Some Extemp Lessons...

By

Stephen Rushin

I could feel the butterflies inside my stomach as I read the topic. The sound of the clock’s second hand pierced the silence in the library. My hand trembled as I tried to write my topic on my beaten notebook. When they called for my speaker number, I felt my heart sink as I left draw and neared my assigned classroom. As a twelve year-old middle school student thrown in the world of extemp, I was unprepared, frightened, and wanted nothing more than to never enter a prep room again.

    Well, approximately 1 minute and 24 seconds later, I finished my first ever extemp speech and soon thereafter received my much deserved last place rank in the room. Six years and hundreds of rounds later, I found myself in some very different situations: TFA State finals (FX), UIL State finals (Informative), NFL National Finals (Impromptu), and Princeton University Finals (OO). Yet somewhere between giving an extemp speech in the final round at TFA state and nervously fretting over a one minute long middle school speech, I learned what all successful extemp speakers learn:

Lesson 1: Extemp is an act

    So often people perceive extemp as an event where the most intelligent and the most well read students win. While there is no doubting that being well read and intelligent helps you chances, it is rarely the smartest person who wins the tournament. Rather, the more a student does extemp the more she/he realizes that extemp is nothing more than an act, a performance like any interpretation event. In Prose the objective is to offer the most satisfying performance of the literature you are presenting. Extemp is no different.

    The objective of extemp is to offer the most believable, fluent, and intelligent sounding speech possible. Now this isn’t to say that one should sacrifice quality for clarity completely, but an extemporaneous speaker must find the moderate balance between fluency and intelligent analysis.

    So often students get bogged down with the mentality that they cannot offer the sort of intelligent commentary, which students in state and national finals present. The key to offering this sort of analysis is simple: come into draw prepared.

Lesson 2: Good prep starts with the right props

    If there was one thing I learned from theatre, it was that the right props and set can make or break a good play. Even if the acting is outstanding, if the set and the props are faulty, the entire mood can be ruined. In extemp, you have to work with similar props, those being the sources you choose to use. These are the “props” which can make or break a good speech.

    One of the greatest mistakes made by students in extemp is they assume being prepared for a tournament simply means reading as much as they can. They inundate themselves with loads of information, yet still cannot offer the sort of deeper analysis judges look for in bigger rounds. The reason for this is they are looking for information in the wrong places.

    Commonly, students are told they need to get news information from newspapers and online journals, and thus they turn to sources such as USA Today, Time, and even more reputable sources like the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. While I would personally suggest against using sources such as CNN, Time, and USA Today, sources like the New York Times can be valuable to give a reputable basis for your files.

    But some of the best sources for extemp information go untapped by most students. The goal of extemp generally isn’t just to recall facts (unless you are doing Informative Extemp) but rather is to offer commentary and conclusions based upon the news. Because of this, you don’t just want to spout off simple statistics and numbers, but also analyze why these numbers and statistics are important. You rarely can find this sort of analysis in basic newspapers and thus have to look for other, less popular sources. Here are some sources I would strongly recommend.

1. Foreign Policy in Focus (http://www.fpif.org) - Excellent source for commentary and analysis of major foreign policy events. Independent think-tank.

2. Washington Institute for Near East Policy (http://www.washingtoninstitute.org) - Offers insight mainly on issues concerning the Middle East region. Countries like Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq are given special attention. Very unique analysis.

3. Foreign Policy (http://www.foreignpolicy.com) - Very general foreign policy analysis that covers all regions of the globe. Easier to read and well written. 

4. Foreign Affairs (http://www.foreignaffairs.org) - My personal favorite from high school. The articles offer unique theories on why global issues persist and give excellent analysis for an extemp round.

5. The Brookings Institute (http://www.brook.edu) - Offers both US and US Foreign policy analysis. Independent think-tank that is better for domestic issues.

    There are dozens and dozens of other good options. The difference between these sources and other sources you will read is that they don’t just summarize the news, but offer valid and well-reasoned opinions on what is occurring.

Lesson 3: Don’t just read the lines, perform them

    In interpretation, they often tell you to not just read the lines, but also read beyond the lines. Coaches and directors ask their students to not just read what the script says, but to dig deeper, look for motivation, and try to become the character. While acting or performing in this manner might not be a good idea for extemp, the same principle applies. When researching and preparing a speech, you don’t just summarize the facts as they are, but rather look beyond the facts for motivation, analysis and understanding.

    Too often students go into a FX, DX, or Persuasive round with just a summation of what has occurred. Below are two exerts from two students on the same extemp topic. Each approaches the topic in a slightly different way, although they use the same basic piece of information to begin their analysis.

Topic: Is enough being done to bring peace to the Middle East?

Student 1:

“…According to CNN Online, the majority of Palestinians live in poverty with the unemployment estimated to be well over 1/3 of the population. If we are going to help bring peace to the Middle East, it is vital that the international community do more to help alleviate this poverty first.”

Student 2:

“…According to the Christian Science Monitor of January 11^th 2006, nearly 1/3 of the population in Palestine is unemployed. Yet the implications of this are far greater than one would imagine. In a nation of people where poverty and unemployment is so prevalent, citizens look towards the government to provide for relief in the form of social services such as schooling, job programs, and healthcare. Unfortunately, because the Palestinian government hasn’t had the central authority to do this, there has been a power vacuum created, one that has been filled by terrorist organizations. Thus, as author Fareed Zakaria contends, a lack of social services being provided for by the government makes them seem illegitimate, lends power to terrorist organizations, and thus causes the peace process to break down since the Palestinian government is seen as illegitimate.”

    Now both segments based their analysis on the same basic statistic, that being that some estimates (which are now outdated) placed the Palestinian unemployment rate at about 1/3 of the population. Yet the conclusions that the students deduced from them were quite different. Student 1 made a logical conclusion, although poorly explained, that poverty can help breakdown the peace process.

    On the contrary, Student 2 explained the intricate link between poverty and the breaking down of the peace process using a theory proposed by author Fareed Zakaria (who writes for many news outlets). When you break down what Student 2 said, it really isn’t anything groundbreaking. Essentially the student said that the government of Palestine hasn’t done anything to help the rising unemployment and poverty and as a result the government is seen as illegitimate. Yet making that logical connection, explaining it, and using a healthy vocabulary makes the speech seem significantly more educated and interesting.

Now while it might be hard to carry every lesson from acting into the arena of extemp, many of the lessons learned from performance are dually applicable to any variation of extemp. With the right props, a creative interpretation of the script, and a little practice, any person can put on an impressive show.