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Conference  Program

The 2025 Conference Program 

Check out the variety of outstanding programing in the schedule below. 
​
Speech Communication Association of South Dakota
2025 Annual Conference
“Don’t Stop Believing”
Crossroads Conference Center, Huron, SD
 
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
7:30 – 9:00 p.m.
No-Host Mixer and Networking Event

 
Wednesday, July 23, 2023
8:00 – 8:30 a.m.
Conference Registration

Wednesday, July 23, 2025
8:30 – 8:45 a.m.
Conference Welcome

Wednesday, July 23, 2025
8:45 – 9:30 a.m.
SCASD Keynote Address - Radical Positivity: Creating a Path for Professional and Personal Growth as an Educator
Speaker: Dr. Andrea Carlile, Director of Forensics and Assistant Professor, South Dakota State University
 
Creating change in the classroom, as a coach and as a colleague, requires tenacity and grit. However, the path towards growth and transformation comes with ebbs and flows, which is where the concept of radical positivity comes into play. Radical positivity is more than manifesting, it asks even in the face of setbacks, and challenges to keep your vision and dreams at the forefront of your work. Through sharing her personal journey in higher education, Dr. Carlile’s keynote will provide a framework of radical positivity and how it has shaped her career. Radical positivity was at the forefront of her transformation of her role at South Dakota State University.

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

9:45 – 10:45 a.m.
Teaching Oral Interpretation
Speakers: Gina Koehn, Brandon Valley High School, and Michelle McIntyre, SF Washington HS
 
Whether it happens in a formal classroom setting, in after school practice times, or a combination of both, we are all teaching interp. This session will take you through some ideas for teaching interp and running practice sessions. Those of you who teach interp or have great ideas for practice times, please bring those ideas to this session.  If you have something on paper, bring enough to share. If you use websites or Google Docs to share, we will have a document to which we can post those. We can all learn from each other.  The hope is that this session will help all of us find inspiration in teaching and coaching our next team of speakers and maybe find a little magic for ourselves along the way.

Building Strong Groups and Teams: Exercises for the Classroom and Team Room

Speaker: Dr. Joshua Westwick, South Dakota State University
 
Effective groups and teams don’t just happen—they’re built through trust, communication, and collaboration. This interactive workshop will provide practical, hands-on activities designed to strengthen group dynamics in both the classroom and team settings. Participants will engage in energizing exercises that foster connection, enhance listening skills, and promote a positive, supportive team culture. This session will equip participants with ready-to-use activities to help students work together more effectively, resolve conflict, and build a sense of unity that translates into stronger performances and a healthier team environment.

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Strategies to Enable Engaged Student Leadership in the Classroom
Speaker: Dr. Becky Kuehl, South Dakota State University
 
In this workshop, participants will learn about three specific strategies to enable engaged student leadership in any communication classroom. The presenter will discuss different examples of effective course design that have led to increased engagement of student leadership in the post-secondary education classroom; however, these strategies would also translate into the secondary education classroom. The presenter will discuss how she personalized these teaching strategies and has revised them depending on the co-constructed learning context developed with her students. She has used these strategies in communication classes such as Public Speaking, Argumentation & Debate, and Intercultural Communication. The specific strategies to be discussed include: Discussion Facilitators, Class Code of Care & Ethics, and Hot Takes: Impromptu Four Corners Debates. 

Get them Hooked!

Speaker: Ann Tornberg, Beresford High School and Middle School
 
This Session will focus on developing or expanding a Middle School Oral Interp, Speech and Debate Program. Curriculum for a Middle School elective will be presented, as well as a discussion of NSDA Middle School membership and "after-school only" programs for Middle School students. 
  
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Lunch Break

Wednesday, July 23, 2025
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Hot Topics for the 25-26 Competition Year
Speaker: Michelle McIntyre, SF Washington HS; Molly English, Mobridge-Pollock School District
 
In this open discussion format, facilitator Michelle McIntyre will invite participants to have a dialogue about areas of concern/interest/curiosity so that, as a community of professionals, we can support each other as we work to build or improve our speech teams.  As has been done in the past, members will be invited to send in topics they feel are worthy of addressing, and the session will be designed around the most pressing issues that have been suggested.  All members are encouraged to offer their topics prior to the convention so that we can try to include as many of those ideas in the session as possible.  Some past topics have included clarification of how to coach and judge storytelling, content warnings, judging concerns, fundraising, and support for new coaches.  These topics can be revisited, and new ideas are encouraged to be suggested for this discussion-based session. 

Rules and Strategies for Definitions in Academic Debate

Speaker: Dr. Ryan Clark, Black Hills State University
 
In this session, Dr. Clark will discuss his paper, Rules and Strategies for Definitions in Academic Debate. Definition is a powerful act. To control the meaning of the central claim under discussion is to exercise control over the discussion itself. In being presumptive conferred "the right to define," the Affirmative is handed a considerable amount of power. Abuse of this power prompted the development of theorized procedural norms  (e.g., the non-topicality objection, the truism objection) to check the abuse of this power in academic debate. There norms are familiar. One would, for example, be hard-pressed to find a significant debate textbook on the market which does not spend several pages discussing defining terms. Even so, edge-cases still appear which invite further elaboration. One such case is when this right is extended to terms which are relevant to the discussion, but which do not appear in the text of the resolution itself. Another such case is the Negative strategy of arguing for a qualifying definition (a subtle modification of the Affirmative, rather than an outright rejection of it), rather than a traditional counter-definition. The present essay will consider these and other cases in clarifying the proper role of definitions in debate and how advocates may fairly use them to their strategic advantage. Improving our understanding and deployment of definitions in debate is central to understanding and improving the activity itself.

Wednesday, July 23, 2025
2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
Teaching Workforce Communication Skills
Speakers: Amber Jensen, South Dakota State University; Dr. Karla Hunter, South Dakota State University, Kevin Kessler, South Dakota State University, Kristyn Weaver, South Dakota State University, Stephen Snyder, South Dakota State University
 
In every discipline, communication skills play a vital role in students' workforce readiness and career success. This session equips educators to enhance students' workforce preparedness by demonstrating how communication education can be integrated across a variety of disciplines. We'll explore innovative "Great Ideas for Teaching Students" (GIFTS) developed during SDSU's Workforce Communication Initiative, a week-long train-the-trainer workshop. Going beyond traditional public speaking, we'll demonstrate how to cultivate vital skills, honor authentic student voices, and prepare students for career success.

What Ted Lasso Can Teach Us About Coaching Oral Interpretation
Speaker: Laurie Richards, Laurie Richards and Associates
 
Join us for an inspiring workshop that connects the coaching philosophy of TV's beloved football-coach-turned-phenomenon Ted Lasso to the art of coaching your oral interpretation team.
Just as Ted transforms team members into champions through positivity and emotional intelligence, this session will show you how to nurture your interpreters' hidden talents and mold vulnerability into strength. Learn practical techniques for developing individual voices, managing competition anxiety, and turning criticism into growth opportunities—all with a dash of Ted's signature optimism and humor.

Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Perspectives from Contest Judges: Lessons Learned
Speakers: Kim Bartling, Barb Kleinjan, Trisha Burke, Paul Harens, and Andy Hendrickson
Facilitator: Dr. Joshua Westwick, South Dakota State University
 
Join a dynamic roundtable featuring experienced speech and theatre contest judges as they share insights, challenges, and best practices from the judging table. This session will explore what judges look for in performances, common pitfalls, and how students and coaches can better prepare for competitions. This discussion hopes to provide valuable takeaways for coaches.

Can you spell South Dakota without a 'K'?
Speakers: Zach Pogany, Roosevelt High School; Michael Cole, Jefferson High School; Patrick Pope Harrisburg High School
 
This roundtable panel discussion focuses on what are K's in debate, how to interact with them and what their future (if there is any) in South Dakota Debate.
 
The spring of 2025 brought forth some change, discussions, some animosity and some angst to coaches, judges and competitors alike due to the emergence of K's in South Dakota. This panel will hopefully lead to a more fruitful discussion of what K's are, their pros and cons, and how to debate them, even if you don't like them. The Panel will include advocates of K's as well as stern opposition (like any good debate should be!). Our hope is that everyone will leave with a better understanding of what they are, how to talk about them and be able to debate them better, in or out of South Dakota.

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

5:15 – 6:15 p.m.
Don’t Stop Believing in Congressional Debate
Speaker: Katie Jacobs, Brookings High School
 
High school congressional debate has often been the ‘event of last resort’ in South Dakota. Fluctuating between a debate event and a rhetoric event, Congressional Debate often gets lost in the shuffle, rarely getting the spotlight. This session is an attempt to bridge that gap. This session includes: basic information on how to run a congress session, what to do if you are a congress judge, tips on how to help coach your congressional debaters to success, and resources to take back to your team. The session will end with a roundtable discussion on the logistics of the congressional season.
 
NSDA – Tips, Tricks, and Resources for Every Coach!
Speakers: Gina Koehn, Brandon Valley High School, and Michelle McIntyre, SF Washington HS
 
NSDA has many resources that can be used by schools with various levels of membership, from free to the school resource package. This workshop will show you how to find those resources as well as give you time for and assistance in finding them and suggestions on how to use them. If you are not an NSDA member school but have been thinking about joining, this workshop may open your eyes to helpful resources even if you do not plan to compete at the national level.  If you are a member school but have not dug into those resources, this time will help you find materials that you didn’t even know were out there!

Wednesday, July 23, 2025
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
SCASD Business Meeting & Awards Banquet

Thursday, July 24, 2025

7:45 – 8:00 a.m.
Conference Registration

Thursday, July 24, 2025
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Building Unified Speech Teams in our Communities
Speaker: Michelle McIntyre, SF Washington HS
 
As we all know, the speech community is one of inclusivity, welcoming, and respect.  As we see other activities offering Unified Teams in our buildings, let's consider how to include students with unique needs and abilities to join our community as well.  Based on the example of the Nebraska Unified Speech teams, this session will allow us to brainstorm ways we can create a similar space for students to find belonging, growth, and community, while gaining valuable speaking and presentation skills.  Presenters Michelle McIntyre and Gina Koehn will facilitate a brainstorming session that will allow us to have a conversation about how we can build on the successful models of Unified Speech competitors, how we can incorporate this opportunity at our tournaments, and how we can collaborate with our colleagues and student peer mentors to welcome students of all abilities into our circle.  We will first share the organizational examples of how our tournaments can be modified to include a Unified Speech division, what events we could offer, and how judges could support the growth of the students. We will also discuss the partnerships we could form with our Best Buddies groups within our buildings, and our SPED/RISE colleagues to support the development of students' competitive selections in practices.  We will also discuss what other considerations we will have to address before the fall season begins so we can best serve all students.
 
Building Authentic Connection and Leadership in Higher Education through Indigenous Storytelling
Speaker: Dr. Jamie Folson, South Dakota State University, Lindsey Hammer, South Dakota State University

Harvesting Hope is a network of Indigenous and non-Indigenous women in higher education across the state of South Dakota, who are committed to helping Indigenous students persist toward their goals of graduation and leadership. This panel represents the work of educators and students with the understanding that when Indigenous youth leave home and move into the world, education and beyond, the Western way has failed them in so many ways. Each of us brings the power of storytelling into how we understand becoming and being leaders in our communities. As teachers, cultural knowledge holders, students and as women, leadership is based in learning how to empower ourselves through storytelling in our own unique ways – honoring elders, video and creative media, cultural arts, and research that serves community. By supporting one another as peers, sharing out our stories, and using the Indigenous storyworks model of research, we aspire to build bridges between cultural teachings, kinship ties and success in higher education.
  
Thursday, July 24, 2025
9:15 – 10:15 a.m.
How to Host an Oral Interp Invitational: A Beginner’s Guide
Speakers: Amy Humpal, Bon Homme High School; Michael Larson, Lennox High School
 
Have you considered hosting an Oral Interp tournament but feel overwhelmed by all the “things”? Don’t worry! This presentation will guide you through the step-by-step process of organizing an invitational while utilizing Tabroom tournament software. This is a fantastic opportunity to create valuable experiences for all of our students to perform and to help grow your Oral Interp program!

Don’t Stop Believing in the Power of Creativity

Speaker: Katie Jacobs, Brookings High School
 
Whether it's flyers for team meetings, slideshows for lecture notes, or an almost unlimited number of other projects, Canva can be a valuable resource for students, teachers, and coaches alike. Canva is a versatile yet functional graphic design website that can help take basic flyers and presentations from simplistic to spectacular. This session aims to provide an overview of Canva's offerings as well as instructions on how to run some of its basic functions. Please bring your computer as we will also have time to use Canva to create your own projects.

Inspire Embodied Performance!
Speakers: Dr. Melissa Hauschild-Mork, South Dakota State University; Jim Wood, South Dakota State University
 
Join SDSU Professors Melissa Hauschild-Mork and Jim Wood for an experiential workshop designed to assist directors and coaches in eliciting movement that is fully embodied in performance. Participants will learn several movement practices enabling them to work with students for an intentional and objective-driven physical performance.

Thursday, July 24, 2025
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
South Dakota Forensics Coaches Association’s Annual “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” Discussion
Speaker: Michelle McIntyre, Sioux Falls Washington High School; Michael Cole, Jefferson High School; Patrick Pope, Harrisburg High School; Kerry Konda, Aberdeen Central High School
 
All members and non-members are welcome to join in the discussion on the current state of speech and debate in South Dakota, tournament scheduling, NSDA discussions, etc. The agenda will include new tournament dates, new locations, and a rules update for state debate.
 
Doing Versus Feeling – Working with Students to get an Authentic Performance
Speakers: Dr. Melissa Hauschild-Mork, South Dakota State University; Jim Wood, South Dakota State University
 
Join us for an experiential workshop designed to help teachers and coaches actualize active performance from students. Many students simply play the emotion. This workshop is designed to give tools for us to enable to break past that barrier and get students to pursue and objective and live “in the moment.”
 
Thursday, July 24, 2025
11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Rushmore NSDA Meeting
Northern NSDA Meeting

Thursday, July 24, 2025
12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
Speech Communication Association of South Dakota Executive Committee Meeting

 

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  • Home
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    • Registration and Hotel Info
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    • Program
    • Keynote
    • Grad Credit
    • Minutes
    • Videos
    • Conference Evaluation
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    • Past Award Recipients
  • Discourse
    • Discourse Archives
  • About SCASD
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    • Contact
    • Useful Links
  • Archives
  • SDFCA
    • Constitution
    • SDFCA Yearly Awards
    • Hall of Fame Members
    • Past Coach Award Winners
    • Past Senior Award Winners