Photo by Toffy Prakittiphoom ’24/The Choate News
On Sunday, April 17, Emma Hermacinski ’22 won first place in Impromptu Speaking at the World Independent Debating and Public Speaking Championship (WIDPSC). Though competing at WIDPSC has been a dream for Hermacinski ever since she started debating in her freshman year at Choate, the idea of it sounded nearly impossible, especially in the category of Impromptu Speaking.
“When I came into Choate, I was terrible [at debate]. For my first debate, I got up there, stuttered for a minute and a half, and sat my butt down,” admitted Hermacinski. “But for that reason, I went to pods my freshman fall three times a week.”
Hermacinski’s determination and consistency helped to improve and develop her debate skills. Though she initially struggled with debate, Hermacinski’s prior experience with public speaking turned out to be immensely useful.
“I wanted to try debate because as a kid, both of my parents were news reporters, so they both raised me with the general idea of public speaking,” Hermacinski explained. “I think I’m very lucky because I never experienced the fear most people have with public speaking, because I started too young to worry about that sort of thing.”
Her natural talent in public speaking came in handy when Hermacinski competed in Impromptu Speaking at WIDPSC, where she was given two minutes to prepare a speech from a selection of three topics.
Mr. Neil Shimmield, an advisor of Choate Debate, explained, “You can prepare the techniques or practice impromptu speaking, but when it comes time to perform, you have to go out there with no knowledge of what you’re going to speak about.”
Hermacinski was less familiar with the spontaneous nature of the Impromptu Speaking Event. “I had virtually no experience with impromptu speaking. I did it once my junior fall at Hotchkiss, and I hated it,” shared Hermacinski. “So I go into impromptu speaking with absolutely no idea. I just decided I was gonna go in there and have fun.” This attitude towards impromptu speaking allowed Hermacinski to differentiate herself from others and embrace the nature of the competition. While some of the more experienced impromptu speakers followed a specific formula, Hermacinski’s speech was truly impromptu. “Whereas other people had clearly practiced what they were going to say and were prepared to slot it in, I was willing to just talk,” she explained.
Ms. Kyra Jenney, another advisor to Choate Debate, highlighted the skills that helped Hermacinski in Impromptu Speaking. She pointed out,“Emma is a very fluid and measured speaker, so even if she’s thinking of what she’s saying as she goes, it feels very prepared and practiced.”
Hermacinski believes that public speaking will remain valuable to her in the future. “I plan on debating at Princeton next year. Unfortunately, speaking events aren’t a huge thing in college,” she said. “I just hope to carry this skill with me, and I’m just going to look forward to having a great public speaking career because no matter what I do, I’ll need that skill.”
