Because “social media is bad” is not the groundbreaking revelation you think it is. So, you've finally chosen your Original Oratory topic. Congratulations! After three weeks of brainstorming, seventeen conversations with your coach, and a Google Doc containing nothing but the words "society is messed up," you've settled on something important. Social media. Or maybe it's mental health. Perfectionism. Education. Discrimination. Technology. Loneliness. Whatever you've chosen, y

Why choosing an issue isn't the same as finding an argument. Every year, thousands of speech and debate students sit down to begin writing their Original Oratory with one very important question: "What should I talk about?" And every year, thousands of students come up with the exact same answers. Social media. Mental health. Peer pressure. Perfectionism. Climate change. All important issues. All worthy of discussion. All topics that have probably appeared in more Original Or

“Do personal stories in Oratory have to be true?” This question kinda blew my mind when a coach from another school asked me after...

In my senior year of high school, the head of my local forensics league was interviewed by the biggest local newspaper in the area. At...