Hello Florida DECA!

This month's vlog is all about CTE Month.  CTE stands for Career and Technical Education and provides education that directly prepares students for high-wage, high-demand careers all across the nation. CTE Month is a public awareness campaign that takes place each February to celebrate the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across the country. It covers many different fields, including health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing, hospitality and management and much more. 

Here are some helpful links to better understand CTE month and what to do: 
https://careertech.org/engaging-policymakers
https://www.acteonline.org/why-cte/cte-awareness/cte-month/

And remember, the activities that you do can be used in the ABP along with submission to DECA Inc.'s Advocacy Campaign so that's a 2 in 1 on top of being recognized at ICDC as well! 
Now have fun, get out there and advocate :)

COMPETITION SEASON HAS BEGUN!
I know many of you have your district competition soon, and that means it’s PRACTICE TIME! The most important thing to keep in mind when preparing for competition is exactly that: preparation. There will always be people who show up to competition without ever having practiced a single time! Your job is to be grateful for those people and outdo them! 

Written Event/ Professional Selling & Consulting Events:
- It’s never too late to start working on a presentation! Don’t show up without a game plan! 
- Include visual aids!! This is extremely important, but must be done the right way: make sure you do not repeat points throughout your aids- the point of them is not to repeat the same information ten times but present different information in different ways to keep it interesting!
- I recommend a poster with pictures and a powderpoint or prezi. 
- Use the 5x5 rule! Each line of a powerpoint should have a maximum of 5 words and 5 lines maximum total.
- It’s okay to use index cards! It’s better to cover all your points! 
Role Plays
- speak with confidence
- use the competitive edge to study information
- check out the decadirect article on the 2019 District Instructional Areas to find out what your role play will be about! Then, research that topic in relation to your event to gain that competitive edge(;

All:
- Have open body language: use hands when talking (not crossed), good posture, not touching hair or face, hands out of pockets.
Good luck to everyone! Can’t wait to see you all at CDC💙