Extemporaneous Speaking: thirty minutes to a seven-minute speech

The event

There are two divisions: United States Extemp (domestic politics, economics, and society) and International Extemp (world affairs). At a tournament you draw three questions, pick one, and prepare for thirty minutes using your files. Files are articles you and your team have saved; some tournaments allow internet access during prep and some do not, so ask before you enter. Many tournaments do not allow notes during the speech. Then you speak for up to seven minutes, answer the question directly, and support the answer with sources you cite out loud. The NSDA publishes sample questions monthly.

How to spend the thirty minutes

Minutes 0 to 3: choose. Pick the question you can answer with the most sources, not the one you find most interesting.
Minutes 3 to 8: answer. Write the one-sentence answer and the two or three reasons. If you cannot state the answer in a sentence, pick a different question.
Minutes 8 to 20: build. For each reason, find one or two sources, note the publication and date, and decide the example or number you will use.
Minutes 20 to 27: outline and practice. Write the introduction and the transitions. Say the speech once, quietly, with a timer.
Minutes 27 to 30: walk. Get to the room, breathe, and deliver.

Structure

Attention-getter (30 seconds). A concrete story, image, or fact that leads into the question. Avoid jokes that do not connect to the topic.
Question and answer (20 seconds). Read the question exactly as written, then give your answer in one sentence and preview the reasons.
Three points (about 1:45 each). Each point: a claim, a cited source with the date, analysis that explains why the source proves the claim, and a link back to the question.
Conclusion (30 seconds). Restate the answer, return to the attention-getter, and stop.

Cite sources by publication and date: "The Wall Street Journal reported on September 3 that..." Judges count citations; six to eight across a speech is typical for a competitive round, but analysis matters more than count.

Building files without a budget

Free sources cover almost everything an Extemp question asks. Save articles from the Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, PBS NewsHour, the Congressional Research Service, the Congressional Budget Office, the Pew Research Center, and the wire coverage of regional newspapers. Organize by topic folder (economy, health care, foreign policy by region, elections, courts) and prune old material every month. Read for thirty minutes a day and the files build themselves. See our links page for a list of free sources.

Practice routine

Twice a week, draw a question from the prompt generator and give a full speech with the timer set to Extemp.
Record one speech a week and listen for filler words, pace, and whether you answered the question.
Once a week, give a speech with zero prep on a question you drew a month ago. It shows what you actually remember.

Common mistakes

Answering a different question than the one drawn. Read it back to the judge word for word.
Three points that are the same point with different sources.
Spending five of thirty minutes on the introduction. Write the answer first.
Citing sources without explaining what they prove.