My name is Cameron Doran and I'm a senior majoring in Japanese here at CU. Recently, I took first place in the College II Division of the 25th Colorado Japanese Speech Contest. At the beginning of this year, I was longing to participate in some kind of speech contest like I did in high school with Speech and Debate. When I found the opportunity to do the Japanese Speech Contest, I thought it would be a great way to grow as a Japanese speaker and finally use what I've been learning for the past year and a half.

But if I was going to participate, especially since I was the only one representing CU this year (where were you guys!), I was going to have to win it. So I wrote a speech about host clubs and the problems with the underground host culture in Japan. With the help of my TA, the incredible Andre Martinez, and some friends, the speech started to shape up after countless edits. Then I had one of my native Japanese friends record the 5-minute speech, which I ended up listening to about 200 times in my iPod around school.

The contest took place at the gorgeous Colorado Convention Center, downtown Denver on Saturday, November 5. There really weren't that many participants all in all (the Heritage Division only had one), but there were about 16 in the College II Division. We performed once, and it lasted half the day to get through everyone. In the end, I won a gift certificate to a Japanese online store and some other goodies. The real gift of the day though was getting to meet the Consul General of Japan, who I'll hopefully be interviewing with for the JET Program, and walking away knowing I did my best.

It seems daunting at first, but once you realize everyone is uncomfortable giving memorized speeches in a foreign language, it puts things into perspective. Most people had intermittent pauses or stumbled here and there, so there's nothing to worry about. But if you want to win, just make sure you spend some good time finding a unique topic, write an organized speech, and make sure it has a powerful message! Don't be afraid to ask for help editing it either. Then memorize it focusing on intonation, natural places to pause, and pronunciation. Good luck!