DECA Role Plays: Timing and Pacing

1. DECA Role Plays: Timing and Pacing Created by: Rinelle Wong | Director of Training 2012 – 2013

2. What for? • Timing and pacing yourself is essential to a good role play • It is important to spend enough time on each and every performance indicator • You need to leave time for the judge to ask questions • You don’t want your role play to be too short, or to be too long that you get cut off before making a good exit • Individuals have a 10 minute time limit on role plays • Teams have a 15 minute time limit on role plays

3. Individuals: Pacing Yourself • Here is a general guideline for how you should spend your time: • 30 Sec → Introduction. Greet the judge with a firm handshake and a smile. Introduce yourself as well as your role • 30 Sec → Give a very brief overview of your purpose for meeting the judge. Assure the judge of your abilities (e.g. your marketing team has a great plan prepared, you are the best candidate for the job etc.)

4. Individuals, Cont. • 5 – 6 Min → Address your performance indicators. Spend roughly one minute on each indicator. Explain your ideas using correct terminology, relevant formulae and visuals! • 2 Min → Answer the judge’s questions. There are usually two or three questions. Take a moment to think about them first, then answer. • 30 Sec → Conclude the presentation. Thank the judge for his/her time, and assure them again of your abilities. Stand and shake the judge’s hand before leaving the role play area.

5. Teams: pacing Yourself • Here is a general guideline for how you should spend your time: • 30 Sec → Introduction. Greet the judge with a firm handshake and a smile. Introduce yourselves as well as your roles. • 30 Sec → Give a very brief overview of your purpose for meeting the judge. Assure the judge of your abilities (e.g. your marketing team has a great plan prepared, you are confident this sales presentation will be successful etc.)

6. Teams, Cont. • 7 – 8 Min → Address your performance indicators. Spend roughly one minute on each indicator. Make sure each team member says the same amount. Explain your ideas using correct terminology, relevant formulae and visuals! • 5 Min → Answer the judge’s questions. There are usually two or three questions. Take a moment to think about them first, then answer. Again, make sure each person says the same amount. • 30 Sec → Conclude the presentation. Thank the judge for his/her time, and assure them again of your abilities. Stand and shake the judge’s hand before leaving the role play area.

7. How do you time yourself? • Always bring a nice watch with you to your role play • Don’t look at your watch constantly or in an obvious manner • Subtly glance at your watch every so often to see how much time you have • There will be a person walking up and down the role play area giving you time estimates every few minutes

8. Tips for Pacing Yourself • Speak at a normal pace • Most of us have a tendency to speed up when we’re nervous • This often causes our role plays to be too short • Mentally remind yourself to slow down • If you need a moment to recollect your ideas, smile, pause and take a very brief moment to glance at your notes • Do not take up time with filler words (i.e. “um” and “uh”) • If your role plays are too short because you lack content, try using visuals and DECA formulas • E.g. Pie graphs, bar graphs, flow charts, AIDA(S), FISH!, SWOT analysis

9. Tips, Cont. • If your role plays are too long because you have too many ideas, underline your most important ideas in your notes and focus on those • It is better to explain a few concepts well than to explain many concepts poorly • Maintaining a sense of purpose and focus makes it easier for your judge to mark you • Practice, practice, practice! • Practicing will help you get used to the length of presentation

10. Remember: • The key to a good presentation is timing—you never want to find yourself feeling rushed or struggling to fill up time • Learning to pace yourself is never easy. Practice and patience is your best bet to perfecting this skill. Good luck!