Creative Competition in Radiosport and Toastmasters - Part 4: Practicing for Perfunctory Performance

In Part 2 of this Blog series I detailed the 6 P's: Planning, Preparation, Practice, Persistence, Presentation & Protocol.  While I gave a useful overall of Practice, there is much more to say
about it.  Part 4 of this series details things that have come to mind since then.

A common theme w/both radiosport and speech contests is LACK of practice; many contestants
are not well-enough prepared for how the actual event will actually go.

In speech contests, it's often clear who has not rehearsed their presentation; in radiosport, it's often clear who has not read the contest rules.  In BOTH cases, it all begins w/reading the rules, as well
as the judging criteria.  Then, having done that, devising a training / rehearsal schedule.  With most events, there is ample time to practice/rehearse your art; yes, speech contests and radiosport competitions are an art.

In preparation for an upcoming speech contest, I find opportunities to present different aspects of my speech before clubs or other audiences, altho I avoid clubs I may be in competition with (so as not
to give away what I am up to).  

Doing trial runs via Zoom allows me to get immediate feedback as well as video the presentation, allowing me to observe the presentation (from the audience perspective) and fine-tune the minute details.  During speech practice, I pay special attention to the time for each segment, as well as
the speech overall.  While there are timing APPs available, I chose to write my own custom Windoze APP allowing me to focus on and track details that are important to a superior delivery.

In radiosport because there are different modes (Ex: Ssb, Cw & RTTY) each mode requires a custom practice exercise unique to that particular mode.  In preparation for Cw contests, I find it useful to monitor Cw traffic handling on 80-meters and/or Cw SPRINT contests in order to get used to fast-clip Cw exchanges.  A few rounds with the various contest trainer programs can also be useful.  

I know of two upcoming operators who turned the power down and ran on 6-meters taking turns "running a frequency" while the other sent callsigns/exchanges from old logs for that contest. 
A slightly more advanced trick is to slightly vary the call-in frequency for each "caller", potentially requiring the run operator to "tune the calling station in".

For Ssb contests, spending evenings on 75-meters monitoring nets (esp. during roll call) helps me
to better discern callsigns and basic quick-exchanges.  For BOTH Cw and RTTY, tuning to W1AW's evening code practice and RTTY bulletins yields practice in correct copy.

In BOTH speech contests and radiosport, perfecting the art requires Listening - LoTs of Listening.  The more we Listen, the more we Learn.  Then, when We learn something new, it's time to again practice, Practice, PRACTICE.

Do you get how important it is to Practice?