Top speaker overcomes stage fright

Stephanie Christensen is arguably one of the best speakers in the state.

The Columbia Falls High School junior came in second in Memorized Public Address at last year’s Class A speech and debate tournament. Today she’s vying for state titles in that event and in Original Oratory.

She’s spoken in front of scores of judges in three years, but Christensen still hasn’t conquered her fear of public speaking.

“All my teachers always wonder why I’m not good at public speaking in class,” she said. “My brain stops functioning.”

Hours of practice and memorization help her brain function a little better during speech meets, but Christensen said she still struggles each round with stage fright. It was nearly crippling her first year in speech.

“Freshman year it was horrible. I would get so nervous. I’d be shaking and drink a lot of water,” she said.

“It’s better this year, but I still get really nervous before I go up.”

Despite her nerves, Christensen has emerged this year as one of the top competitors in Class A speech. She has won two meets in Memorized Public Address, most recently at the Northwest divisional meet in Whitefish.

She has won Original Oratory at five of the eight tournaments Columbia Falls competed at this season, including divisionals.

Her record in Oratory belies the nerves she feels before each round.

That event, in which she gives a speech she has written, is more challenging for her than reciting someone else’s speech in Memorized Public Address.

“It’s less terrifying if you’re speaking as a different person than [as] yourself,” Christensen said.

For two years, Christensen competed only in Memorized Public Address. The key to that event is to mimic, as closely as possible, the original speaker, she said — which is why she delivered her freshman speech in an Irish accent.

This year, at the suggestion of Michael Christensen — her father and head coach — she added Oratory to her repertoire.

“My dad wanted me to do Oratory because I’d been in MPA, with the focus on taking someone else’s voice,” she said. “It’s kind of difficult just to get out of speaking in someone else’s voice.”

Michael Christensen said he urges all the students in his program, not just his daughter, to use speech and debate to face their fears.

“The majority of kids in most speech programs do deal with self-esteem issues,” he said. “Any kid in any high school frightened of standing up in public and speaking — that’s exactly what you should then do. And the best place to do it is a speech program.”

Sometimes, Stephanie Christensen said, having a coach for a father is a blessing. It makes her practice harder, and she is never late for the bus when the team leaves early for a meet.

But sometimes, she said, having her dad as a coach can be a challenge.

“If I disagree with him, it just sounds like I’m arguing with him,” she said.

Christensen said she also gets more nervous during practice.

“It’s not a coach watching me. It’s my dad,” she said. “I feel I have to do twice as good as anyone else.”

Michael Christensen said he has loved coaching his daughter. As a freshman, she lived with her mother in Whitefish and competed for that team. It was “disappointing” to face her as a rival, he said.

“I didn’t root for her much,” he said — but admitted he did cheer for her when she did well at meets.

“When she did win as a freshman, every member of my squad stood and applauded that,” he said.

Stephanie moved in with her father as a sophomore and has competed for his team for the last two years. It’s hard on him sometimes; he said he sometimes overdoes his efforts not to favor her.

“There are decisions I have to make where I cannot benefit her, even at times when, frankly, she deserves it,” he said.

Stephanie is in the unique position of being part of both his families, he added.

“Since I’ve been coaching in Columbia Falls, speech is a second family,” he said. “I pretty much learn to love every kid I coach and want them to be as successful as they can possibly be.”

For Stephanie Christensen, that may mean a pair of state titles today — if she can just keep her nerves in check.

To win, she said, “just have confidence. If you go into a room confident, you’ll do well.”

Find out how Christensen and other Flathead Valley students did at this weekend’s state speech and debate competitions in Sunday’s Inter Lake.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.