Extemporaneous Speaking · Beginner

Now that you understand how a round runs, this unit gives you the core skeleton every Extemp speech is built on: an attention-getting device that leads to a thesis, and a three-point structure that answers the question.

With the speech skeleton in hand, this unit builds the raw material that fills it: a personal filing system fed by consistent, credible reading so you always have evidence ready before prep even starts.

You now have a file to draw from and a skeleton to fill; this unit teaches the actual choreography of the thirty-minute prep window, from choosing your question to walking out the door ready to speak.

Having learned to gather and select evidence during prep, this unit zooms into the internal architecture of a single point so that every point you write reliably moves from claim through evidence to a stated impact.

With points now fully built in writing, this unit turns to performance: how to deliver a structurally memorized speech so it still sounds fresh, natural, and alive in the room.

With delivery skills established, this unit returns to substance and sharpens the single most heavily weighted ballot criterion: whether a speech actually and directly answers the drawn question with real analytical depth.

Building on the claim-source-analysis-impact structure and the emphasis on direct answers, this unit focuses specifically on the ethics and craft of sourcing: how many sources to use, how to cite them cleanly, and why accuracy is non-negotiable.

With every internal piece now built — introduction, points, delivery, sourcing — this unit assembles them into a full seven-minute strategy, including how to handle a drawn question you dislike or feel unprepared for.

Every skill from the file system through full-speech strategy now needs to operate together under real tournament conditions across multiple rounds and possibly elimination rounds; this final unit covers the logistics and adaptability that make that possible.