While different visuals definitely can help, make sure that they are appropriate and engaging. This. AFGE encourages DeCA bargaining unit members to serve as onsite representatives. Penalty points can cause you to lose your chance for advancement quickly! If you like event planning and management and want to have a tangible impact on your school or community, try a chapter event! DECA club activities During your chapter's DECA club, you do a wide variety of activities. The great thing is that DECAs Competitive Event series offers a plethora of exciting events to chose from. Youll do great. DECA Club In High School - Vibrant Guide 1 0 obj Great! 5 0 obj 3 Written Event Competition Tips to Consider. Go out there and crush it! A simple print-out of the event guidelines, a few dates/ranges scribbled here and there, and that was it. If you fancy yourself a strong public speaker, then definitely consider going this route. Out of those ten, three will be awarded DECA Glass. She has the largest DECA chapter in her state with over 170 members. She also offers several tips on how students can better prepare in order to give themselves the best chance to win. If this is the case, focus on your paper until the due datedont even think about your presentation. Chapter Team events provide the amazing opportunity to engage chapter members in school-wide/community-wide activities that cover the specific event. . Then go for a traditional PowerPoint presentation. Per DECAs website, these events provide opportunities for members to develop an integrated marketing campaign of no more than 45 days in length for a real event, product or service and present the campaign in a role-play situation. Much like the events they are replacing, IMCs are a hybrid between traditional written events and series events: while you still present a paper to a judge, you/your team must also take a career cluster exam (marketing cluster). If you love solving a challenging problem on your feet, then Id advise staying away from written events (go for role plays!). Getting Started With Written Events! Attached is a chart presented at a 2016 Power Trip workshop by Ms. Annie Hulse from Oakton DECA, so all credit goes to her. My name is Andrew Weatherman. I ran tight on time during my final IBP pitch at ICDC, and I honestly think that was the deciding factor between first and second oh well. You may have been told that a certain section isnt important. DECA breaks the written events into four categories: Business and Operations Research Events, Project Management Events, Entrepreneurship Events, and Integrated Marketing Campaign Events. Every DECA written event allows you to compete solo, as a partnership, or as a group of three. Executive President. Start completing the fillable fields and carefully type in required information. Often times, a part of your presentation/paper may make perfect sense to you but is confusing in the eyes of an audience member. Do you have a plan B in the event your visual aid becomes inoperable? Many judges wont have time to read your entire paper, so they will read your summary in-depth and skim the rest. <> Choose from DECA's Written Events Business Operations Research Events 1. Business Services Operations Research Event 2. Quick steps to complete and e-sign Deca statement of assurance online: Use Get Form or simply click on the template preview to open it in the editor. After your pitch, the judge(s) will likely have some questions. Here are all of the top secret competition goods! Independence DECA X will start making small changes, and if they believe that they have made too many adjustments, they will simply CNTRL+A and DELETE your work. Go straight in for the handshake; meet their hand directly. This is the most important part of your paper! Get the jist? These events follow a topic that changes from year-to-year. Tred with caution. In the finals round, every project presents to the same judge. I also made business cards with my name and company logo, and I handed the judge a card before I wrapped up. Take a look at your visual aids and make sure that they support your presentation. Having too many pages. The tough decision, though, was what event to pick. Additionally, I served North Carolina DECA as a VP and a voting member on the Board of Directors. Make your presentation aesthetically pleasing! Generally, a fancy board will take away from your speaking. Opportunity. 20182019 Update: DECA updated the general written event guidelines, and with that update, new rules regarding presentation visuals were implemented. Likely, your judge wont be able to take their eyes off it. Better yet, if you can include an opening that calls on pathos, then this is definitely the best way to go. This means no wheeled carts or other items that assist in carrying your visuals will be allowed. Prepare back-ups or alternatives so that there are no disasters that could derails all of the work youve put into your final project. 3) You have a unique idea you know you can sell to the judges. They are classified by industry and career cluster. As the competition season heats up, take the opportunity to review the written event that youve worked so hard on. Written events are a process, and they require months of preparation, all-nighters, and a lot a lot of research. Options range from a trifold to a life-size toilet paper roll on a rolling clothes rack. %PDF-1.7 Most people remember the beginning and the end, so make it count! It wasnt much, and it doesnt have to be much. As these events are new, not many tips exist for them. I knew I had to go for an entrepreneurship event so that automatically narrowed the field. You are the authority on the subject. To learn more about a specific event, go to DECAs competition section of their website, and the link for the guidelines of every event will be attached when the event is first mentioned. You. Theyre a super fun and different way to compete, but they sure arent suited for the average member. Use charts and graphs in your paper (especially in the ES). If you're looking for more information on DECA's International Career Development Conference competitive events process and transcripts, look no further! During this round, you will compete against 19 projects (give or take, depending on your event). Your partner/group members, though, must be from your home chapter. Triple-check your paper for penalty points before you submit it, and enlist the help of a few classmates., Some common mistakes that lead to penalty points are as follows: exceeding the number of pages, leaving out a section, not having all pages numbered, not using current guidelines (see, I told you guidelines were important). Over the course of the conference, hundreds of industry judges and DECA volunteers assess and evaluate thousands of DECA students in competitive events. So some competitors like to play videos during their pitch. I ran tight on time during my final IBP pitch at ICDC, and I have always wondered if that was the difference between first and second. Unlike all other written events, though, the Business Growth Plan has strict rules on who can compete; since this event involves crafting a detailed growth plan and strategy for a business owned by a DECA member, all competitors must be documented owners/operators of the business a parents business does not qualify. All events, though, allow for a single competitor, a partnership, or a team of three. No formula, advice, etc. If you decide to form a partnership or team, take a week to just talkdoesnt have to be about DECA. When I presented, I used a traditional PPT and a clicker. If youre like me, though, and rolling with a simple, non-animated PowerPoint, then get ready to give the best pitch of your life. Competitive Events | High School | DECA Inc. For example, I included my companys logo as the center header on every page, and the footer with the required page number was in the color scheme of my company. (S/O to Dylan Heneghan for running to the hotel to get it for me.) In my home association of North Carolina, Chapter Team events are the Holy Grail; if you want to prove that you are the best competing chapter, a great way to do that is to tackle the Chapter Team events. Take advantage of the DECA-exclusive events that occur at ICDC. Even though I have harped on the importance of research and planning, I have purposely left this stage relatively empty. Recently, I was asked by a few DECA members for written conference competition tips. However, you should not take up that whole time presenting. It should concisely and effectively highlight the main points of your written entry all while including a call to action. You have a tricycle mounted on a board (true story)? Additionally, I served North Carolina DECA as a VP also one choose member on who Board of Directors. As ICDC nears, I have received a few questions about presentations and how to make your paper stand out. Not using the current years event guidelines. No judge will read or even skim a paper that is 95% black-and-white text. I dont care. I guarantee that if you walk around the Georgia Convention Center for fifteen minutes and try to meet new people, you will walk away exposed to unprecedented amounts of varying culture and personalities. This is, without a doubt, my most important tip. Glass is super hard to win, and you have to earn it. Business Operations Research events provide you the opportunity to conduct research with a local business/organization and present your findings to a judge at competition. that couldve brought potential benefit to my paper. Penalty points will literally ruin everything. DECA breaks the written events into four categories: Business and Operations Research Events, Chapter Team Events, Entrepreneurship Events, and Integrated Marketing Campaign Events. Like BOR events, Chapter Team events have a maximum page limit of thirty pages and allow for a single competitor, a partnership, or a team of three chapter representatives. When it comes time to make a decision, you have full say, so if you dont consult outside help, youre getting a very biased view. Thoroughly document your [research] while its going on. No matter the results in Atlanta, you made it, and thats no easy task. Following my term as state president, I was elected as the 20182019 DECA Inc. Executive President. Include data and finances. The Ultimate DECA Written Event Guide Recently, I was asked by a few DECA members for written event competition tips. That said, though, you must make your board effective. My sophomore year I competed in Start-Up Business Plan, and my junior year I competed in International Business Plan. This guide will outline the process and framework I employed last year en route to DECA Glass. In this article, Ill summarize each written event and add a little commentary. Include the most important details, and be thorough on those details for every section. When writing the summary, which should be the last thing you write, imagine that your ES is the only thing your judge will read (which it could be), and you need to sell him on your idea with that ES. 4. If your event is one of the final events to be announced, then I recommend skipping the photo-op and running to check your competition time: photos can wait; you dont want to miss your presentation time, and you may want to run through your pitch one final time. As a serious competitor, you need to channel your inner critic; try to read your paper through the lens of that advisor and make changes just as a harsh third-party would. Once you decide on a logo and font, maintain a consistent color scheme and font usage. An age-old debate between research hounds and perfectionists: should my paper be content heavy or aesthetically pleasing? In your paper (and presentation) include the exact vocabulary from the rubric and guidelines in your writing. Niles North DECA Written Projects If you fault at this, then your project is likely toast. You can slack on any other stage and produce a winning project, but if you chose to slack on this stage, then you can kiss your Glass hopes bye. That said, I still had a rough sketch and timetable for my event. It wasnt much, and it doesnt have to be much. A respectable content-to-visual ratio for every page (that isnt financials) is 75:25. Practice fluent transitions and handoffs of parts, Divide speaking and answering time evenly. The great thing is that DECAs Competitive Event series offers a plethora of exciting events to chose from. Please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE quadruple-check your paper for penalty points before you submit it, and enlist the help of a few classmates. You have 15 minutes to give your pitch. Because its the first thing that your judge will read. A way I prepared for questions was to practice pitching to friends and family and field questions from them. From the paper standpoint, the team route (when executed well) decreases the workload and dependence of all members. The events that were under this umbrella and phased out include the Advertising Campaign, Fashion Merchandising Promotional Plan, and Sports and Entertainment Promotional Plan. Like your paper, make sure to incorporate the same color scheme and font use through your visuals. However, you shouldnt use the whole time presenting. Listen Series Event Tips Straight From A #DECAGlass Winner and 3X ICDC Finalist! Credit to Annie Hulse of Oakton DECA (VA). If you love solving a challenging problem on your feet, then Id advise staying away from written events (go for role plays!). Make sure, though, that you arent adding visuals just to add them. Explore these frequently asked questions and answers. Jokes aside, however, judges can sense if youre apprehensive. Thats how winners work. A fancy presentation board is a great way to get the attention of your judge and for them to remember you. See the DECA Guide for exact offerings and guidelines. Also, a word of wisdom: Ive gotten burned by (looking back) ludicrous promises by teammates. This is the stage that you DO NOT WANT TO SKIP. Use graphics and formatting as appropriate. You have no one to hold you responsible to any deadline, and if you start to lose interest, you will have to find a way to reel yourself back in. You might think, Oh, by rearranging these sections, Ill certainly stand out! Thats a common thought, but also an erroneous one.. If you have that mindset, stop reading right now. If you are going to fall at around the 2 level on the flowchart below, at least memorize the general structure. WRITTEN PROJECTS. Shop DECA is the official source for your chapter needs. The Innovation Plan is the shortest written event available, clocking in at a maximum page limit of five. Even with the recent changes to the written event guidelines, the graphic below still stands (just ignore the page length headers)! If you can, substitute text for bullet points or flow charts. A big question with presentations is always should I script it or not? If tests arent your thing, I recommend staying away from these events. However, if you like having a prepared plan and the opportunity to rehearse, go ahead and try a written event! When I wrote like books, I were serving as the State President of North Sc DECA. That said, researching is supremely important. Events in this category have a maximum page limit of 20 pages and allow for a single competitor, a partnership, or a team of three. There are five events that fall under the BOR umbrella: Business Services, Buying and Merchandising, Finance Operations, Hospitality and Tourism Operations, and Sports and Entertainment Operations. Please, give your judge a handshake before and after the presentation. If your chapter is up to the challenge, you can do all six events! I said this in my Presidential farewell; I said this at chapter meetings; I say this when pitching DECA. The Ultimate DECA Written Event Guide | by Andrew Weatherman | Medium DECA Direct Written Events Tips LINK; DECA Direct Presentation Tips LINK; Competitive Event Resources: Business Operations Research & Professional Selling and Consulting 2019-2020; Tips From an Expert! Most importantly, have a respectful tone when answering. Itll show. After scouring DECA Direktverbindung for advice, I realized that are your no top document full of tips, like I decided to author my own. When you join DECA, you're a part of something greater; you're part of an unstoppable force of nearly 152,000 members around the globe. Think of the exterior things that could go wrong on the day of your presentation. Choosing your team, or not choosing one, is the single most important decision you will make during your project. Written Event Statement of Assurances and Academic Integrity Form If you received a perfect score on your Executive Summary section, and you believe the score was not by fluke, then why edit your paper?! Having a budding affinity for the world of entrepreneurship, I instantly gravitated towards these events. Financial Services Team Decision Making | DECA+ In addition to the Written Entry Guidelines, participants must observe all of the standards on the Penalty Point Checklist.