Sucking at improv debates
This year in school I took a debate class instead of an English class. It seemed like a good idea because I am good at debate as long as I have a long time to prepare my speech, but one big thing done a lot in debate is improv debate. An improv debate event we have been doing lately is spar (my teacher calls it spar wars) and that requires preparing for a 2 minute speech in one minute and coming up with what to say for the Q&A and rebuttle round on the fly.
It takes me more then a minute to prepare for 2 minutes of small talk and even then I often suck at it. I have been in 3 spar rounds and I got my a** handed to me every time. I had to cut my speeches short because I ran out of things to say, I couldn't come up with good questions, I could barely keep my points strait, and I just overal sucked at debating. This is especially annoying because it's election season in the United States and every time I watch the candidates competently doing improv debate with each other it always makes me think about how I couldn't do that for the life of me even though I know all of the rules and tactics because I suck at processing language.
This makes me sound like an idiot whenever I am in a debate and it's really frustrating. Can anyone else relate?
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Also known as MarsMatter.
Diagnosed with Asperger's, ADD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in 2004.
In denial that it was a problem until early 2016.
Deviant Art
Had a speech impediment when I was younger. Suspect also mild verbal/language processing problems. Bad at both language and speaking. Have to do presentations for school. Suck at them. Draw blanks trying to think of words, then mess up saying them.
I go into them assuming they're going to be unmitigated disasters, so at the end when it's over and I haven't lost any limbs or been sent to prison it doesn't seem so bad. Plus I think I'm bad enough at them that everyone in the audience assumes I've got legitimate mental issues instead of just ordinary stupidity, for whatever that's worth.
It takes me more then a minute to prepare for 2 minutes of small talk and even then I often suck at it. I have been in 3 spar rounds and I got my a** handed to me every time. I had to cut my speeches short because I ran out of things to say, I couldn't come up with good questions, I could barely keep my points strait, and I just overal sucked at debating. This is especially annoying because it's election season in the United States and every time I watch the candidates competently doing improv debate with each other it always makes me think about how I couldn't do that for the life of me even though I know all of the rules and tactics because I suck at processing language.
This makes me sound like an idiot whenever I am in a debate and it's really frustrating. Can anyone else relate?
I can absolutely relate. I'm a lot like you, I think, in that if I'm given ample time to write out my thoughts I can spar very well on topics I know inside and out. Get me into a situation where I have to think on my feet, though, and I come across like a drooling moron. I'm sure not all people with ASD are like that, but it seems to be a common thing that we're slower to process and respond. I get unnerved really easily when facing a seemingly hostile audience. I've not done much in the way of formal debates, but suspect it would be no different for me.
For me it is difficult because I have language processing impairments. I find it very difficult to come up with what to say on the fly, even if it's just a casual conversation. I can and do speak in complex sentences, but I am rather slow at it and I prefer to use a simple sentence or a memorized phrase whenever possible. Not all aspies have problems with this though.
_________________
Also known as MarsMatter.
Diagnosed with Asperger's, ADD, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in 2004.
In denial that it was a problem until early 2016.
Deviant Art