THEBASICSOFCOACHING
EXTEMPORANEOUSSPEAKING
CarverHodgkiss,AthensHighSchool
WHATISEXTEMPORANEOUSSPEAKING?
ExtemporaneousisdefinedbyMerriamWebsteras“madeupordonewithout
specialpreparation.”(
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extemporaneous)
Preparedbutnotscripted–thismeansthatspeakerspreparetheirnotes,butonly
inanoutlineform.
Atitsroot,Extemporaneousspeakingcanbesummatedasfollows:competitors
drawatopic,havethirtyminutestopreparetheirspeech,andthendeliveraseven
minutespeechtoberankedagainsttheircolleagues.
WHYCOMPETEINEXTEMPORANEOUS
SPEAKING?
Teachescriticalthinkingskillsthathelpcompetitorssucceedinotherevents.
Teachesadaptation–apolicydebaterthatisuncomfortablewithapositionina
debateroundcanfrequentlystillsucceeddespitetheirdiscomfortbecauseof
trainingfromextemp.
Teachesorganization–speechesatthehighesttiersofcompetitionare
organized,divided,andsubdivided.
Teachesknowledgeofandarespectforcurrentevents.
Helpstolearndiscipline–hundredsofpracticespeechesandthousandsofhours
offilingandorganizingarticlesteachesstudentstotakecontroloftheirsuccess.
Teachesmoreadvancedwritingskills.
CATEGORIESWITHINEXTEMPORANEOUS
SPEAKINGASANEVENT
Informative–atopicsuchas“WhatleadersareonHillaryClinton’sshortlistfor
VicePresident?”requirethespeakertodrawfromsourcestocompilealistof
informativepointsthataredesignedtoleavetheaudienceandcriticmore
knowledgeableaboutthetopic.
Persuasive–atopicsuchas“WillHillaryClintonwintheDemocraticNomination
forPresidentoftheUnitedStates?”requiresthespeakertoprepareanddeliveran
argumentfilledspeechdesignedtopersuadetheaudienceandthecritic.
Itisimportanttoremember,though,thatALLextemptopicsaredrawnfrom
currentevents.Historyandpersonalopinionareexludedfromtopicselection.
TopicsmaybedrawnfromTexas,UnitedStates,orevenInternationalnews
sources.
EXAMPLESOFINFORMATIVETOPICS
InlightofthelatestTexasSupremeCourtruling,howwillschoolfinanceinTexas
bereformed?
WhatlegacyasaneconomicleaderwillPresidentObamabeleavingbehind?
WhatiscontributingtoSpain’songoingpoliticaldivision?
WhatlegacydoesjournalistMorleySaferleave?
WhatistheextentofdamagefromCanada’scatastrophicwildfire?
EXAMPLESOFPERSUASIVETOPICS
Hasanewsuperpowernucleararmsracebegun?
IsJacobZumastrengtheningorweakeninghisgripontheAfricanNational
Congress?
WhatarethemosteffectivewaystoevaluateteacherperformanceinTexaspublic
schools?
HasthearrivalofthedigitalagecausedmajorchangesinU.S.publicschool
libraries?
DoesChicagohavesystemicproblemsinitspolicedepartment?
WHERETOFINDPRACTICETOPICS?
http://www.uiltexas.org/speech/extemp-haspracticetopicsforeachmonthas
wellasthecompiledlistsoftopicsfromeachlevelofUILcompetition.
http://speechgeekmarket.com/
THERULESANDREGULATIONSOFTHE
CONTEST
Studentsaresplitintosectionsof6to8witheachsectionspeakinginadifferent
room.
Typically,tabwillassignspeakerorderunlessalternativearrangementsexist.
Preliminaryrounds(typicallyonlyoneortwo)withtherequisitenumberof
speakersadvancingtowhicheverlevelofeliminationroundsthattournamentsize
dictates.
WHATDOEXTEMPPAIRINGSLOOKLIKE?
PersuasiveSection1
Room100
CobyHildred
JodyCheyenne
TaeganKenzie
JessAriel
BlairPhoenix
ShelbyNicky
THEPREPROOM
Alsocalled“extempdraw”
Allextemperswillgatherintheassignedareafordraw.
Rollcall–thisensuresthatallstudentsarepresent.Thisalsoallowsthoserunning
drawtoaccommodateanycross-entriesthatexistinordertomodifythespeaking
order.
Allfirstspeakersarecalledtothefrontoftheroomtodrawtheirtopics.All
speakersineachspeakingpositionwilldrawtheirtopicssimultaneously.
5-10minutedrawnintervals.Growingtrendtowards7-10minuteintervalsto
allowpropertimeforspeechestobedelivered.Thisalsoavoidsalargebacklogof
extemperscloggingthehallway.
DRAWINGATOPIC
Whenastudentsspeakernumberiscalled,thestudentwillfindtheenvelopeof
topicswiththeirsectionnumberlabel.
Thestudentwilldrawfivetopics–studentstonotgettoreplacetopicsthey
dislike.
Studentswillselectonetopicandthenfollowtheparticulardrawrooms
proceduresbeforereturningtotheirprepareaandbeginningtheirpreparation.
PICKINGATOPIC
Therearestrategiesbehindtheselectionofanextemptopic.Typically,students
shouldstrivetoselecttopicsthat:
Theyarefamiliarwithandhavesufficientknowledgeof
Theyhavepreviousexperiencewith.Sometopicspopupmultipletimesthroughoutthe
year.
Areinterestingtothestudent.
Areinterestingtotheaudience.
PREPARINGTHESPEECH
Assoonasthestudenthasreturnedtotheirseat,theyshouldfindtheappropriate
filesandbegintheorganizationandwritingoftheirspeech.
SpeechSHOULDNOTbewrittenwordforword.Thecompetitorshaveonly30
minutestoprepare.
Itiswisetoadvisestudentstoallowatleast10minutesofpracticinginorderto
ensurecontentandspeechmechanicsflowappropriately.
Competitorsareallowedtheuseofone3x5notecard,althoughmostextempers
developbeyondtheneedofanotecard.
RESOURCESDURINGSPEECH
PREPARATION
Duringthepreparationofaspeech,acompetitormayuseeachofthefollowing:
Paperfiles
Electronicallysavedfiles,althoughthesefilesMUSTonlybeinPDFform
QuotationCompilationBooks
Historybooks
Studentsareexpresslyforbiddenfromaccessingthefollowingduringprep:
Assistancefromcolleaguesoracoach
Internet
Pre-preparedspeechesoroldspeechesfrompreviouscompetitions
Anytypeofbrieforotherpre-preparedmaterial.
UILcompetitionsareveryparticularabout
whatisacceptablematerialindrawrooms.
Besuretoalsoinvestigatetherulesonyour
owntime.Youcanfindtheofficialrulesatthe
UILwebsite(www.uiltexas.org)
EXPIRATIONOFPREPTIME
After30minuteshasexpired,thespeakermustgototheirassignedroomto
deliverthespeech.
Besureyourstudentsknowtoaskfordirectionsiftheyneedto.
NOTHINGcanbetakenwithstudentfromthepreproomexceptforthe3x5
notecardifthestudentdecidedtouseit.
LENGTHSOFSPEECHES
Officially,speechesmustbewithinthe7minutetimelimit.
Competitorsmay,however,completetheirsentence.
Thereisnominimumtimerequirementforspeeches,althoughsuccessful
speakerstendtousealloftheirtime.
Timesignals
Timecards
Handsignals
HELPINGSTUDENTSMANAGE
INFORMATIONDURINGPREP
Speechesdonothavetobememorized.Studentscanusea3x5notecard.
Ifastudentrequiresanotecard,remindthemtowriteasmuchastheywant,but
tominimizethewritingtoavoidthecardbecominghardtoread.
Thecardshouldbeheldinaportraitstyleandcuppedinthestudentshand.
Themostsuccessfulspeakersdonotusecards,butbeginnersfrequentlyrelyon
notecards.
Besuretopushthestudentbeyondthenotecard–teachthemtorememberthe
newsarticlesthattheyfileandreadinordertobecomewellversedincurrent
events.
JUDGES
Typically,preliminaryroundswillonlyhave1judge,buteliminationandfinal
roundscanhaveasmanyasdesiredbythetabroom.Typically,though,final
roundshaveonly3judges.
Judgeswillrankeachspeakeraccordingtoqualityofspeech
ORGANIZINGANEXTEMPSPEECH
Muchlikeawrittenpaper,anextempspeechtendstofollowthefollowing
organization:
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Thetrendisforspeakerstohave3bodypointsorparagraphs,butthereisno
officialruleregulatingthecontentofspeeches.
FORMINGANINTRODUCTION
AttentionDevice–somethingtosnatchtheattentionoftheaudience.This
establishesaninitialconnectionbetweenthespeakerandtheaudience.
AttentionDevices(AD)canbedrawnfrommanysources:
Personalanecdote
Statistics
History
Quotes
Humor
TRANSITIONINGTOTHETOPIC
KeywordhereisTRANSITION.Thegoalistocreateasflawlessatransitiontothe
topicaspossible.
Thismeansthatstudentscannotjustyellastartlingphraseandsuddenly“have
everyone’sattention.”
StudentsmustestablishaconnectinglinebetweentheADtheyhaveselectedand
thetopictheyhavechosen.
JUSTIFYINGTHETOPIC
Itisnotenoughtosimplystatethetopicbeingdiscussed.Speakersoughtto
strivetofindsomethingtojustifythediscussionofthetopic.
Thisshouldbedrawnfromanewssourceandcitedduringthespeech.
Forexample,inaspeechaboutHillaryClinton’sVicePresidentialoptions,a
justificationcouldlooklikethis:
“AccordingtotheWallStreetJournalonJune15thof2016,
Bernie
SanderswasnotvettedforClinton’srunningmate.This
means
thatHillarywillhavetolookelsewhere.Thishasamplifiedmedia
speculationaboutHilary’schoices.”
Thisestablishesthatthetopicisnotassimpleasinitiallyperceivedandmakesthe
topicmoreinterestingtothelisteners,astheynowthinkthattheremightbenew
informationavailabletothemwhilealsoprovidinganicelinkbetweentheADand
thetopic.
STATINGTHETOPIC
ThetopicshouldbestatedWORD-FOR-WORDasitiswrittenonthetopicslip.
Provideabriefanswertothequestion.Inpersuasive,thiswilltypicallybeayesor
no.Ininformative,thiswillbelessconcise,butshouldstillbelimited.
Previewofmainpointsorarguments.Ensurethatcompetitorsneverrefertotheir
argumentsaspointsorcontentions.Leavethosephrasestodebate.Thiseventis
aboutconversationalspeechdelivery.Refertotheargumentsasreasons,
justifications,actions,orwhateverelsemightbeappropriate.
TRANSITIONINGTOTHEBODYOFTHE
SPEECH
Again,thekeywordhereisTRANSITION.Acompetitorshouldnevermovefrom
onepartofthespeechtotheotherwithoutasmoothtransition.Thisincludes
pointtopointtransitionsaswell.
Anotherimportantskillissignposting.
Signpostingalertscriticstowherethecompetitorisintheirspeech.
“ThefirstreasonthatElizabethWarrenwillnotbeHillary’srunningmateis…”
Howmanypoints?
Studentsshouldstrivetohaveatleast2,butshouldavoidhavingmorethan3.
SUBDIVIDINGEACHPOINTINTHESPEECH
Thetagline–thisisthenameofthepointorargumentineachbodysectionofthespeech.
Anexample:
“ThefirstreasonElizabethWarrenwillbeHillaryClinton’sVicePresidentialcandidateisthat
shebringstheappropriateexperiencewithcongressthatHillaryneedstoaccomplishher
policygoals.”
Afterthetagline,thespeakershouldreportthenews.Referencingourongoingexample:
“AsreportedbytheWashingtonPost,therehavebeenrumorscirculatingforweeksthat
WarrentopstheshortlistofClinton’spotentialpicksbecauseofherabilitytonegotiatethe
watersofcongress.”
Next,thespeakershouldanalyzewhattheyhaveinformedtheiraudienceof
Useasourcehereaswell.Studentsshouldalsoattempttociteahigherlevelorganization
likeathinktankfortheiranalysis.
“Infact,MotherJonesinformsusthatClinton’srecentendorsementfromamajorlabor
unionmaybeenoughtoconvinceWarrenofClinton’ssupportfortheworkingclass.Warrens
finesseincongresscoupledwithClinton’ssupportfromvariousindustrieswouldpairwellfor
aproductiveadministration.”
CITINGSOURCES
Foreverypieceofimportantinformationgivenduringaspeech,thereshouldbe
anappropriatecitation.
Followingthisoutlinewillworkformostsources:
SourceName,daypublished,andyearpublished.
Besuretocreditappropriateauthorsorexpertsourceswhenappropriate.
“AccordingtotheMiamiHeraldonJune1stof2016…”
Besurestudentsknowthattheydonothavetoquotethearticledirectlyandthey
arenotexpectedto.
MANAGINGTHECONCLUSION
Besuretorestatethetopic.Studentsneednotreciteitwordforwordthistime,
butkeepitclose.
Reviewthemainpointsofthespeech–dedicateacoupleofsetencestoeach
pointtoestablishareview.
Besuretoreferencetheattentiondevice–itputsanicebowonthespeech.
Establishaclinchersentence.Aftereverygreatspeech,itisobviousthatthe
speakerhascompletedtheirspeech.Aclinchersentenceiswhatgivesthat
power.
Besurenottoadvisestudentstothanktheirjudges.Teachstudentsthattheir
speechoughttoenditself.Donotrelyonthankingthecriticstoendthespeech.
EXAMPLEOFSPEECHOUTLINE
Introduction
AttentionDevice
Justification
Statetopic
Previewpoints
BodyParagraphsorPoints
Signpostandtagline
Source1–inform
Source2–analyze
Conclusion
Statetopicagain
Reviewpoints
ReferencetoAD
ClincherSentence
TEACHINGSTUDENTSTOWRITETHE
SPEECH
Advisestudentstowritethebodyoftheirspeechfirst.Thisallowsthedirectionof
thespeechtodeterminetheintroductionandconclusioninsteadoftheinverse.
AvoidcannedorclichéADs.Teachstudentstobecreativewitheachintroduction
toavoidgivingthesameintrotomultipledifferentcritics
Thelengthofthespeechcomeswithexperienceandpractice.Variablesthat
determinelengthincludeexplanations,analysis,inclusionofstatisticsandother
information,andtechnicalcomponentslikepausingforeffect.
NAUGHTYPHRASES
Ithink
Ibelieve
I’mdonenow
Ourfilesdidn’thaveanythingonthis
Sorry,I’mreallynervous
Thisismyfirsttimedoingthisevent
PRESENTATIONISKEY
Teachstudentsthatconfidenceinformstheoutcomeoftheirrounds.If
competitorsareconfidentthentheywillperformconfidently.
Makesurestudentsarealwaysontheirbestbehavior.Judgesseeeverything.If
studentsaremisbehavinginfrontofajudge,thatpersonwillbetheirjudgeinthe
nextround.Italwayshappenslikethat.
Ensurethatstudentsdonoteditorializetheirspeeches.
Practicehowyouplay–donotallowbadhabitstoslideduringpracticespeeches
PREPARINGFORCOMPETITION
Watchthenews(withattentiontomediabiasandthelike)
Readthenews
Filearticles
Computerfiles
Paperfiles
PREPARATIONOFFILES
Thereareanumberofsourcesyoucandrawfrom
Dailynewspapers
DallasMorningNews
NewYorkTimes
Magazines
TheEconomist
TIME
Journals
ThinkTanks
Besuretoorganizeyourfiles.Ifyouuseelectronicfiles,usedropbox,evernote,or
similarprogramstoorganize.
WHOFILES?
EVERYONE.
Extempisateamevent.Studentscompetealone,buttheteamisresponsiblefor
preparation.
Havingstudentsfilealsohelpsthemlearnthenews.
FILINGTHEARTICLES
Electroniccopiesmustbesavedina.PDFformatontoacomputer.
Youmayalsojustprinthardcopiesofthearticles.
ALLarticlesmusthavetheURLprintedonthem.
Foradditionalrulesfortheuseofcomputers,visittheUILwebsite.
Icangiveyouthebasics,butyouhavetotakeefforttoinformyourselves.
HELPINGSTUDENTSPREPARE
Donotoverprep–onlyallowstudents30minutes.Youcanalsolimitthemto20oreven15
minutestoteachtimeallocation.
Practiceonawidevarietyoftopics
Practicewithbadtopics
Practiceinfrontofteammates
Practiceindifficultenvironments
Pushyourstudents–don’tletthemwaituntiltheyareready,otherwisetheywillnever
jumpin
Listentojudges.Evaluatetheircritiquesheetsaftereachtournament.
WATCHROUNDS.Ifyourstudentsarenotcompetinginthetournamentanymore,have
themgowatchsuccessfulextemperstolearnfromthem.
TIPSFORHELPINGSTUDENTSWITH
DELIVERY
Beconfident
Berelaxed
Donotoverextendyourvocabulary.Useonlythewordsyouwouldusein
everydayconversation.
Beslow–ensuregoodwordeconomysothatyoucansaylessandsayitslower.
Tamethegestures.
Ensureavarietyofvocalpitchesandvolumes
LEARNINGTHEEXTEMPER’SWALTZ
Thewaltzisdesignedtoincludeandspeaktoeveryoneintheroom.
Theintroisdeliveredinthecenter
Thestudentthenmoves2or3feettoonedirectiontodeliverpoint1.
Thestudentthenmoves4to6feetintheoppositedirectiontodeliverpoint2
Point3isdeliveredbackinthecenter
Conclusionshouldbedeliveredonestepclosertotheaudience.
Keepallmovementsonthesameplanetoensurethecompetitornevermoves
awayfromthejudge.