Help prepare for DECA

[loonie]

Hey, I recently made it to DECA provincials and was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of resources I can use to find sample cases and exams. I already used the ones on deca's official site and some sample exams here http://www.sheffville.com/deca.htm but still feel I need a lot more prep in both oral and written areas of the competition. My category is "Accounting Applications". Thanks! Any other tips would also be excellent!!

[Canuck32]

It was fun seeing this message.

I was heavily involved with DECA in high school and have judged in numerous competitions since then. The one thing students tend to be unaware of is the way in which a roleplay is judged. Each roleplay has five competencies (I believe the formal title has changed) worth 18 points each and an overall impression score worth 10. It's important to make sure you address each and every competency during the course of the roleplay. I always suggest making it blatantly obvious for the judge as to which competency you are addressing - say something along the lines of "now I'm going to address ______". The reality is a great presentation may not get a great score if the student neglects to address one or more of the competencies.

Competencies also tend to repeat themselves from roleplay to roleplay. A basic knowledge of the business concepts found in these competencies will likely go a long way.

Eye contact and confidence is also important. In an ideal world you would be judged based on what you say not how you say it, but oral presentations just don't work that way.

Good luck.

[loonie]

It was fun seeing this message.

I was heavily involved with DECA in high school and have judged in numerous competitions since then. The one thing students tend to be unaware of is the way in which a roleplay is judged. Each roleplay has five competencies (I believe the formal title has changed) worth 18 points each and an overall impression score worth 10. It's important to make sure you address each and every competency during the course of the roleplay. I always suggest making it blatantly obvious for the judge as to which competency you are addressing - say something along the lines of "now I'm going to address ______". The reality is a great presentation may not get a great score if the student neglects to address one or more of the competencies.

Competencies also tend to repeat themselves from roleplay to roleplay. A basic knowledge of the business concepts found in these competencies will likely go a long way.

Eye contact and confidence is also important. In an ideal world you would be judged based on what you say not how you say it, but oral presentations just don't work that way.

Good luck.

Thank you so much for your advice, yes what you call competency we call performacne indicators. I am a reasonably confident speaker and am well aware of my topic so that is not realy the biggest issue. I need help preparing especially for the written exam for my topic because the questions tend to be so subjective if you know what I mean. It is almost hit and miss. So if you are aware of any resources I should refer to to help me with my topic I would greatly appreciate it. Written exams and sample role plays are preferred. Thanks so much again!

[Canuck32]

All this stuff can be ordered from DECA Images. It can be pricey but ideally your chapter can pool the resources together.

[PureReborn]

you have to compete to get to Provincials? I thought u can just go. Thats what I did. I think the most important thing is having to presentation and speech skills. Afterall it is business, so acting like you know what you're doing is more important than knowing (other than for the written of course).

I didnt know a lot of the concepts/terms on the roleplay and I still got 3rd place in Provincial.