Edward Everett Oratory Competition: Dylan Hoover

We talked to Dylan after he won the competition about his speech-writing techniques and involvement with the Speech Team as well as Mock Trial. We thought his speech-writing traditions were pretty unique.

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“Initially, there were so many ways to take the topic this year that I didn’t have any clear direction. About a week before I needed to submit my registration, Dr. Clark was lecturing on Buchanan and the role of government in Constitutional Political Economy class when I had that lightbulb moment for my topic. My speech writing process began very visually. I like to be able to draw out an outline and organizational structure to my argument on a markerboard before I begin writing in a more linear style. Because of this, my speeches tend to come together as a whole right from the beginning, which makes memorization much easier. I didn’t write it in pieces, but rather had the entire speech in my head and thought out loud before I began the writing process. After that initial draft, I then went back through to correct some vocabulary choices and make sure my introduction and conclusion were more impactful.

I was on both the speech team and the mock trial team my sophomore year and have continued only with mock trial ever since. Both were instrumental in teaching different aspects of rhetorical skills that can’t be learned elsewhere. This is the third year that I have competed in the Everett competition, and I am honored to have competed with other students of such a high caliber and receive critiques from such a distinguished panel of judges. Upon graduation I am looking to work in the financial services industry, particularly investing.”