2 answers
Prawn
Student
Portland, Oregon
3
Questions
Asked
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How do I go about preparing for DECA ?
This is my first year doing DECA and I would like to have some resources to prepare for the competition. The events I'm doing for the competition are not yet confirmed, so I want to prepare in general, especially tips for role-plays.
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2 answers
Michelle M.
Entertainment Industry
1915
Answers
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello, Prawn !
This is truly awesome for you to have this most important experience that will greatly prepare you for your future career ! Sounds very exciting and I commend you for being proactive, involved and inspired to prepare for the event as much as possible.
I see that by your tags here that you will be participating in the Business and Marketing events. Familiarize yourself with role playing because the other categories will be fine for you if you get practice with role playing. Think of role playing as improvisation (because it is). You should also sharpen your knowledge of business and marketing. Read some books, read websites, be inspired by some online videos.
The website I have left a link for you below, DECA Direct, has wonderful tips to get your preparation started. It also can be a good place to read about other things you may be interested in.
I have done professional improvisation as an actor as well as role playing with clients as a case manger. My advice is to be as natural as possible and be sharp, think on your feet and work with the other person, not against them. If they say something is green, don't insist that it's purple. Play off the other person as best you can. I have found a remarkably good article for you on improvisation, a component of role playing. I have left a link to it for you below. Practice what you'd be doing for DECA with friends and family and see where you stand with your ability for role playing. Practice as much as you can. Come to your comfort level with it. Truly, role playing just gets better with frequent practice.
I hope that this has been a help for you and I wish you all the best with your DECA experience ! Have fun !
DECA DIRECT https://www.decadirect.org/articles/seven-tips-to-help-you-ace-your-role-play
IMPROVISATION https://copyblogger.com/improv-acting-for-bloggers/
This is truly awesome for you to have this most important experience that will greatly prepare you for your future career ! Sounds very exciting and I commend you for being proactive, involved and inspired to prepare for the event as much as possible.
I see that by your tags here that you will be participating in the Business and Marketing events. Familiarize yourself with role playing because the other categories will be fine for you if you get practice with role playing. Think of role playing as improvisation (because it is). You should also sharpen your knowledge of business and marketing. Read some books, read websites, be inspired by some online videos.
The website I have left a link for you below, DECA Direct, has wonderful tips to get your preparation started. It also can be a good place to read about other things you may be interested in.
I have done professional improvisation as an actor as well as role playing with clients as a case manger. My advice is to be as natural as possible and be sharp, think on your feet and work with the other person, not against them. If they say something is green, don't insist that it's purple. Play off the other person as best you can. I have found a remarkably good article for you on improvisation, a component of role playing. I have left a link to it for you below. Practice what you'd be doing for DECA with friends and family and see where you stand with your ability for role playing. Practice as much as you can. Come to your comfort level with it. Truly, role playing just gets better with frequent practice.
I hope that this has been a help for you and I wish you all the best with your DECA experience ! Have fun !
Michelle recommends the following next steps:
Thank you so much for the advice and the links, I really appreciate it!
Prawn
You are very welcome, Prawn !
Michelle M.
Caroline Luther
COO
3
Answers
Dallas, Texas
Updated
Caroline’s Answer
DECA was one of my favorite things in High School! Congratulations on pushing yourself to learn new skills that will certainly help you throughout your career. In addition to Michelle's advice, you could join local improve groups to get comfortable thinking through situations quickly and getting practice speaking with others out loud in front of audiences you may not know. Another thing that helped me was staying up to date with current business trends. Understanding the landscape can really help you feeling extra confident during the role-play.
Good luck! You are going to do great.
Good luck! You are going to do great.