Impromptu Starter Kit

A resource created by the National Speech & Debate Association

IMPROMPTU

STARTER KIT

An Impromptu Resource that explores:

y What is Impromptu?/About Impromptu

y Practice Techniques

y Resources

y Rules

y Activities

y Tips and Tricks from the Experts

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Table of Contents | ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHAT IS IMPROMPTU? ...................................................... 1

ABOUT IMPROMPTU ........................................................3

Rules 3

Structure 4

Speech 5

PRACTICE TECHNIQUES AND DELIVERY ........................................6

Practice 6

DELIVERY .................................................................9

Flow 9

Enunciation 9

Expressions and Gestures 10

Eye Contact 11

Pacing and Intonation 11

ACTIVITIES ............................................................... 13

Notebook Database 13

Online “Notebook” 14

RESOURCES ...............................................................22

IMPROMPTU

STARTER KIT

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • What is Impromptu? | 1

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

What is Impromptu?

WHAT IS IMPROMPTU?

Impromptu means “to be done without being

planned, organized, or rehearsed” in any way,

shape, or form. In speech and debate this

word represents one of the most popular and

rigorous middle school events. In Impromptu,

you are given a choice among three prompts

and have seven minutes to prepare and deliver

a speech about anything related to the prompt.

At its core, an Impromptu speech is your

statement about life, society, history, pop

culture, the human condition, or whatever

else pops into your head. You may wish to

take a side and either agree or disagree with

the author’s point of view, or you may simply

choose to inform or entertain your audience.

The unique thing about Impromptu is you

have to create the meaning of the speech

on your own. This becomes tricky, because

the best Impromptu speech isn’t about the

quotation itself. The prompt should make you

think of something. Your job is to take that

spark of an idea and turn it into a coherent

speech with a clear, overarching thesis. Let’s

practice with an example.

Prompt:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what

you said, people will forget what you did, but

people will never forget how you made them

feel.” — Maya Angelou

The author is clearly trying to explain that

we need to be more aware of each other’s

emotions. However, when I read that

quotation, I think that the actions we take and

the things we say are inextricably linked to the

way we make people feel, which makes the

quotation essentially a contradiction in terms.

This would lead me to the thesis: People would

be better o if everyone paid more attention

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • What is Impromptu? | 2

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

What is Impromptu?

to how we talk to and treat each other. This

is an original thought of mine, but it is derived

from the prompt I was given.

As with any argument, you have to have

evidence to support the point you’re trying

to make. The evidence can be in the form of

real world examples or personal experiences—

basically anything that helps to prove your

point. This choice, however, comes with risk.

You want to make sure your evidence comes

from a variety of sources and viewpoints. For

example, avoid talking only about characters

from your favorite TV shows. Part of the skill of

Impromptu is being able to choose examples

that are both relevant and well thought out

despite having extremely limited prep time.

For my response to Ms. Angelou, I might choose

to talk about the famous words of Presidents

Franklin Roosevelt (“The only thing we have to

fear is fear itself”) and John F. Kennedy (“Ask

not what your country can do for you…”),

my own experience with cyberbullying, and

ﬁnally how it seems that with the ability to say

anything we want to anyone anywhere, more

and more people are forgetting the power their

words have. All three of those examples come

from very dierent places— history, personal

anecdote, and philosophy—but they all relate

back to my thesis by showing how words are

important. Obviously, every person will come

up with their own unique spin, and many would

disagree with my interpretation, but that’s

okay! Putting voice to your own thoughts

and opinions is perhaps the most exciting and

empowering part of doing Impromptu.

This document outlines the basics of what

Impromptu is and guides you through the

process of crafting, practicing, and delivering

an Impromptu speech. With a little (okay, a lot)

of practice, these tips and tricks will have you

winging it with the best of them! Good luck!

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • About Impromptu | 3

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

About Impromptu

ABOUT IMPROMPTU

Impromptu is unique in its time constraints. In

other limited preparation events, students have

far more time to think, outline, and practice

their speech than the seven minutes allotted

in Impromptu to choose a topic and deliver a

speech. The event is also dierent in its high

level of autonomy. The speech can be light-

hearted or serious, and subjects range from

nursery rhymes, objects, current events, and

celebrities to quotations, historical events,

politics, and artwork. Impromptu tests your

ability to analyze a prompt, process your

thoughts, organize the points of the speech, and

deliver them in a clear, coherent manner.

With a little patience and a lot of practice,

anyone can excel in Impromptu. This event

might be a good ﬁt for you if:

y You’re an orator who enjoys making an

argument with examples about real world

issues but doesn’t like how long the speech

typically is or that it is memorized.

y You’re an extemper who likes Extemp

because of the limited preparedness of the

event but doesn’t want to just talk about

political questions.

y You do Interp events because you like the

philosophical and human nature elements

you get to explore.

RULES

Impromptu has a time limit of seven minutes.

There is a 30-second grace period. During these

seven minutes and 30 seconds, you will have

time to read the prompt, “prepare” your speech,

and perform. If you exceed the seven minutes

and 30 seconds, you cannot receive ﬁrst in the

round.

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • About Impromptu | 4

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

About Impromptu

STRUCTURE

Round

In an Impromptu round, the speaker draws three

prompts from an envelope. After drawing the

three prompts, the student must select one

and begin brainstorming their ideas for the

speech. In total, a student has seven minutes.

These seven minutes may be divided up by the

student however they see ﬁt. For instance, they

could brainstorm and outline their ideas for

three minutes and then deliver a four-minute

speech; or they could brainstorm and outline

for one minute and speak for six minutes. There

is no minimum amount of time required for

brainstorming and no minimum amount of time

for speaking. Therefore, the student should

work to develop the best possible structure

and reasoning in as short an amount of time as

possible.

Sometimes students think it’s more impressive

to speak longer, but if the ideas aren’t clear or

well developed, it can detract from the overall

performance. However, a well thought out

but short speech restricts a student’s ability to

spend adequate time analyzing and developing

the prompt. So the challenge the student is

faced with is developing their prompt enough to

make a compelling argument without using so

much prep time they are not left with enough

time at the end to speak. It’s a ﬁne line that

takes time and patience to master, but with

practice can become easier over time.

Start to Finish

When students go to a tournament, you’ll be

provided a code of some kind, either your name

or a number. This code will help you determine

where you go to speak and what order you

speak in, which is very important in Impromptu.

When you get to your room, you will need to

wait for your turn to speak. In Impromptu, only

one student is allowed in the room at a time to

prep and speak because each student is given

the same prompts to choose from.

Once you enter the room, you will be given

an envelope with three prompts in it to read

and choose from. Once you have chosen one,

your time will begin. Do not stall in choosing

a prompt because some judges will begin time

as soon as students remove the three prompts

from the envelope.

After you have chosen your prompt, it is time

to begin prepping the speech. First, you need

to determine the meaning you derive from the

quote. There is no right or wrong answer when it

comes to this as long as you can justify it. After

you have determined their meaning, you now

have to come up with two or three anecdotal or

empirical examples that prove or disprove that

meaning.

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • About Impromptu | 5

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

About Impromptu

Once you feel you have thought out all the

ideas of the speech, it is time to speak. Because

this is Impromptu, you don’t have time to plan

transitions, opening and closing lines, or even

jokes. You just have to say whatever comes to

mind as naturally as possible.

After you’ve ﬁnished speaking, depending

on the expectations of the judges, team, the

tournament, or even the district, you may be

asked to stay in the room to watch the other

competitors or leave to allow the next speaker

to come in the room to give their speech.

SPEECH

An Impromptu speech follows a basic structure

in which a student presents an introduction,

body, and conclusion. Similar to other public

speaking events, the introduction should

provide adequate context for the trajectory

of the speech. During the introduction, you

should introduce your chosen prompt, provide

context/meaning for the prompt, and then give

the thesis and roadmap for the speech.

Each Impromptu speech is centered around an

overall meaning that is supported by two or

three evidence examples to prove or disprove

the meaning. These two or three examples make

up the body points. The body should have a

transition and then an explanation of what the

point is. Once the point is explained in general,

you then must explain how the example is

connected to the meaning.

Impromptu is like all other speeches. The

ending is the part that sticks with the judge and

can often make or break a performance. In an

Impromptu speech, the conclusion is often the

shortest part of the speech. At this point, you

have already given the prompt and the meaning.

You’ve provided evidence and how it is related.

All that’s left is to reiterate what you’ve already

said. To do this, restate the prompt one last

time so it’s fresh in the judge’s mind, give the

connections of the evidence, and then reword

your thesis and present it at the very end.

Like all events, this is just one of inﬁnite ways

to present the prompt. If you ﬁnd this way feels

uncomfortable, play around with the order of

things. If it’s not about the order, maybe try the

style of organization. This may be too formulaic

for some students, or it may be too choppy.

Regardless, this is one practice method you can

use to learn how to run an Impromptu speech

until you are comfortable enough to experiment

with your own style. As you become a more

seasoned speaker, you will develop your own

way of speaking, and it will seep into every

speech you give. The only way to get there is to

start somewhere.

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Practice Techniques and Delivery | 6

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Practice Techniques and Delivery

PRACTICE TECHNIQUES AND DELIVERY

PRACTICE

Run Speeches Every Day

The key to getting better is to practice—and

practice consistently. You should be preparing

and delivering a speech every day if not more

than once a day. Impromptu speeches are so

short, ideally speakers run three full speeches

in actual timed conditions start to ﬁnish. You

should also run partial speeches in your head

as much as possible. Pull quotations o the

internet and do the prep for them, then move

on to the next. This will make prep time shorter

and example development faster.

Constantly Write Down Examples

Anytime you read, watch, hear, listen to, or

see anything new, you should write it down in

your notebook* as a possible example. This is

especially true with movies, books, school work,

and politics. When you read a new book, you’ve

just gained an arsenal of new experiences,

characters, events, etc., that can be used in

speeches. The same goes for every other piece

of information you absorb. It’s all usable, so

categorize it in a notebook for future use.

*Refer to the activities section for how to put

together an Impromptu notebook.

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Practice Techniques and Delivery | 7

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Practice Techniques and Delivery

ADVICE FROM THE FINAL ROUND STAGE

Though this event may be an Impromptu performance, it is

your job to convince the judges you have researched this topic

suciently prior to getting on that stage or in the round. Due

to the unorthodox nature of this event, it is imperative the

competitor be up-to-date on current events and world news

stories encompassing narratives about diverse populations.

Trust news sources that are completely factual and take a more

objective standpoint on the issue: Foreign Policy Magazine, Ars

Technica, Smithsonian Magazine, and Naked Capitalism. Find themes that can bridge dierent

prompts to common subpoints in your speech. For example, speeches often incorporate some

sort of political/societal/social component. Identify what types of points you usually lean toward

when creating your speech. Then, research more nuanced information before the competition, and

the judges will be impressed with your depth of knowledge on a subpoint of a speech, even if you

didn’t exactly know much about the prompt.

— Sarah George, 2021 Prepared Prompt Speaking national champion

ADVICE FROM THE FINAL ROUND STAGE

Practice just doing introductions! The intro is such a key part

of the speech, and it can be dicult to time it just right so you

don’t waste too much of your time on the intro but also don’t

jump in too quickly. Practicing giving a clean 20-30 second intro

before saying the quotation and thesis helped me get comfortable

with the event and learn how to build a strong structure for my

speeches.

— Laurie Frederickson, 2021 Prepared Prompt Speaking ﬁnalist

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Practice Techniques and Delivery | 8

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Practice Techniques and Delivery

ADVICE FROM THE FINAL ROUND STAGE

• Just start talking about something: a story that happened to

you, a concept you learned in class, a current event. Try to

make a polished delivery with accurate details, and always

show, don’t tell.

• Tell a 30-second story. This will help you manage your time in

the round, as each story you tell/example you give should take

about 30 seconds. The rest of the time on your point will be

for connecting your evidence to your thesis/theme.

• Find any piece of content you can use as an example in a speech and practice tying it to

dierent theses. For example, make the American Revolution prove that we should ﬁnd the

courage to try anything, or that education is important for every citizen. Once you’re able to

connect content with various theses, you’ll ﬁnd you have a lot more options for content.

• Have someone give you a word, and immediately start talking about the word until you come

around to a thesis. (i.e. birds: “Birds are animals that can ﬂy, and they ﬁnd out if they can ﬂy by

jumping out of their nests. This means that we truly don’t know what we can accomplish until

we step out of our comfort zones as well.”)

• Prep speeches, but don’t give them. This will help practice creating coherent speeches, and

you can always give them at the end if you feel like it. Time yourself when you prep, and shoot

for 1-2 minutes.

• Watch nightly news to keep up on current events.

• Create a last resort toolbox of people that can work really well with a lot of topics. Stay away

from content you think is overused as evidence.

— Meghan Chen, 2021 Prepared Prompt Speaking ﬁnalist

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Delivery | 9

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Delivery

DELIVERY

Like all speaking events, delivery is just as

important as content. When practicing delivery

there are several factors to keep in mind.

FLOW

When it comes to ﬂow, Impromptu will feel less

formulaic than some of the other public address

events because there are very rarely statistics

and facts used in a speech. Instead, speakers rely

on anecdotal and empirical evidence. For that

reason, the ﬂow of an Impromptu speech should

sound much more natural.

An Impromptu speech should sound like a

conversation where you are convincing a friend

of your argument. You can practice ﬂow by

having a back and forth conversation with a

teammate. One person starts by talking, and

any time they stop, the other has to pick up

the conversation without any lag. It doesn’t

necessarily have to make sense, although the

more you do it, the more it should. This will help

you practice transitioning from one point to

another without pre-planning what to say.

ENUNCIATION

In Impromptu, enunciation is key because you

are trying to provide clear arguments in limited

time. Every word you deliver should come

across loud and clear to the audience. The

enunciation is what makes a speech sound clean

and crisp. It could mean the dierence between

a speech sounding well prepared or sounding as

improvised and underdeveloped as it is.

Enunciation is often overlooked because very

few people realize when they’re not enunciating.

We start to talk so fast that our words slur

or jumble together and our entire sentence

becomes incoherent. There are several ways

to practice. There are of course the generic

tongue twisters—“Sally sells seashells down by

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Delivery | 10

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Delivery

the seashore.” But you can also practice your

speeches while over-enunciating. This can be

done two ways: either by over-extending each

letter/word so that each syllable is very clearly

said or using pen drills, where you hold a pen or

pencil in your mouth so that the back teeth are

biting down on it and it is running horizontally

through your mouth. The front teeth should

have a pencil sized gap between the top and

bottom and the pen should be far enough

back in your mouth to interrupt normal speech

patterns. With the pen in your mouth, you

should deliver your speech, taking extra care to

enunciate each and every word so the audience

can understand you despite the pen.

EXPRESSIONS AND GESTURES

Expressions in Impromptu are just as important

as they are in any Interp event. You have to use

facial expressions to show you are interested

and sometimes passionate about the topic to

convince the audience to care. Faces do just

as much convincing as words do, and like all

other parts of your body, faces sometimes need

training by repeating expressions in front of a

mirror. When in doubt, a conﬁdent smile can go

a long way in convincing a judge.

As in other events, students use gestures to

emphasize points, but because Impromptu is

a little more natural than the other speaking

events, the gestures can feel more natural and

often come more easily, which can lead to over-

gesturing. Your job is to determine when it is

necessary to gesture and when it’s okay to leave

it be. Gestures should all happen organically and

help emphasize the points of the argument.

Here are a few tips for gesturing:

y Gestures should be an extension of your

body. Always gesture in the center of your

body, or the “gesture zone.” Gesturing

above your head or below your waist is

distracting because it requires the audience

to look away from your face. This actually

creates a disconnection between you and

your words. You can ﬁnd your gesture zone

by ﬁrst placing your hands at your sides.

Next, turn your wrists up and lift your arms

until the elbow and arm create a 90-degree

angle, or an “L” at your elbow. With palms

down, move your hands back and forth to

get a feel for where the low end of your

gestures should be located. Most likely,

judges and audience members won’t see

movements below this level. Next, turn

your wrists so that both palms face inward.

Lift and lower your hands to feel the sides

of the gesture zone. To determine the

width of each gesture, move your arms

back and forth while holding your forearms

parallel to the ground. Pay particular

attention to how far your arms extend.

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Delivery | 11

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Delivery

This is where your longest gesture should

reach during a performance. Finally, place

your arms at chest level; this is the top of

the gesture zone. Gestures above this area

have a tendency to appear over the top or

exaggerated.

y To ﬁnd natural movement, use the string

test. Students take a piece of string, hold

the ends out, bring them together, tie it,

and put it around their neck. Next, they

will slip an arm through the hanging end.

Now practice gesturing to the side. Notice

that when the hand moves, the head

moves with it. This is the way we naturally

gesture and the way we should move in

performances.

y Record a performance and critique the

gestures. Students should analyze if they

are over-gesturing and, if so, they should

practice giving speeches while sitting on

their hands, then using only one hand, then

eventually working their way back to using

both hands while speaking.

EYE CONTACT

Eye contact in Impromptu is just as important as

it is in any other event. Your goal is to convince

an audience of something, and eye contact is

an excellent tool in your toolbox. A good tip is

to always move your line of sight with your line

of thinking. When you conclude one thought,

you conclude your time with whichever person

you’ve been maintaining eye contact. If there

is only one person in your audience, then

you would maintain eye contact with them

throughout the speech. In theory, that sounds

like staring, but there is a dierence. You don’t

want to lock eyes with your audience member.

Remember, this is a conversation. Their eyes just

happen to be where yours are settled for the

speech. Earlier we talked about how practicing

in front of a mirror can help with facial

expressions. The same applies to eye contact. If

you can maintain eye contact with yourself in

the mirror throughout an entire speech, you can

maintain eye contact with anyone.

If eye contact makes you nervous or you default

to looking away, practice delivering speeches in

the mirror or with parents or friends and restart

every time you look away.

PACING AND INTONATION

Perhaps one of the most important aspects

of Impromptu is the pacing and intonation of

the speech. Why? Impromptu walks a ﬁne line

between being a casual conversation or a heated

argument, a fast paced rant or a monotonous

lecture. You have to take great care to make

sure your performance stays comfortably in the

middle. If it’s a casual conversation, your points

won’t sink in as deeply and your speech won’t

be taken as seriously. If it’s a heated argument,

the audience is more likely to be uncomfortable

and put o by the speech rather than convinced

and compelled to your side. If your speech is

too fast paced, they won’t catch a word you say,

and if it’s monotonous, they won’t recall a word

you said, even if they were listening.

The best way to practice pacing and intonation

is through listening. Record yourself and listen.

If you can hear yourself after the fact, you can

attempt to pinpoint the areas for improvement.

Are you too fast in some places or too slow

in others? Are you too forceful or too casual?

Record your speeches and play them back. Try

to decide how you would rank just the pace and

tone of the speech, leaving all other aspects

alone.

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Delivery | 12

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Delivery

ADVICE FROM THE FINAL ROUND STAGE

Delivery and content are everything in this event. When

performing, believe in what you are saying and show conviction.

Don’t show the judges that you are confused, rattled, or

unprepared. Notice how I said, “don’t show.” You are bound to be

rattled or unprepared throughout the competition, because that is

the nature of Impromptu. Not knowing the prompt ahead can be

dicult at times. The key to handling that nervousness is to discard

it when you perform. Fake it till you make it. Understand that you

are in the same boat as every other competitor in the round. You aren’t supposed to know every

detail of your prompt. The beauty of Impromptu is taking advantage of not knowing what you

will be performing. The beauty of Impromptu is interpreting the prompt however you see ﬁt. The

beauty of Impromptu is testing your ability to be resilient and ﬂexible.

— Sarah George, 2021 Prepared Prompt Speaking national champion

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Activities | 13

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Activities

ACTIVITIES

NOTEBOOK DATABASE

A great way to keep track of everything

in Impromptu is to keep a notebook. This

notebook is for Impromptu only, and it is your

lifeline. This notebook unfortunately cannot

be used during rounds; however, the more you

practice with it, the more familiar you’ll become

with its contents and the less you’ll need the

physical book. The book itself is about the

organizational aspect of Impromptu and less

about having a physical copy of information. The

notebook has three sections and can be made

out of an actual notebook, online notebook

on a tablet, or even a binder with dividers. The

physical book doesn’t matter—what you put in

it does, and how often you reference it really

does.

The notebook should include three sections:

Practice Speeches Prompt and Examples

This section includes every speech or half

speech you prep and give. Every prompt you

draw, attach examples to, or speak about should

go into this section of the book. Anytime you

practice drawing meaning from a prompt, write

the prompt and the meaning down. Write down

the prompt and as many meanings as you can

think of. Capture as many examples as you can

think of that relate to that prompt. This will help

you draw connections among the prompt and

the examples but also one example to another.

Examples

In this section, keep a running list of everything

that you could use as evidence in your speeches.

Below is a very basic list of things that could

be on the list of examples. This list should be

your reference during practice times or down

times. Add to it whenever you think of or learn

something new. Keep this list organized by genre

so you can see where your strengths are. If you

have an abundance of examples in one category,

you know you may need to do a little more

digging in another category.

A few sources for evidence in your Impromptu

speech may include:

y Books

y Characters

y Historical events

y Movies/TV Shows

y Plays

y Cartoons

y Politicians/politics

y Athletes/sports

y Personal events

Past Tournament Speeches

In this section, you should log every prompt and

the examples you used for those prompts. This

will help you see trends in your speech patterns.

Do you lean toward a particular type of speech?

Do you lean toward one type of example in your

speeches? Is there a particular style of prompt

that is very popular at a given time? Learning

from past performances can help you become a

better competitor.

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Activities | 14

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Activities

ONLINE “NOTEBOOK”

There are two ways to layout your notebook. (Tip: If you choose an online option, spreadsheets are

easiest to organize.)

By Genre

This method uses separate tabs of a sheet for each genre (or type) of prompt to keep quotations and

examples organized. Name each tab accordingly (Movies, Book Titles, Athletes, Historical Events, etc.).

Suggested Formatting

y Each tab of the sheet should contain

quotes/prompts, their meaning(s), and

examples that ﬁt the tab’s topic.

y Formatting: Freeze the ﬁrst row, make all

boxes text wrapping instead of ﬂowing,

highlight the ﬁrst row of cells in light gray,

and bold the text to keep the header row

stand out from the other text.

y Add sheets at the bottom and rename for

whatever genre is needed (Books, Sports,

Politics, Historical Events, etc.) and format

the columns in the same manner as Sheet 1.

y Optional: Visual learners may also beneﬁt

from color coding their sheets. Try making

each sheet a dierent color and then

highlight one of the columns on that sheet

(usually the meaning column) so that each

sheet has a dierent color associated with

it.

y Sample: https://bit.ly/2WJCka2

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Activities | 15

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Activities

By Use

This method requires fewer sheets but more information to ﬁlter through on each sheet. Make three

separate sheets for Examples, Prompts, and Master List.

Suggested Formatting

y Name Sheet 1 “Examples.” Column 1 is

“Examples,” Column 2 is “Genre,” Column 3

is “Why it Works,” Column 4 is “Date Last

Used.”

y Name Sheet 2 “Prompts.” Column 1 is

“Prompt,” Column 2 is “Type,” and Column

3 is “Genre.”

y Name Sheet 3 “Master List.” Column 1 is

“Genre,” Column 2 is “Prompt,” Column 3 is

“Meaning,” and Column 4 is “Example.”

y Formatting: Freeze the ﬁrst row, make all

boxes text wrapping instead of ﬂowing,

highlight the ﬁrst row of cells in light gray,

and bold the text to keep the header row

stand out from the other text.

y Optional: Visual learners may also beneﬁt

from color coding their sheets. Try making

each genre a dierent color and ﬁll the

text box with the color that corresponds

with the genre.

y Sample: https://bit.ly/3kL7YfN

ADVICE FROM THE FINAL ROUND STAGE

I keep a running list of evidence. Every time I come across a book,

TEDtalk, historical event, news story, anecdote, or story that could

be good evidence for a speech, I write it down. That way, I never

forget a good piece of evidence I ﬁnd. It also helps me keep the

facts straight about each piece of evidence and make sure that

when I go into a round, I can talk about it accurately.

— Laurie Frederickson, 2021 Prepared Prompt Speaking ﬁnalist

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org

ACTIVITY 1: WHAT’S THE MEANING OF THIS?

This activity assists students in thinking about the bigger picture when it comes to Impromptu.

Students will move outside of their comfort zone and consider the deeper meaning rather than the

literal meaning of words.

OBJECTIVE

Students will be able to extrapolate meaning from a given prompt.

PROCEDURES

• Give students a prompt (quotations work very very well for beginners).

• Ask students to determine the meaning of the prompt (for quotations, what is the author of

the quote trying to say? Think about the emotion behind what the author is saying, not just

the literal words being used.)

» A great example of this undertone is Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s quotation, “The power of

one, if fearless and focused, is formidable, but the power of many working together is

better.”

» Her literal words may be misconstrued as saying one person isn’t good or that one person

can’t accomplish something. But if you dig deeper into the emotion and meaning, you

understand she’s stating that many people working together can do unimaginable things.

She uses language like “formidable,” “fearless,” and “focused” to describe one person, but

then uses the word “better” to describe “many”—meaning, she is impressed by the power

of many.

• After students have determined the meaning, have them condense it into a single thesis

statement.

HINT: There are infinite meanings for prompts and no right or wrong answer for a given prompt

or quotation. Every person has lived different experiences and will have a different take on the

meaning of someone’s words and actions.

IMPROMPTU

NAME:

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org

Below are ﬁve quotations with possible thesis statements. These are not the only thesis statements or

the right ones by any means, just possible ones. Your goal is to come up with other possible meanings

and theses.

1. “Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.” – John Lennon

» Potential Thesis – Our lived experience is often out of our control.

2. “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If

you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela

» Potential Thesis – We need to focus on deeper connections with people.

3. “Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.” – Robert H. Schuller

» Potential Thesis – We should recognize pitfalls as opportunities.

4. “Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the

opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals.” – Dorothy Height

» Potential Thesis – The personal growth we achieve in pursuit of our dreams is more important than

the end result.

5. “The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” – Sydney J. Harris

» Potential Thesis– Education allows us to broaden our perspectives and understand the world from

other points of view.

ACTIVITY 1: WHAT’S THE MEANING OF THIS?

IMPROMPTU

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org

ACTIVITY 2: ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS

This activity is designed to help students build skills that not only draw connections between the

pieces of the puzzle that make up our world but analyze why those connections exist between

some pieces and not others. Plus, all these pieces that can later be identiﬁed and used as examples in

future speeches. This activity requires students to go beyond identifying dierences and explain their

reasoning behind the connection, skills that will make them better prepared for the analysis required in

Impromptu speeches.

OBJECTIVE

Students should be able to dierentiate between likeness of meaning in common evidence examples

and discern which two evidence examples do not ﬁt the pattern while justifying their answer.

PROCEDURES

• Give students ﬁve examples that could be used as evidence in a speech, three of which support

a common meaning and two that do not.

• Have students pick the three that they believe ﬁt together as the three examples of the speech

without giving them the meaning or a prompt.

• Have students explain either verbally (or in their notebooks for later reference in bullet points)

why those three examples are connected.

• Have students explain why the other two could not be used as examples in conjunction with

the other three.

HINT: There are no wrong answers as long as the arguments are logical. Even if examples seem

like they may contradict one another, if the student can make them work together to make

a sound argument, they are the right answer. It’s all about developing logical reasoning and

critical thinking skills.

After students complete the activity, they should have a grasp on determining the meaning of the

prompt and connecting points that could be used in a speech. After students have completed this

activity and feel comfortable moving on, have them work on giving the body of the Impromptu

speech. The three examples they chose out of the ﬁve would make up the body of a speech if they

were given a prompt. In this case, they have the examples already and no prompt. Check if they can

give just the body of the speech with analysis between each point. As time goes on, have them try to

expand into delivering the introduction and conclusion even without an original prompt.

IMPROMPTU

NAME:

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org

1. Jackie Robinson, 9/11, Bombing of Pearl Harbor, Katherine Johnson, Vice President Kamala Harris

» The three that I believe ﬁt together are Jackie Robinson, Katherine Johnson, and Vice President

Kamala Harris.

» Those three ﬁt together because they all represent moments in history when a major race barrier

was broken, and in two cases, when a female race barrier was broken.

» The other two don’t ﬁt because, while they do represent shifts in the way people view people of

color, they represent a negative shift in the way people view people of color rather than a positive

one.

2. Aladdin and Prince Ali, Police Station Two-Way Mirror, Master of Disguises, Sleight of Hand, Ouija Board

3. Macbeth, Retirement, Anakin Skywalker, Voldemort, Hallmark Christmas Movies

4. Black Widow in Endgame, The 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, Martin Luther King Jr., Dobby, The Alamo

5. Narcissus, Yertle the Turtle, Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, Mount Rushmore, Emperor’s New Groove

ACTIVITY 2: ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHERS

IMPROMPTU

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org

ACTIVITY3: HOW ARE THESE THINGS CONNECTED?

This activity is designed to help students begin thinking about how dierent pieces of our world are

connected. Students will practice critical thinking skills and learn building blocks of Impromptu by

looking beyond the surface to uncover deeper meaning through connection.

OBJECTIVE

Students will be able to draw a connection between examples given as evidence for a speech.

PROCEDURES

• Give students three examples that are all connected by a common thesis or theme without

giving them the meaning of the connection.

• Ask the students to identify how the three examples are connected.

• Have the students ﬁnd a prompt for which the three examples could serve as evidence.

• After they’ve found a prompt, have the students write a thesis for that prompt.

HINT: A thesis should be concise—a single sentence that gets the speaker’s point across.

Once students have practiced this and feel comfortable with these skills, it’s time to put them to the

test in real world practice. Have them start by giving shortened speeches and working up to longer

performances. The goal is to put all the components from this activity together into one speech

with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Once students can give the speech, they can move on to

prepping the speech within the time limits all at once instead of piece by piece.

IMPROMPTU

NAME:

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org

1. Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Rita Peirson

» Connection – They are all inﬂuential people who dedicated their lives to the service and

betterment of other people’s lives.

» Potential Prompt – “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” –

Muhammad Ali

» Potential Thesis – It is our purpose on this earth to serve all people for the betterment of

humankind.

2. The President’s cabinet, the importance of Google, tutorials in video games

» Connection – They are all examples of times when you ask for help in solving problems or seek out

knowledge you do not already know.

» Potential Prompt – “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” – Socrates

» Potential Thesis – We shouldn’t let arrogance cloud our understanding.

3. 9/11, Gettysburg, Pearl Harbor

» Connection – They are major historical events that turned the tides of the wars happening at the

given time periods (War on Terror, Civil War, WWII).

» Potential Prompt – “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to

understand more, so that we may fear less.” – Marie Curie

» Potential Thesis – Our perception is shaped by signiﬁcant events.

4. Hamiliton the Musical, Dead Poets Society, The King’s Speech

» Connection – Each story is about someone who forged their own path and made their own destiny.

» Potential Prompt – “Even when you think you have your life all mapped out, things happen that

shape your destiny in ways you might never have imagined.” – Deepak Chopra

» Potential Thesis – Our destinies are ours to make and strive toward, not something for which to

hope and dream.

5. Regina George, Snow White’s evil stepmother, Dorian Gray

» Connection – They are all examples of when characters were obsessed with their vanity.

» Potential Prompt – “When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of

logic, but with creatures bristling with prejudice and motivated by pride and vanity.” – Dale Carnegie

» Potential Thesis – Obsession with physical looks and oneself will only lead to downfall.

ACTIVITY3: HOW ARE THESE THINGS CONNECTED?

IMPROMPTU

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Resources | 22

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Resources

RESOURCES

Where to Find Practice Prompts/Quotations

COLLEGE LEVEL QUOTATIONS

• http://www.collegiateforensicassociation.org/pastimpromptuquotations

EASY, LESS REVIEWED SOURCES

• https://www.brainyquote.com

• https://quizlet.com/31924517/impromptu-topics-quotes-ﬂash-cards/ (must have a quizlet account;

it’s free!)

NON-NSDA PROMPTS (BUT STILL REPUTABLE)

• https://tkmiller97.wordpress.com/2007/07/03/sample-quotations-for-impromptu-practice/

• https://www.instituteofpublicspeaking.com/top-20-public-speaking-quotes/

• https://speakerhub.com/blog/101-quotes

• https://bigﬁshpresentations.com/2012/05/03/25-awesome-public-speaking-quotes/

NSDA PROMPTS AND RESOURCES

Free:

• https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/Resource-DiversityandInclusion-

ImpromptuPrompts_Fin.pdf (Inclusivity)

• https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/2018_HispanicHeritageMonth_

Impromptu-Prompts.pdf (Hispanic Heritage Month)

Members:

• https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/Impromptu-Prompts-

Resource-2019-08-29.pdf

• 2019 Middle School Nationals ﬁnal round performance by Forhani

• 2015 Middle School Nationals ﬁnal round performances by Matiapalli and Lee

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION • www.speechanddebate.org • Resources | 23

IMPROMPTU STARTER KIT

Resources

SAMPLE BALLOTS

• Sample Ballot Filled: https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/Sample-Ballot-

Impromptu-Comments.pdf

• Sample Ballot Unﬁlled: https://www.speechanddebate.org/wp-content/uploads/Sample-Ballot-

Impromptu-Blank.pdf

ABOUT THE NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION:

The National Speech & Debate Association was created in 1925 to provide recognition

and support for students participating in speech and debate activities. While our

organization has evolved over the decades, our mission is more relevant today than

ever before. We connect, support, and inspire a diverse community committed to

empowering students through competitive speech and debate.

As the national authority on public speaking and debate, the National Speech & Debate

Association provides the infrastructure for speech and debate competitions around

the world. We create a platform for youth voices to be heard and celebrated, which

culminates with an annual National Tournament, the pinnacle of public speaking.

Speech and debate changes lives. NSDA membership builds conﬁdence, boosts classroom

performance, improves communication, and increases critical thinking skills to prepare students

for college. Our activity provides life skills vital to a young person’s success in the future.

MISSION:

The National Speech & Debate Association connects, supports, and inspires a diverse

community committed to empowering students through speech and debate.

VISION:

We envision a world in which every school provides speech and debate programs to

foster each student’s communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creative skills.

Learn more at