Public speaking may not be high on the list of favorite activities for most teen-agers, but two Denair High students flipped that script by recently excelling in regional speech competitions.
Zac Christianson and McKinley Binkley have shown that the combination of regular practice, focused preparation and the right experience can pay off with impressive performances.
Christianson, a senior, won the annual Lions Club speech contest last month, then finished first again in the Zone competition in Oakdale on March 6. That qualified him for the Regional event on March 24.
Binkley, a junior, won the FFA TriRivers Section speech competition in the extemporaneous category, which earned her a spot in the Regionals on March 7 at Modesto Junior College. Christianson also qualified for the MJC event after coming in second in the job interview division.
Both students said learning to overcome the normal nervousness associated with public speaking is an valuable skill that will benefit them for years to come.
“I think it’s important for people my age to confidently speak in public because there are so many places where you will have to speak to a lot of people,” Christianson said. “Just like learning a new language, it’s better to learn these skills when you’re young because it sticks with you easier. The younger you learn, the better you will be.”
His winning Lions Club speech was about seven or eight minutes long and responded to the question
“Is Artificial Intelligence a Friend or a Foe?”
“I said it was a friend and I used personal experiences I have had with artificial intelligence,” said Christianson, who is a veteran not only of the Lions Club speech competition but also many FFA events.
“I was pretty nervous because I was mostly improvising my speech, which I am very glad I did because it came out way better because of it,” he said.
Binkley also previously competed in the Lions Club event, but it is in the FFA competitions that she has really shined. Last year, she finished in the top 24 in the state in the FFA’s impromptu category. This year, she entered the FFA’s extemporaneous division, where she had 30 minutes to craft a four- to six-minute speech about the ways that farmers use technology to improve production agriculture. To prepare this time, she has been coming to school an hour early on Tuesdays and Thursdays since November to work with her teachers and peers.
“I absolutely love competing in public speaking contest and highly encourage anyone who is interested in it to try it because of how much fun it is,” Binkley said.
Though she didn’t qualify for the state competition this year, she said competing has taught her “that I want to have a career where I can do public speaking because I love it and have worked so hard to be good at it.”
Billy Myers – a Lions Club member who helps organize the local event – encouraged more students to overcome their hesitance to public speaking and embrace the chance to learn an important skill.
“By writing and delivering a 10-minute speech, students are utilizing critical thinking skills while working on persuasion of an audience to their viewpoint citing sources and delivering information in a clear concise way,” said Myers, a local business owner who also serves on the Denair Unified school board. “Secondly, building public speaking skills early is a great benefit to students entering college or the workforce.”
In addition to Binkley and Christianson, five other Denair students competed in the FFA TriRivers Section competition: Makenzie Miguel, Aaliyah Rodriguez, Rin Rice, Gracie Brigham and Anthony Zavala. Rodriguez finished fifth in impromptu speaking, but only the top three in each division advanced to the MJC event.
In the Lions Club competition, Victor Sarmiento joined Christianson as the other Denair High entrant.
“We are very proud of our students,” said Roger Christianson, a Denair High ag instructor and Zac’s father. “It takes a lot for them to compete and a lot of practice to get where they got.”
