THEBASICSOFCOACHINGEXTEMPORANEOUSSPEAKING

CarverHodgkiss,AthensHighSchool

WHATISEXTEMPORANEOUSSPEAKING?

   ExtemporaneousisdefinedbyMerriamWebsteras“madeupordonewithoutspecialpreparation.”(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extemporaneous)

   Preparedbutnotscripted–thismeansthatspeakerspreparetheirnotes,butonlyinanoutlineform.

   Atitsroot,Extemporaneousspeakingcanbesummatedasfollows:competitorsdrawatopic,havethirtyminutestopreparetheirspeech,andthendeliverasevenminutespeechtoberankedagainsttheircolleagues.

WHYCOMPETEINEXTEMPORANEOUSSPEAKING?

   Teachescriticalthinkingskillsthathelpcompetitorssucceedinotherevents.

   Teachesadaptation–apolicydebaterthatisuncomfortablewithapositioninadebateroundcanfrequentlystillsucceeddespitetheirdiscomfortbecauseoftrainingfromextemp.

   Teachesorganization–speechesatthehighesttiersofcompetitionareorganized,divided,andsubdivided.

   Teachesknowledgeofandarespectforcurrentevents.

   Helpstolearndiscipline–hundredsofpracticespeechesandthousandsofhoursoffilingandorganizingarticlesteachesstudentstotakecontroloftheirsuccess.

   Teachesmoreadvancedwritingskills.

CATEGORIESWITHINEXTEMPORANEOUSSPEAKINGASANEVENT

   Informative–atopicsuchas“WhatleadersareonHillaryClinton’sshortlistforVicePresident?”requirethespeakertodrawfromsourcestocompilealistofinformativepointsthataredesignedtoleavetheaudienceandcriticmoreknowledgeableaboutthetopic.

   Persuasive–atopicsuchas“WillHillaryClintonwintheDemocraticNominationforPresidentoftheUnitedStates?”requiresthespeakertoprepareanddeliveranargumentfilledspeechdesignedtopersuadetheaudienceandthecritic.

   Itisimportanttoremember,though,thatALLextemptopicsaredrawnfromcurrentevents.Historyandpersonalopinionareexludedfromtopicselection.TopicsmaybedrawnfromTexas,UnitedStates,orevenInternationalnewssources.

EXAMPLESOFINFORMATIVETOPICS

   InlightofthelatestTexasSupremeCourtruling,howwillschoolfinanceinTexasbereformed?

  WhatlegacyasaneconomicleaderwillPresidentObamabeleavingbehind?

  WhatiscontributingtoSpain’songoingpoliticaldivision?

   WhatlegacydoesjournalistMorleySaferleave?

  WhatistheextentofdamagefromCanada’scatastrophicwildfire?

EXAMPLESOFPERSUASIVETOPICS

   Hasanewsuperpowernucleararmsracebegun?

   IsJacobZumastrengtheningorweakeninghisgripontheAfricanNationalCongress?

  WhatarethemosteffectivewaystoevaluateteacherperformanceinTexaspublicschools?

   HasthearrivalofthedigitalagecausedmajorchangesinU.S.publicschoollibraries?

   DoesChicagohavesystemicproblemsinitspolicedepartment?

WHERETOFINDPRACTICETOPICS?

   http://www.uiltexas.org/speech/extemp-haspracticetopicsforeachmonthaswellasthecompiledlistsoftopicsfromeachlevelofUILcompetition.

   http://speechgeekmarket.com/

THERULESANDREGULATIONSOFTHECONTEST

   Studentsaresplitintosectionsof6to8witheachsectionspeakinginadifferentroom.

   Typically,tabwillassignspeakerorderunlessalternativearrangementsexist.

   Preliminaryrounds(typicallyonlyoneortwo)withtherequisitenumberofspeakersadvancingtowhicheverlevelofeliminationroundsthattournamentsizedictates.

WHATDOEXTEMPPAIRINGSLOOKLIKE?

PersuasiveSection1

Room100

CobyHildred

JodyCheyenne

TaeganKenzie

JessAriel

BlairPhoenix

ShelbyNicky

THEPREPROOM

   Alsocalled“extempdraw”

   Allextemperswillgatherintheassignedareafordraw.

   Rollcall–thisensuresthatallstudentsarepresent.Thisalsoallowsthoserunningdrawtoaccommodateanycross-entriesthatexistinordertomodifythespeakingorder.

   Allfirstspeakersarecalledtothefrontoftheroomtodrawtheirtopics.Allspeakersineachspeakingpositionwilldrawtheirtopicssimultaneously.

   5-10minutedrawnintervals.Growingtrendtowards7-10minuteintervalstoallowpropertimeforspeechestobedelivered.Thisalsoavoidsalargebacklogofextemperscloggingthehallway.

DRAWINGATOPIC

  Whenastudentsspeakernumberiscalled,thestudentwillfindtheenvelopeoftopicswiththeirsectionnumberlabel.

   Thestudentwilldrawfivetopics–studentstonotgettoreplacetopicstheydislike.

   Studentswillselectonetopicandthenfollowtheparticulardrawroomsproceduresbeforereturningtotheirprepareaandbeginningtheirpreparation.

PICKINGATOPIC

   Therearestrategiesbehindtheselectionofanextemptopic.Typically,studentsshouldstrivetoselecttopicsthat:   Theyarefamiliarwithandhavesufficientknowledgeof   Theyhavepreviousexperiencewith.Sometopicspopupmultipletimesthroughouttheyear.

   Areinterestingtothestudent.   Areinterestingtotheaudience.

PREPARINGTHESPEECH

   Assoonasthestudenthasreturnedtotheirseat,theyshouldfindtheappropriatefilesandbegintheorganizationandwritingoftheirspeech.

   SpeechSHOULDNOTbewrittenwordforword.Thecompetitorshaveonly30minutestoprepare.

   Itiswisetoadvisestudentstoallowatleast10minutesofpracticinginordertoensurecontentandspeechmechanicsflowappropriately.

   Competitorsareallowedtheuseofone3x5notecard,althoughmostextempersdevelopbeyondtheneedofanotecard.

RESOURCESDURINGSPEECHPREPARATION

   Duringthepreparationofaspeech,acompetitormayuseeachofthefollowing:   Paperfiles   Electronicallysavedfiles,althoughthesefilesMUSTonlybeinPDFform   QuotationCompilationBooks   Historybooks

   Studentsareexpresslyforbiddenfromaccessingthefollowingduringprep:   Assistancefromcolleaguesoracoach   Internet   Pre-preparedspeechesoroldspeechesfrompreviouscompetitions   Anytypeofbrieforotherpre-preparedmaterial.

UILcompetitionsareveryparticularaboutwhatisacceptablematerialindrawrooms.Besuretoalsoinvestigatetherulesonyourowntime.YoucanfindtheofficialrulesattheUILwebsite(www.uiltexas.org)

EXPIRATIONOFPREPTIME

   After30minuteshasexpired,thespeakermustgototheirassignedroomtodeliverthespeech.

   Besureyourstudentsknowtoaskfordirectionsiftheyneedto.

  NOTHINGcanbetakenwithstudentfromthepreproomexceptforthe3x5notecardifthestudentdecidedtouseit.

LENGTHSOFSPEECHES

  Officially,speechesmustbewithinthe7minutetimelimit.

   Competitorsmay,however,completetheirsentence.

   Thereisnominimumtimerequirementforspeeches,althoughsuccessfulspeakerstendtousealloftheirtime.

   Timesignals   Timecards   Handsignals

HELPINGSTUDENTSMANAGEINFORMATIONDURINGPREP

   Speechesdonothavetobememorized.Studentscanusea3x5notecard.

   Ifastudentrequiresanotecard,remindthemtowriteasmuchastheywant,buttominimizethewritingtoavoidthecardbecominghardtoread.

   Thecardshouldbeheldinaportraitstyleandcuppedinthestudentshand.   Themostsuccessfulspeakersdonotusecards,butbeginnersfrequentlyrelyonnotecards.

   Besuretopushthestudentbeyondthenotecard–teachthemtorememberthenewsarticlesthattheyfileandreadinordertobecomewellversedincurrentevents.

JUDGES

   Typically,preliminaryroundswillonlyhave1judge,buteliminationandfinalroundscanhaveasmanyasdesiredbythetabroom.Typically,though,finalroundshaveonly3judges.

   Judgeswillrankeachspeakeraccordingtoqualityofspeech

ORGANIZINGANEXTEMPSPEECH

  Muchlikeawrittenpaper,anextempspeechtendstofollowthefollowingorganization:   Introduction   Body   Conclusion

   Thetrendisforspeakerstohave3bodypointsorparagraphs,butthereisnoofficialruleregulatingthecontentofspeeches.

FORMINGANINTRODUCTION

   AttentionDevice–somethingtosnatchtheattentionoftheaudience.Thisestablishesaninitialconnectionbetweenthespeakerandtheaudience.

   AttentionDevices(AD)canbedrawnfrommanysources:   Personalanecdote   Statistics   History   Quotes   Humor

TRANSITIONINGTOTHETOPIC

   KeywordhereisTRANSITION.Thegoalistocreateasflawlessatransitiontothetopicaspossible.

   Thismeansthatstudentscannotjustyellastartlingphraseandsuddenly“haveeveryone’sattention.”

   StudentsmustestablishaconnectinglinebetweentheADtheyhaveselectedandthetopictheyhavechosen.

JUSTIFYINGTHETOPIC

   Itisnotenoughtosimplystatethetopicbeingdiscussed.Speakersoughttostrivetofindsomethingtojustifythediscussionofthetopic.

   Thisshouldbedrawnfromanewssourceandcitedduringthespeech.

   Forexample,inaspeechaboutHillaryClinton’sVicePresidentialoptions,ajustificationcouldlooklikethis:

“AccordingtotheWallStreetJournalonJune15thof2016, BernieSanderswasnotvettedforClinton’srunningmate.This meansthatHillarywillhavetolookelsewhere.ThishasamplifiedmediaspeculationaboutHilary’schoices.”

   Thisestablishesthatthetopicisnotassimpleasinitiallyperceivedandmakesthetopicmoreinterestingtothelisteners,astheynowthinkthattheremightbenewinformationavailabletothemwhilealsoprovidinganicelinkbetweentheADandthetopic.

STATINGTHETOPIC

   ThetopicshouldbestatedWORD-FOR-WORDasitiswrittenonthetopicslip.

   Provideabriefanswertothequestion.Inpersuasive,thiswilltypicallybeayesorno.Ininformative,thiswillbelessconcise,butshouldstillbelimited.

   Previewofmainpointsorarguments.Ensurethatcompetitorsneverrefertotheirargumentsaspointsorcontentions.Leavethosephrasestodebate.Thiseventisaboutconversationalspeechdelivery.Refertotheargumentsasreasons,justifications,actions,orwhateverelsemightbeappropriate.

TRANSITIONINGTOTHEBODYOFTHESPEECH

   Again,thekeywordhereisTRANSITION.Acompetitorshouldnevermovefromonepartofthespeechtotheotherwithoutasmoothtransition.Thisincludespointtopointtransitionsaswell.

   Anotherimportantskillissignposting.   Signpostingalertscriticstowherethecompetitorisintheirspeech.   “ThefirstreasonthatElizabethWarrenwillnotbeHillary’srunningmateis…”

   Howmanypoints?   Studentsshouldstrivetohaveatleast2,butshouldavoidhavingmorethan3.

SUBDIVIDINGEACHPOINTINTHESPEECH

   Thetagline–thisisthenameofthepointorargumentineachbodysectionofthespeech.Anexample:   “ThefirstreasonElizabethWarrenwillbeHillaryClinton’sVicePresidentialcandidateisthatshebringstheappropriateexperiencewithcongressthatHillaryneedstoaccomplishherpolicygoals.”

   Afterthetagline,thespeakershouldreportthenews.Referencingourongoingexample:   “AsreportedbytheWashingtonPost,therehavebeenrumorscirculatingforweeksthatWarrentopstheshortlistofClinton’spotentialpicksbecauseofherabilitytonegotiatethewatersofcongress.”

   Next,thespeakershouldanalyzewhattheyhaveinformedtheiraudienceof   Useasourcehereaswell.Studentsshouldalsoattempttociteahigherlevelorganizationlikeathinktankfortheiranalysis.

   “Infact,MotherJonesinformsusthatClinton’srecentendorsementfromamajorlaborunionmaybeenoughtoconvinceWarrenofClinton’ssupportfortheworkingclass.WarrensfinesseincongresscoupledwithClinton’ssupportfromvariousindustrieswouldpairwellforaproductiveadministration.”

CITINGSOURCES

   Foreverypieceofimportantinformationgivenduringaspeech,thereshouldbeanappropriatecitation.

   Followingthisoutlinewillworkformostsources:   SourceName,daypublished,andyearpublished.   Besuretocreditappropriateauthorsorexpertsourceswhenappropriate.

   “AccordingtotheMiamiHeraldonJune1stof2016…”

   Besurestudentsknowthattheydonothavetoquotethearticledirectlyandtheyarenotexpectedto.

MANAGINGTHECONCLUSION

   Besuretorestatethetopic.Studentsneednotreciteitwordforwordthistime,butkeepitclose.

   Reviewthemainpointsofthespeech–dedicateacoupleofsetencestoeachpointtoestablishareview.

   Besuretoreferencetheattentiondevice–itputsanicebowonthespeech.

   Establishaclinchersentence.Aftereverygreatspeech,itisobviousthatthespeakerhascompletedtheirspeech.Aclinchersentenceiswhatgivesthatpower.

   Besurenottoadvisestudentstothanktheirjudges.Teachstudentsthattheirspeechoughttoenditself.Donotrelyonthankingthecriticstoendthespeech.

EXAMPLEOFSPEECHOUTLINE

   Introduction   AttentionDevice   Justification   Statetopic   Previewpoints

   BodyParagraphsorPoints   Signpostandtagline   Source1–inform   Source2–analyze

   Conclusion   Statetopicagain   Reviewpoints   ReferencetoAD   ClincherSentence

TEACHINGSTUDENTSTOWRITETHESPEECH

   Advisestudentstowritethebodyoftheirspeechfirst.Thisallowsthedirectionofthespeechtodeterminetheintroductionandconclusioninsteadoftheinverse.

   AvoidcannedorclichéADs.Teachstudentstobecreativewitheachintroductiontoavoidgivingthesameintrotomultipledifferentcritics

   Thelengthofthespeechcomeswithexperienceandpractice.Variablesthatdeterminelengthincludeexplanations,analysis,inclusionofstatisticsandotherinformation,andtechnicalcomponentslikepausingforeffect.

NAUGHTYPHRASES

   Ithink   Ibelieve   I’mdonenow

  Ourfilesdidn’thaveanythingonthis

   Sorry,I’mreallynervous

   Thisismyfirsttimedoingthisevent

PRESENTATIONISKEY

   Teachstudentsthatconfidenceinformstheoutcomeoftheirrounds.Ifcompetitorsareconfidentthentheywillperformconfidently.

  Makesurestudentsarealwaysontheirbestbehavior.Judgesseeeverything.Ifstudentsaremisbehavinginfrontofajudge,thatpersonwillbetheirjudgeinthenextround.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,orsimilarprogramstoorganize.

WHOFILES?

   EVERYONE.

   Extempisateamevent.Studentscompetealone,buttheteamisresponsibleforpreparation.

   Havingstudentsfilealsohelpsthemlearnthenews.

FILINGTHEARTICLES

   Electroniccopiesmustbesavedina.PDFformatontoacomputer.

   Youmayalsojustprinthardcopiesofthearticles.

   ALLarticlesmusthavetheURLprintedonthem.

   Foradditionalrulesfortheuseofcomputers,visittheUILwebsite.

   Icangiveyouthebasics,butyouhavetotakeefforttoinformyourselves.

HELPINGSTUDENTSPREPARE

   Donotoverprep–onlyallowstudents30minutes.Youcanalsolimitthemto20oreven15minutestoteachtimeallocation.

   Practiceonawidevarietyoftopics

   Practicewithbadtopics

   Practiceinfrontofteammates

   Practiceindifficultenvironments

   Pushyourstudents–don’tletthemwaituntiltheyareready,otherwisetheywillneverjumpin

   Listentojudges.Evaluatetheircritiquesheetsaftereachtournament.

   WATCHROUNDS.Ifyourstudentsarenotcompetinginthetournamentanymore,havethemgowatchsuccessfulextemperstolearnfromthem.

TIPSFORHELPINGSTUDENTSWITHDELIVERY

   Beconfident   Berelaxed   Donotoverextendyourvocabulary.Useonlythewordsyouwoulduseineverydayconversation.

   Beslow–ensuregoodwordeconomysothatyoucansaylessandsayitslower.

   Tamethegestures.

   Ensureavarietyofvocalpitchesandvolumes

LEARNINGTHEEXTEMPER’SWALTZ

   Thewaltzisdesignedtoincludeandspeaktoeveryoneintheroom.

   Theintroisdeliveredinthecenter   Thestudentthenmoves2or3feettoonedirectiontodeliverpoint1.

   Thestudentthenmoves4to6feetintheoppositedirectiontodeliverpoint2

   Point3isdeliveredbackinthecenter   Conclusionshouldbedeliveredonestepclosertotheaudience.   Keepallmovementsonthesameplanetoensurethecompetitornevermovesawayfromthejudge.