After five days of competing in the 28th annual World Individual and Public Speaking Championship (WIDPSC), Joseph Squillaro ’16 won third place in the preliminary round and ninth place in the final round of the Impromptu Speaking category. He competed with 125 other high school students from over 15 different countries at Shady Side Academy Senior School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from March 30 through April 4.
Squillaro qualified to represent the United States along with 14 other American high school debaters after he earned the highest score at the Choate Invitational last January. Mr. Neil Shimmield, the Choate Debate Coach, said, “I wasn’t surprised at all, and I was very proud of Joseph’s accomplishments.”
After learning that he qualified for the Worlds tournament, Squillaro immediately began preparing by practicing different types of debates, scenarios, and exercises with members of the Choate Debate Team.
During his time competing in the WIDPSC, he enjoyed the opportunity to interact with different students and hear their unique perspectives with the WIDPSC, describing debate as a “vital life lesson.” He also came to appreciate debate’s connection with one’s “ability to resolve different conflicts and to communicate with different people, rather than just disagree.” Consequently, he believed that he “left the tournament a stronger public speaker, more forceful debater, and more critical thinker.”
Ms. Kyra Jenney, an HPRSS teacher involved on the Choate Debate Team, has been a judge at WIDPSC for the past two years. She reflected, “To me, the best part of the competition is getting to meet students from all around the world and to see different styles of debate and public speaking.”
According to the WIDPSC mission statement, the qualifiers are challenged to not only “practice and test their oratorical skills, but also to value the importance of the art of expression.” During the tournament, each WIDPSC participant had to compete in four different categories: Parliamentary Debate, Impromptu Speaking, Interpretive Reading, and either Persuasive or After-Dinner Speaking. During the Parliamentary Debate rounds, students worked with a partner from a different school to propose or oppose a resolution that they devise together; during the Impromptu Speaking rounds, each student were given two minutes to prepare a five-minute speech linking together three topics that they randomly chose beforehand; during the Interpretive Reading rounds, students read a passage of prose or poetry directly addressing the audience. Afterward, the students chose whether they wish to compete in Persuasive Speaking or After-Dinner Speaking. In Persuasive Speaking, students tried to persuade the audience on a contemporary issues topic in a problem-solution format, while in After-Dinner Speaking, students sought to give an entertaining speech that informed their chosen audience regarding a topic.
While he competed in Impromptu Speaking, Squillaro gave speeches on topics including needles, painting, and shoelaces. Judges in this category look for “agility of thought” and “ability to communicate with style and originality,” according to the WIDPSC website guidelines.
Squillaro professed his gratitude for the tools Choate Debate has given him over the years. “Because of Choate’s diverse climate, I learned that it is essential to share your ideas with one another and prioritize communication.” He looks forward to build on the skills he learned from Choate by debating at the collegiate level, and he added, “Debate is a tremendous part of my life here, and I’m proud to say that I’ve been a part of the Choate debate team’s legacy.”
