Happy Holidays, friends!
Lyle here - your beanie sportin’, tree decoratin’, and Mandalorian bingin’ host of the One Clap Speech and Debate Podcast. I come once again bearing gifts!
Welcome to A Long Winter’s Clap - 12 Days Speech and Debate Event Overviews.
For these episodes, One Clap will be delivering a stocking stuffer of event overviews and resources that I hope will be helpful for novice judges, coaches, or competitors.
What is going down with these One Clap shows? Well, for each ep I will provide a quick overview of the chosen event, a couple of spicy and sweet tips for each event from expert coaches or competitors, and links to helpful resources to help you rock your performance on our website. These overviews are not meant to be comprehensive, but should hopefully give you some information on each event and then provide resources for an independent deep dive for listeners.
Settle in for a helpful event-overview gift for your speech-loving ears from One Clap Speech and Debate!
Today…
Program Oral Interpretation
Aka POI
…is kind of like Poetry, kind of like Drama, and kind of its own thing at the same time. POI is an individual event in which a competitor uses cuttings from poetry, prose, nonfiction, and drama to fashion a ten-minute performance that focuses on a specific thesis.
Here is a description straight from the NSDA:
“Program Oral Interpretation relies on the performer’s ability to portray a wide range of characters and literature all held together under a common theme. Each program must contain at least two of the three genres and students are encouraged to include all three. There is a set time limit of ten minutes, with a thirty second grace period. Students who choose to compete in POI should focus on making an interesting argument that is supported in different ways by each piece of literature they select.”
Program Oral Interpretation is a Frankenstein’s monster mash-up, remix event for the ages - and competitors try to bring all these various pieces together in a unified performance. Performers must utilize a small black binder (like Poetry) that holds a manuscript during the POI. The binder presents a lot of opportunities for performers to get creative with their blocking and pops - but also can be a challenge to integrate in a way that does not take away from the message of the cutting.
POI is a super challenging event for many of the same reasons as other interpretive events, but there are some unique challenges. Balance of varied genres, clean transitions, a clear message or thesis, and the ability to find the right puzzle piece cutting for presentation are all extremely difficult in POI. But, it is another event that really gives students the opportunity to say something meaningful to them… to spread a message that they want to send out to their audience. It can be an incredibly powerful event.
Here are some quick helpful tips from Kambrie White, competitor from Cheyenne East High School:.
Tip 1: Choose something YOU are passionate about. Don’t think about placing or how well a topic will do with judges. Choose something that is actually important to YOU.
Tip 2: Choose a backbone or a narrative first for your POI. Think about what is going to guide the heart of your piece? These narratives are generally a first person story.
Tip 3: Counter voices in POI are great. Try to find something for your cutting that goes against the argument in your POI. This makes the counter voice seem more villainous and helps to rationalize your argument.
Tip 4: Your book is your best friend when performing. Using your book in different and creative ways can really help differentiate characters and scenes.
Tip 5: Perform because you want to be performing. In speech sometimes we get so caught up in places and trophies but remember that there is so much more to speech than that. Perform because you want to spread a message.
Thanks so much to Kambrie for the gift of these super smart Program Oral Interpretation tips for competitors.
I will also link to other helpful resources for POI on oneclapspeechanddebate.com. If you have or know of more resources for students, coaches, or judges - reach out and let me know. I’ll link to these resources on the website as well!
If you have an idea or a request for One Clap Speech and Debate, shoot me an email at lylewiley@gmail.com or reach out on the One Clap Speech and Debate Podcast website or social media - linked in the show notes.
This New Year, maybe consider supporting One Clap Speech and Debate by checking out our patreon page linked in the show notes. You can partner with me on this journey for as little as 1 dollar a month and stop patronage at any time!
Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review the One Clap Podcast wherever you listen! Watch for new episodes of One Clap, Rock On! Debate, Coach Connection, and Speech Love!
Thank you for listening, best of luck to everyone out there competing at tournaments, and Clappy Holidays from One Clap!
Lyle here - your beanie sportin’, tree decoratin’, and Mandalorian bingin’ host of the One Clap Speech and Debate Podcast. I come once again bearing gifts!
Welcome to A Long Winter’s Clap - 12 Days Speech and Debate Event Overviews.
For these episodes, One Clap will be delivering a stocking stuffer of event overviews and resources that I hope will be helpful for novice judges, coaches, or competitors.
What is going down with these One Clap shows? Well, for each ep I will provide a quick overview of the chosen event, a couple of spicy and sweet tips for each event from expert coaches or competitors, and links to helpful resources to help you rock your performance on our website. These overviews are not meant to be comprehensive, but should hopefully give you some information on each event and then provide resources for an independent deep dive for listeners.
Settle in for a helpful event-overview gift for your speech-loving ears from One Clap Speech and Debate!
Today…
Program Oral Interpretation
Aka POI
…is kind of like Poetry, kind of like Drama, and kind of its own thing at the same time. POI is an individual event in which a competitor uses cuttings from poetry, prose, nonfiction, and drama to fashion a ten-minute performance that focuses on a specific thesis.
Here is a description straight from the NSDA:
“Program Oral Interpretation relies on the performer’s ability to portray a wide range of characters and literature all held together under a common theme. Each program must contain at least two of the three genres and students are encouraged to include all three. There is a set time limit of ten minutes, with a thirty second grace period. Students who choose to compete in POI should focus on making an interesting argument that is supported in different ways by each piece of literature they select.”
Program Oral Interpretation is a Frankenstein’s monster mash-up, remix event for the ages - and competitors try to bring all these various pieces together in a unified performance. Performers must utilize a small black binder (like Poetry) that holds a manuscript during the POI. The binder presents a lot of opportunities for performers to get creative with their blocking and pops - but also can be a challenge to integrate in a way that does not take away from the message of the cutting.
POI is a super challenging event for many of the same reasons as other interpretive events, but there are some unique challenges. Balance of varied genres, clean transitions, a clear message or thesis, and the ability to find the right puzzle piece cutting for presentation are all extremely difficult in POI. But, it is another event that really gives students the opportunity to say something meaningful to them… to spread a message that they want to send out to their audience. It can be an incredibly powerful event.
Here are some quick helpful tips from Kambrie White, competitor from Cheyenne East High School:.
Tip 1: Choose something YOU are passionate about. Don’t think about placing or how well a topic will do with judges. Choose something that is actually important to YOU.
Tip 2: Choose a backbone or a narrative first for your POI. Think about what is going to guide the heart of your piece? These narratives are generally a first person story.
Tip 3: Counter voices in POI are great. Try to find something for your cutting that goes against the argument in your POI. This makes the counter voice seem more villainous and helps to rationalize your argument.
Tip 4: Your book is your best friend when performing. Using your book in different and creative ways can really help differentiate characters and scenes.
Tip 5: Perform because you want to be performing. In speech sometimes we get so caught up in places and trophies but remember that there is so much more to speech than that. Perform because you want to spread a message.
Thanks so much to Kambrie for the gift of these super smart Program Oral Interpretation tips for competitors.
I will also link to other helpful resources for POI on oneclapspeechanddebate.com. If you have or know of more resources for students, coaches, or judges - reach out and let me know. I’ll link to these resources on the website as well!
If you have an idea or a request for One Clap Speech and Debate, shoot me an email at lylewiley@gmail.com or reach out on the One Clap Speech and Debate Podcast website or social media - linked in the show notes.
This New Year, maybe consider supporting One Clap Speech and Debate by checking out our patreon page linked in the show notes. You can partner with me on this journey for as little as 1 dollar a month and stop patronage at any time!
Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review the One Clap Podcast wherever you listen! Watch for new episodes of One Clap, Rock On! Debate, Coach Connection, and Speech Love!
Thank you for listening, best of luck to everyone out there competing at tournaments, and Clappy Holidays from One Clap!
