Coaching Philosophy:

Speech rounds are inherently random– the judges, other competitors, and even the room where you’re performing are entirely unpredictable. Yet, so many people consistently place towards the top. In my eyes, the job of a student before a tournament is to control every variable that they can. The speech’s content and its delivery are at the top of this list. I want every word, gesture, facial expression, and pause in the speech to have a clear purpose, while not making the speaker appear robotic. This is extremely difficult! I am far from fully living up to these words myself, but adopting this philosophy has helped me see clear improvements in my speeches, which is worth more than any trophy. Most importantly, it is my duty to make sure the student loves the activity— because the activity is great! Learning how to incorporate your personality into a style that helps you advocate for a cause you truly believe in is nothing short of magical. For this reason, my job is not to make sure you win blah trophy, or achieve blah rankings. If we are able to discover how you can best deliver a speech that is true to your personality and your values, the trophies will be a mere afterthought. 

Cory Wurtenberger

 OO, Info

Short Bio

Hello! My name is Cory Wurtenberger, and I am currently a second-year at Vanderbilt University studying political science and Asian studies. I also compete in collegiate speech at Vandy and have coached privately since 2019. I competed in original oratory and informative speaking for all four years of high school in the absolutely brutal South Florida circuit. In 2017, I was fortunate enough to win my first national tournament: the Glenbrooks. I was able to defend my title in the coming years. In the 2018/2019 season, I really began to pick up momentum, winning the Glenbrooks, GMU, Sunvite, and Harvard consecutively, ending with a second-place finish at the Tournament of Champions. In 2020, I double-championed the NYC Invitational, placed 1st (O.O.) and 2nd (Info) at the Glenbrooks, defended my title at the Sunvitational, won Emory, placed 2nd at Harvard, and ended my career with a state championship in original oratory. This resulted in my being ranked 1st nationally in Original Oratory and Informative Speaking for the 2019/20 season by the NSDA and 3P, becoming the first competitor to do so. Essentially, I am super humble. Jokes aside, joining speech was the single best decision I have ever made. I can say with certainty, I would be nowhere near where I am today without it.  Coaching through 3P allows me to, in a way,  give back to the community that I owe so much to. Oratory and Info are special events and I would love nothing more than to help people find their voices within them.

Interested? Contact Cory!