Extemporaneous Speaking
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Extemporaneous Speaking, also known as "Extemp," is an event in high school and college Public Speaking in which students speak persuasively about current events. In Extemp, a speaker chooses a question out of three offered, then prepares for thirty minutes with the use of previously prepared articles from magazines, journals and newspapers before speaking for seven minutes on the topic.
Basic Information and Format
The actual speech is delivered without the aid of notes and, at top levels, is a smooth, dynamic peformance that incorporates research, background knowledge, humor and opinion. A successful extemp speech has an introduction that catches the listener's attention, introduces the theme of the speech, and answers the question through three, or sometimes two, areas of analysis which develop an answer to the question. The conclusion summarizes the speech and ties everything together, relating back to the introduction and body of the speech.
Debate and public speaking (collectively called "Forensics") are generally stratified into novice, or beginning and varsity, or experienced, levels. A varsity level extemper is expected to cite anywhere from five to ten sources within the speech to substantiate the credibility of the analysis and demonstrate ample preparation. References are often referred to as a "cite" or "citation." Quality sources include newspapers like the New York Times and Christian Science Monitor, magazines like the Economist and Foreign Policy and journals like the Fletcher Forum on World Affairs and Foreign Affairs.
During the speech, competitors are evaluated by way of comparison to the other speakers in a 'round' of competition. Generally, there are five to eight competitors in a given round. Judges give speakers time signals to help them pace their presentations and in most tournaments, judges are permitted to allow a 30-second grace period; the normal maximum time for a speech is therefore seven and a half minutes. Judges rank all students in a room in order, with one being the best and the worst speaker ranked last (sixth, for example in a round of six competitors).
The National Forensics League (NFL) and the National Catholic Forensics League (CFL) host most Extemp tournaments. Both leagues have a national tournament at the end of every year, with the NFL tournament drawing a larger number of competitors. Other good national extemp tournaments include the MBA (Mongomery Bell Academy) Round Robin, Harvard University Invitational, Princeton University Invitational, the Crestian Classic at Pine Crest High School and the Barkley Forum at Emory University.
The Different Types of Extemp
Most high school level districts offer two different kinds of Extemp Speaking. Normally, those are are FX (or Foreign Extemp or IX) and DX (or Domestic Extemp USX). Both follow the same format but have questions concentrated on either foreign or domestic political/economic topics. Some states, like Pennsylvania, offer a different event called Extemp Commentary. In Extemp Commentary the speaker, seated behind a desk, gives a five-minute speech about a topic rather than about a question.
In college forensics, as well as at a number of large tournaments like the Barkley Forum at Emory University, the Harvard Invitational and the NCFL National Championship, there is only one mixed category for Extemporaneous Speaking, referred to as simply 'Extemp' (with the event code 'EX'). Mixed extemp can prove more challenging, calling upon a speaker's broad awareness of possible topics ranging for questions about American culture to foreign policy or obscure international economic issues.
The Extemp Speech Structure
INTRODUCTION
- ATTENTION GETTER - This should be something fun, uplifting, funny, or interesting. This is the first thing your judge wil hear and is sometimes considered the most important part of the speech. Commonly, it is best to take some everyday aspect of life that is somewhat linked to the question (for instance, examples from television work great) and make that your intro.
- CONNECTION - Tell your judge how your attention getter relates to the current issue you are discussing.
- QUESTION - State the question exactly as it is given to you.
- ANSWER - Briefly answer the question you just asked.
- FORESHADOW - This is traditional in most speeches. Foreshadowing your main points of analysis to your judge will give him or her a chance to better prepare for what you are going to tell them. It is very similar to the Plan of Coherence in an essay.
- JUSTIFICATION - Tell the judge why what you are going to tell them is important.
BODY
It is traditional for 'extemp' speeches to have a high level of structure. One of the most common speech structures includes 3 contentions, each containing 3 sub-points. One highly effective system is known as 'TACS', representing Theory, Application, and Case Study.
For Example...
Question: Will Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi win his campaign for re-election? Answer: YES
Point #1 - Koizumi is placing emphasis on the privitization of the Japanese Postal System
Theory - When a candidate focuses their energies on a limited issue that the public supports, they have a greater chance for success.
Application - While Koizumi's approval rating often dips below 50%, his pledge to privitize the Postal System keeps him more popular than any other person or party
Case Study - An Economist article date June 9th, 2005 notes that The Japanse Postal system currently sits at ¥386 trillion ($3.6 trillion) in assets, making it the world's biggest financial institution. It continues to explain that Mr. Koizumi is now close to getting a vote on a bill that will—eventually—turn it over to the private sector.
Point #2
Theory
Application
Case Study
Point #3
Theory
Application
Case Study
Always remember to use good transitions to get from one point to another.
CONCLUSION
Think of the conclusion as being the introduction - backwards. The steps should be:
- REPEAT POINTS (just like foreshadowing)
- QUESTION
- ANSWER
- ATTENTION GETTER/CONCLUDE - This should be along the same lines as the opening attention getter. By using the same idea to end the speech as you did to begin it, you will bring a sense of closure to the speech itself.
Top Competitors in High School and College
Top High School Competitors
- Josh Bone: 2004: NCFL 3rd Place; NFL FX 3rd Place; 2004: MBA Round Robin Champion; 2003: MBA Round Robin Second Place; NFL FX 2nd Place
- James Hohman: 2005: NFL DX Champion (and final round); 2004: NFL DX Champion
- Ron Kendler: 2005: NFL FX 2nd Place; MBA Round Robin 2nd Place; 2004: NFL FX 5th Place
- Jason Lear: 2000: NCFL Champion; 2001: NCFL Champion, MBA Round Robin Champion
- Gilbert Lee: 2000: NFL FX Champion
- Courtney Otto: 2005: MBA Round Robin 3rd Place; Barkley Forum (Emory) Champion; 2004: NCFL Champion; NFL DX 3rd Place
- Daniel Rauch: 2006 MBA Round Robin 2nd Place; 2006 Tournament Of Champions (Northwester) Champion; 2006 NFL FX 2nd Place
- Spencer Rockwell: 2006 NFL FX Champion
- Logan Scisco: 2003: NFL DX 3rd Place; MBA 9th Place; 2004: MBA 6th Place
- Alex Stephenson: 2006: MBA Round Robin Champion; Tournament of Champions (Northwestern) 2nd Place; NFL DX 2nd Place
- David Tannenwald: 2003: MBA Round Robin Champion; NFL FX 3rd Place; NCFL 5th Place; 2002: NCFL 3rd Place; NFL FX 7th Place
- Kevin Troy: 2005: NCFL Champion; NFL FX Champion; MBA Round Robin Champion; Tournament of Champions (Northwestern) Champion; 2003: NFL DX Champion
- Jay Ward: 2001: NFL DX Champion; 2002: NFL DX Champion
- Colin West: 2006: NFL DX Champion; 2005: NFL DX 5th Place.
External links
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