CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM
Oh...she
was terrible! Her voice was too low and garbled, she did not look up, she was
slouched in the chair and her knees were visibly shaking. I cannot believe her
goal in life was to be a TV anchor woman. Of course, she was only 18 and this
was only a Forensic competition. But, it was a District competition and the
score I gave her determined if she would make it to the finals.
I
had put off doing my duty, as the parent of a speech team member, by being the
judge for at least one Speech/Forensics competition. By procrastinating and
waiting until the end of the year and judging the districts, little did I know
that what I saw...what I heard and the score I gave them could affect the rest
of their lives.
As
each student came in to be judged, I explained that, to me, they all deserved
to get a (1)! (The perfect score) By the mere fact they were there, impressed
the socks off of me. I cannot imagine getting up in front of my peers, or
complete strangers for that matter, and commanding the room. I did explain that
3 of them would have to get the 6, the 5, and the 4, but that it wasn't
personal. I was frantic with my decisions. I did not want to crush one
student's spirit. It was the end of the year, so only the best of the best were
here. That had to mean something to them.
I
joked with them and tried to make them comfortable. I'm sure I looked a little
goofy because I was so uncomfortable. Some of these young adults were
brilliant. I heard them in the halls talking about which colleges they were
attending and what law schools and medical schools they planned to attend. Oh
yes...I felt very intimidated at times. But, they were all polite...every last
one of them.
As
I pondered the TV anchor lady's performance, I wondered how my words might
influence the rest of the day's judging for her. I was only the first round
that she would encounter. I thought carefully and ranked her 4th. I wondered if
she'd ever been ranked higher than 6th? I carefully wrote:
"You
have everything it takes to be on TV except confidence in yourself. Try looking
the next judge in the eye and pretend she is the camera and there is no one
else in the room. Straighten your shoulders, lift your head and smile. Show
them proudly what kind of spirit you have, girlfriend! Best of luck...I believe
in you!"
I
sighed and went on the next competition, which, HEAVEN HELP ME was pantomime!
That's probably the only thing worse than TV anchoring...well, besides poetry!
I forgot about the girl~slash~young lady and tried to find my daughter to see
how she thought she was doing.
Well,
my daughter won first place in HUMOR SOLO. We laughed and clapped and teamed up
and started for the car.
I
heard a voice screaming "JUDGE, JUDGE....STOP!" I turned around and
there was the young lady whose aspirations were beyond my comprehension.
"Oh, thank you! I won 3rd place in the finals! I'm going to STATE and it's
all because of you!" I stood there stunned and unable to say anything.
"You are the only judge that ever ranked me higher than a 6. You believed
in me and now I believe in me! Thank you so much, I'll never forget you!"
Off she ran to join her friends.
So,
I was taught a very valuable lesson about myself. When given a choice...ALWAYS
take the high road. It takes very little thought to drag someone down...but, it's
worth the added time to give them a few seconds of feeling good about them.
I
don't even remember her name. Hopefully, I will recognize her on the TV some
years from now. I know one thing....she sure made my millennium.
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