Adam Jacobi is an “um”-less man. Chat with him for 20 minutes and you won’t hear an “um” or a misplaced “like,” for that matter. Jacobi attributes his verbal dexterity to his experience with Speech and Debate, formally known as forensics.
Jacobi remembers, back in middle school, when the forensics coach of his middle school gave him an information sheet, a permission slip and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to perform.
“The funny thing is, I just assumed I didn’t have a choice in the matter,” Jacobi says. At the time he was a self-proclaimed “meek, timid little kid,” but this activity gave him an outlet where he could be geeky, fun-loving and expressive. It’s where he started making friends and found his people.
“I can’t say enough good things about it,” Jacobi says. “It made such a huge difference in my life, and I think that’s why I’ve stayed involved, because I just love seeing what it does for kids, uplifting them and empowering them. I’ve made a career out of it, and I couldn’t be happier with what I get to do on a daily basis.”
For 11 years now, Jacobi has been the executive director of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Speech & Dramatic Arts Association (WISDAA). He is currently curating the massive schedule for the Wisconsin State Speech & Debate Festival, held at UW–Madison since 1895. Co-hosted by the College of Letters & Science, the 2025 festival will use 120 classrooms across six different buildings around campus and feature 3208 students from 293 schools. There are 18 contest events, spanning various types of speech, performance and debate. This multi-institutional occasion is staffed by faculty from schools all around the state and retired educators, who stay involved by volunteering their time and expertise.
“The WISDAA event is an example of bringing prospective students to campus, and hopefully giving them an experience they value,” says Austin Thoma, UW–Madison’s Director of Speech and Debate. For high schools that do not have the resources for competition, for students who otherwise don’t get opportunities, for kids stepping foot into the world of speech and debate, “the WISDAA festival is a chance to shine.”
Before becoming an independent, nonprofit organization, WISDAA originated at UW–Madison. Chancellor Charles Van Hise once cited this project as a shining example of the Wisconsin Idea in action. The Wisconsin Idea — that education should influence people’s everyday existence beyond the bounds of the University and the state — and this festival both hinge upon community engagement, filling gaps of resources and knowledge, and implementing acquired knowledge to expand perspectives.
At a high school 45 minutes outside of Madison, AP U.S. History students read Woman and the New Race by Margaret Sanger. One such student, Morgan Wheeler, deepened her understanding of Sanger’s viewpoint by relating it to contemporary issues; and as a member of the forensics team, she thought about how this could facilitate an audience’s understanding of Sanger’s reasoning.
Thoma believes this is the essence of speech and debate: it teaches advocacy skills.
“It teaches students to interrogate their own beliefs, the systems they find themselves in, and the state of the world,” Thoma says. “It teaches them to speak up for what they believe in and gives them the tools to do so effectively.”
This weekend, for the WISDAA festival, Wheeler will perform “The Right to One’s Body” by Margaret Sanger (1920).
“I am feeling a mix of anxiety and confidence,” she says. “Anxiety, where I don’t know if my speech will be good enough to get a critics choice award, and confidence, where I believe that, with the growth I have been through with practice, I should feel proud with the effort I have put into this piece.”
In response to this, Jacobi would likely “um”-lessly advise her to focus on the importance of the message and stop worrying about judgments or awards.
“As soon as you just enjoy what you’re doing for the thrill of doing it… that’s when you’re going to be successful,” he says.
Wheeler’s teammate, Trevor Owens, remembers he was nervous, “very, very nervous,” at his first debate performance. “But then after doing it once or twice, I realized that I felt a sense of belonging, like I belonged to be able to public speak.” Owens describes his middle-school self as soft-spoken and reserved. Joining forensics freshman year, he viewed it as a way to come out of his shell. He says his experience with speech and debate has helped him become more confident and given him a louder voice. Saturday, April 12th, at 11:30 a.m., Owens will deliver a six-minute speech of his own authorship.
Dr. Kay Neal, a mentor of Adam Jacobi’s, once described forensics as one of the purest forms of education. This activity brings together students from all different backgrounds, and it meets kids where they are and helps them grow.
“That’s what I really love about it,” he says. “It’s such a game-changer for kids. It’s an outlet for them to express themselves. It opens their minds to varying perspectives. It builds confidence in young people,… and the benefit of building confidence in young people cannot be overstated.”
He cannot say enough good things about it.