific humanitarian crises may be along the lines of, “how tragic!”, the average extemper’s is more like, “jackpot!”.
Pathos is engraved in extemp, as it is a cornerstone of all persuasive speaking. But, when chronicling trauma others have faced, it is absolutely crucial to treat these stories with care rather than a way to guilt your judges into giving you the “1”. Here’s how to use pathos in a way that honors the story, yourself, and forensics as a whole.
Verify the Facts
As an extemper myself, the number of times I’ve witnessed other extempers make up stories simply to prove a point is absurd. Not only that, but these speakers oftentimes admit to this and laugh it off as if this is a common quirk in the extemp community. If it is, it shouldn’t be. Making up stories simply to make your judges feel sympathetic discredits your speech, yourself as a speaker, and the event on which you are reporting.
However, purposely altering the truth to fit your narrative is just as bad. Knowingly misreporting facts such as the number of casualties in an event, age of these casualties, severity of injuries, and so on go against the very grounds of extemp as an event, as it is unethical and misinforming.
Given the very nature of extemp, it is expected that competitors will inevitably forget or misremember sources. Though this isn’t something to be celebrated, it is a simple mistake that all competitors have made or will make throughout their career. This is drastically different from intentionally twisting the narrative. Be mindful of your choices, as regardless of how your audience responds, blatantly lying in a speech both fraudulent and unfair to other competitors.
Avoid Being Inauthentic
No, extemp is not an interp event. However, when reporting on traumatic events, it is crucial to treat them with care. This means respecting the line between over emoting and presenting as expressionless when reporting on traumatic events. In speech, your delivery has a lasting impression— let that impression be for the better.
Over emoting causes your judges to question the integrity of your message. While, yes, it is only natural to convey strong emotions when reporting on tragedies and humanitarian crises, over exaggerating your feelings has the opposite effect; it makes you sound unnatural and insincere.
On the other hand, detailing these events without conveying any emotions at all is also a major detriment. For instance, imagine you are delivering a speech on recent war crimes against Sudan— explaining the atrocities the Sudanese have faced without physically showing any sense of solidarity is just as unnatural as showing exaggerated and insincere gestures.
Promote Education
As a long-term competitor, I will be the first to admit that extemp can feel mundane or formulaic at times. Though this predcitablity be helpful for technical aspects of extemp like substructure, it can also can also undermine the complexity of this event. Extemp is an activity rooted in maintaining and promoting intellectualism and sparking meaningful discussions about real world issues. If your speeches become nothing more than tools— a formula to make your judges feel bad rather than think critically— integrity is lost.
To avoid this, make sure that when using pathos, you are still humanizing those involved, both in your speech and in your mind. These stories exist outside of your speech, so treat them as such. Additionally, continue to stay well-read. This will help you add complexity to your stories using argumentation rather than weaponizing real individuals’ stories.
Persuasive speaking will always involve the use of pathos. However, when using real stories, make sure to report only the truth, stay authentic, and remember that you are speaking to bring light to these stories, not the other way around.