Extemp

Middle School Extemporaneous Speaking Rules

A. Public Speaking Event

B. This is a solo event for one performer only.

C. Student will participate in a topic “draw” 30 minutes prior to the start of the event.

D. Students draw three topics and choose one of them to use as the thesis of their speech.

E. All topics will be drawn from recent news reporting and will include a mixture of foreign and domestic

issues.

F. The student will use the 30 minutes between draw and the event start to prepare their speech.

F. Students may use laptops (wifi disabled), USB flash drives (“digital tub”) and newspaper/magazine clippings

during their 30 minute prep period. No internet access for new research will be allowed during this

time.

G. The speech should be persuasive or informative in nature and should reference specific research

(conducted prior to the tournament) germane to the topic selected.

H. The speaker must prepare and rehearse the speech prior to performance, as they will be judged on both

the content of their speech as well as their merits as a public speaker.

I. One 3x5 notecard is allowed. Student may not read their speech off of the notecard, but should use it as an

aid, if necessary (speech flow, specific citations, etc.)

J. The speech must adhere to the persuasive/informative speech format: Introduction, 3 main points,

conclusion.

K.Length of speech: 7 minutes max, with an additional 30 seconds grace period.