Summer Speech & Debate Workshops at SVUDL!
This summer, students from across the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League gathered for two exciting Speech & Debate workshops. Designed to build skills and foster community, and led by experienced coaches, competitors, and even some recent SVUDL alumni, each workshop gave students a chance to learn, practice, and connect with teammates and mentors ahead of the new season.
On Saturday, June 14th, an enthusiastic group of students gathered for a combined Impromptu Speech and Public Forum workshop. Co-led by Thomas Harrick, former International Impromptu champion, and Diya Chadha, former Public Forum debater, the workshop offered attendees an engaging mix of structured instruction, interactive activities, and ample opportunities to boost their Impromptu Speaking and Public Forum knowledge.
The workshop kicked off with Impromptu Speech. Thomas came prepared with a well-organized and entertaining slideshow that helped demystify the format and share his own experience as a successful Impromptu speaker. Students got a chance to stretch their creativity through a storytelling game: first telling a story about themselves in one sentence, then expanding it into a full one-minute speech. The activity helped students build confidence while learning how to think quickly and communicate clearly (while staying engaging) under pressure.
In the second half of the workshop, the focus shifted to Public Forum. Diya walked students through the structure of a typical Public Forum round, then introduced them to the CWDAI method—Claim, Warrant, Data, Analysis, Impact—for building and breaking down arguments. Students worked together to create their own arguments with this model before practicing key refutation strategies for responding to (and winning) arguments in a Public Forum round.
Throughout the day, students stayed engaged and energized, picking up useful skills while also building community with one another. One rising junior from Mt. Pleasant High School said, "I learned a lot from what Thomas taught us. It really showed [me] new ways to grab the judge’s attention in my speeches, and make them more inclined to rate my speech higher." A student from Silver Creek shared that she was “really interested in trying out Public Forum now, having the knowledge from this workshop. It was totally new to me at first so I was kind of worried going into the workshop, but Diya helped to walk us through each part of the round and the parts of an argument.”
Later in the summer, on Thursday, July 24th, SVUDL hosted an engaging Policy Topic Workshop that brought together current students and alumni for a day of learning and collaboration. The focus of the workshop was the Policy topic for the upcoming school year: the Arctic! The 2025-26 high school Policy resolution is as follows: “The United States federal government should significantly increase its exploration and/or development of the Arctic.”
During the workshop, students explored the novice case files put together by SVUDL and practiced constructing and delivering speeches. A highlight of the event was a demonstration debate round led by SVUDL alumni Vu Quang and Ryan Nguyen, who modeled what a competitive debate on the new topic could look like. Vu and Ryan’s insight and experience offered attendees a valuable example and sparked thoughtful discussion.
As SVUDL Program Specialist and workshop organizer Addis Arciniega puts it, “Policy debate has been extremely beneficial for students. The workshop helped students realize their full potential as speakers.” And certainly, the workshop set a strong foundation for the season ahead!
Both workshops demonstrate SVUDL’s commitment to offering a variety of different activities for students to choose from. Whether they were new to Speech & Debate, looking to boost their skills in one format, or exploring a completely new event, the student attendees at this summer’s workshops proved that anyone can develop the skills to succeed in the event (or events) of their choosing.
We’re grateful to our incredible workshop leaders and to all the students who showed up ready to learn, participate, and have fun. Special thank you to Diya and Thomas for taking the time to work with our students at the Impromptu and Public Forum workshop, as well as Program Specialist Addis Arciniega for organizing and facilitating the Policy Topic Workshop!
