Competitive Public Speaking Group

As a member of the George Mason Forensics Team, we travel primarily across the country for competitive public speaking competitions, through this extra-curricular event that Mason provides, we are subject to unique acronyms and vocabulary that someone outside of our group may not understand. For example, we use the term "breaking" meaning that we advance from the preliminary rounds to the out rounds. So its not uncommon to hear someone ask the question, "Did you break?" meaning "Did you advance?". Because a lot of the events are so long winded, we create acronyms for on the circuit. Another example would be one of the events P.O.I. which is spelled out Program Oral Interpretation.

Finally, one of our unique events is held towards the beginning of April. Everyone from across the country those we have seen and those we have not all come together for one last major national tournament at the end of the season called the American Forensics Association National Individual Events Tournament or AFA-NIET for short. This tournament rotates from college campuses all across the country every April that its held. In 2009, it was hosted at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. In 2010 it will be at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire.