Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking

Ok, so you are interested in DX. Fair enough, it is a fun event. Actually, it can be more fun than you can handle if you really work at it. But as I just said, it does require some work. After doing DX more times than I can count and being mildly successful, I can honestly say that no success in this event comes without effort. It takes time, practice, and above all concentration.

DX is, in simple terms, an event that tests your ability to analyze the news and present it in a speech. It starts out with you entering a large room (usually a gym or auditorium) in which you and just about every other debater at the tournament will be for at least the next thirty minutes. You will be assigned a speaking position and room number/section number prior to entering the room (it is always good to check the postings in the room as well, though). You will then wait for your speaking number to be called and you will walk down to a table with envelopes on it. Find your section number and draw ONLY three topics (on little slips of paper). Take just a moment to look over the three questions and see which one you think you will have the easiest time speaking on. Pick that one and put the other two back in the envelope. Now sign your name on the sheet of paper for your section and write down your topic. You will then go back to the “tubs” where all the teams’ articles are stored and take all relevant articles. You need around six articles per speech. If you are not familiar with the outline, here is a basic one:

Remember that you are not writing a full speech. Just put down words or short phrases that will jog your memory when practicing. Writing the outline should take 5 minutes at the most. Remember, you only get 30 minutes to prepare your speech, so be quick and concise. After you have gotten the outline down, spend the last 25 minutes of your prep time practicing the speech over and over. During this time and also when writing the outline, do NOT TALK to anyone. If you are suspected of cheating, you will be disqualified and there will be contempt on the face of your coach, which trust me, is never good. Once your prep time is over, you will be called to go speak and you should move promptly to your room. Keep the sheet of paper with your topic on it and your outline handy. Practice while walking and waiting for the person before you to finish speaking. When that person leaves, give the judges a moment before walking in. When you do walk in, hand them the topic and stand quietly at the front of the room until you are given permission to speak. When they indicate to go, you will be given 7 minutes to speak on your topic WITHOUT your outline. You cannot use your outline or any other kinds of notes when performing. Try and talk slowly and keep your speech pattern interesting. Don’t overuse any single word or hand gesture while speaking. Try and keep it as natural as possible. Judges want to see you speak pretty AND provide insightful analysis on your topic. Remember, it is advised that you move one or two steps each time you change a point. Pause briefly after each point and then begin talking as you move the one or two steps. Don’t EVER start walking and not be talking. After you finish your speech, the judges will write down BOTH praise and criticism on your ballot and then after the entire round is over, they will rank you in the room. Your rank depends on how many people are in the room, but generally to make it to the next round you need to be ranked either first or second in the room.

Now, the greatest challenge you will probably meet when performing these speeches is coming up with an attention getter. I luckily have been very successful with coming up with Attention Getters. They require a certain amount of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, but they are not difficult once you tap into the creative part of you. My general rule for attention getters is go as weird as possible while still being relevant. Take a WAY out there subject and you will hook judges immediately. They will at first wonder what you are talking about since it won’t sound relevant to the topic, but when you tie it back, it will make sense and the judge will now be all ears. Try your best not to repeat the same kind of attention getter over and over. Some Extempers (the name coined for people who perform DX or FX often) want to only use sports as an attention getter or a personal story, but overuse of one type of attention getter just drains you of ideas. Keep it fresh and you will be far more successful.

The best way to prep for tournaments is to watch the news often and to give lots and lots of practice speeches. It is good practice because if you are very successful at a tournament, you could be forced to give at least three speeches at the tournament. The main reason why practice speeches are important is because they really aid in warding off nervousness when at the actual tournament. Being nervous during a speech can be your greatest enemy. I don’t know how many times I have forgotten a point or jumbled my words in a round just because I was nervous. Being nervous is the one thing that can ruin a tournament for you. The only advice I can give is that you take a deep breath before you speak and just pretend like you are speaking to a wall (as you might have during prep time). That is not to say, however, to not keep eye contact with the judges. Always keep eye contact with at least one judge. A good speaker will talk with ease and be competent with their analysis. A bad one, on the other hand, will fidget their hands and talk fast and not really say much at all. Try your best not to repeat anything.

So that is the basic idea of DX. Yeah, it’s a bit complicated on paper, but once you get in the round, it all falls in place. Remember, you will probably not be very successful the first few times you do it, but with practice and experience, you will catch on in no time.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “There is no true orator who is not a hero.”

Oratory is an event that shows how truly extraordinary all people are. Its purpose is to share an Individual’s personal message with another group of people, hence the motto “Tell your story”. Of course don’t have to always have to center about an individual’s story it can issue in our society that interests the speaker. This event is made for people who are passionate about a situation that needs addressing.

- Oratory has been around forever! (Some famous Orators: Cicero, Julius Caser, Francesco Petrarca etc.)

Road Map – what your going to discuss (usually goes along with the theme of your intro)

Overall this is a great event for you to express yourself in. It allows you to connect with a group of people and truly share how you feel about what matters to you.

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Hello my name is Izela Alcala. I have been competing in this particular event since my sophomore year. Foreign Extmp is an event that allows students to inform tournament judges on current events in other countries. I am drawn to this particular event because I enjoy reading and speaking about events happening in other parts of the world. I get my ideas for my speeches from news articles.

The rules are very simple. Competitors have thirty minutes to prepare a 7 minute speech on a topic that they chose during extemp draw. There are a few constraints: Competitors may not have any electronic devices during extemp draw, you may not have any previous extemp outlines in the draw room and you only have 30 minutes to prepare your speech.

The time of the event runs approximately 36 to 37 minutes. You have 30 minutes to prepare a speech and a good time for a speech is between is 6 minutes and 30 seconds and 7 minutes. Timing does play a crucial role in the event. If you go over 7 minutes and 30 seconds you can get disqualified for going over the time limit. You are given 3 topics to choose from and out of those 3 topics you must choose one to give a speech on.

In Foreign Extemp rounds are based on the rank you get from your judges, who look to see if your speech flowed well and followed the extemp format, if you had a good amount of news sources, if you used hand gestures properly and if you spoke clearly and loud enough for the judge to hear.

There is a good amount of preparation that goes into this particular event. You must print articles, read and highlight key points in the article, and file the article in the correct subject folder in the extemp tubs. You must also give practice speeches to help better your performance. The number of points you are awarded depends on the number of competitors competing in the event at the tournament. Paying close attending to the news and current events is an element that definitely helps an individual succeed in this event.

A good extemp speech consists of a well amount of cited sources, appropriate hand gestures, a good vocal tone and good body movement. A few tips I can offer a newbie at this event is give practice speeches as much as you can, strive to create an outline in 9 minutes and do not worry if you do not succeed at first with experience and practice you will get much better.

Extemp is an event that has allowed me to gain particular speaking skills that will help me in my future career.

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Hi our names are Jennifer Chacon and Jennifer Camacho. We have been participating in student congress since the second semester of freshmen year. We are now sophmores and have particapted in every tournament of the current semester.

I, Jennifer Camacho have placed 8th and have 1 state point , I have also been to finals five times. In a congress session we have a legislative debate fashioned after that of the congress of the United States of America .

The goal is to represent the citizens of America by debating current issues and opening the eyes of our representive to these issues. There are anywhere from eight to twenty representatives in each session. Currently there are 74 pieces of legislation to debate in student congress.

In session a docket is established and around 6 to 8 items are debated depending on whether there is debate on each issue. The sessions are about 2 hours long, but can last for as long as they are assigned. Each representative has a maximum of three minutes per speech with a mandatory one minute cross examination period at the end.

Representatives may choose to audition for the position of presiding officer by having a 15 minute audition period and then everyone voting. A presiding officer is the person to which motions are directed and the person that keeps order.

A few of the rules are that there is a three minute maximum for speech, one minute of mandatory questioning, no two-part questions, no rephrasing, no prefacing, and no suspension of the rules. Prefacing means you are allowed to bring outside information, in this instance in order to set up the question you would like to ask.

All representatives are ranked, one being the best in the room; judges decide this by ranking their speeches from one to six, six being the best. TFA uses best of base which means that scores are not averaged but a certain number of them are taken into account and ranked accordingly. Usually the top five are taken from prelims into either semis or supercongress. Supercongress is when you go automatically into finals. In finals the top eight get state qualifying points.

Judges are looking for fluent speakers, that have facts to back up their assertions, are really active in their chamber and have good knowledge of parliamentary procedure.

We like congress because many opinions are expressed and there is also a mixture of many events. You gain a lot of knowledge from the preparation and actual sessions of congress. All of the information you need comes from research for each piece of legislation and outlines that you create to help you.

There is a maximum of three times that a person can be in congress at each tournament, prelims, semis if there is any, and finals. In order to advance you must hold a good legislative debate, you must not read off of your paper, you must pay attention to other people's points in order to have a good rebuttle and above all you must be confident in what you say and do.

For this event it is essential to watch the news and remain aware of current events. Public speaking is one of the greatest fears of all people, yet it is involved in many aspects in life and this is definitely an event that helps public speaking become a natural thing.

We hope all of ya'll succeed in this event!

love the JJ's

Hello, my name is Sumair Ahmed and I can say that Cross Examination debate is the most rewarding event in the debate program. To put this event into a basic summary, it consists of 2 people on each team, one Affirmative (pro) for the provided topic of debate(the resolution) and on e Negative (con). Affirmative teams generally present a plan as a proposal for implementation of the resolution. However, many teams also partake in alternative forms of argumentative presentation that do not focus on the acceptance or rejection of a specific plan. The NEG (negative), being against the resolution provides disadvantages, counter-plans, statistics and other arguments why the AFF (affirmative) plan will not work.

A resolution is a topic statement which the affirmative team affirms and the negative team negates. Resolutions are selected annually by affiliated schools.

Most resolutions from the 1920s to 2005 have begun "Resolved: that The United States federal government should" although some variations from this structure have been apparent.

First affirmative ................................................ 8 minutes
Cross-examination by negative ......................... 3 minutes
First negative................................................... 8 minutes
Cross-examination by affirmative ...................... 3 minutes
Second affirmative............................................ 8 minutes
Cross-examination by negative ......................... 3 minutes
Second negative ............................................. 8 minutes
Cross-examination by affirmative ...................... 3 minutes

Negative ....................................................... 5 minutes
Affirmative...................................................... 5 minutes
Negative ....................................................... 5 minutes
Affirmative...................................................... 5 minutes

This is the basic format of the whole debate round. The affirmative and negative sides are determined by the tournament officials and after a agreed number of preliminary rounds, cross examination hits the power match period. During these parings, you are matched against another team with the same tournament record as yours, making for even more competitive debates.

Policy Debaters' speed of delivery will vary from league to league and tournament to tournament. In many tournaments, debaters will speak very quickly in order to read as much evidence and make as many arguments as possible within the time-constrained speech. This practice is commonly referred to as "spreading." "Spewing" is a similar term, but can carry negative connotations, such as speeding done poorly.

This rapid-fire delivery is a major source of controversy in the debate community. Rapid delivery is encouraged by those who believe that increased quantity and diversity of argumentation makes debates more educational. Others, citing scientific studies, claim that learning to speak faster also increases short and long term memory. A slower style is preferred by those who want debates to be understandable to lay people and those who claim that the pedagogical purpose of the activity is to train rhetorical skills. Others claim that the increased speed encourages debaters to make several poor arguments, as opposed to a few high quality ones. Most debaters will vary their rate of delivery depending upon the judge's preferences.

Debaters utilize a specialized form of note taking, called flowing, to keep track of the arguments presented during a debate. Conventionally, debater's notes are divided into separate flows for each different argument in the debate round (kritiks, disads, topicalities, etc.). There are multiple methods of flowing but the most common style incorporates columns of arguments made in a given speech which allows the debater to match the next speaker's responses up with the original arguments. Certain shorthand for commonly used words are used to keep up with the rapid rate of delivery. For example, the abbreviation 'HR' may be used to denote 'Human Rights'. The abbreviations or stand-in symbols can and do vary between debaters.

Flowing on a laptop has become more and more popular among high school and college debaters. While certain schools, tournaments, and judges may have reservations about the effect such practices have on the activity, more and more laptops are utilized for flowing. Some debaters use a basic computer spreadsheet; others use specialized Flowing Templates, which includes embedded shortcut keys for the most common formatting needs. The increasing use of laptops has shed light on new debate within the debate community regarding fairness, education, and competitive equity. A large portion of opposition is out of the fear that some debaters may use a school's wireless internet network to research during a round.

Evidence in debates is organized into units called cards (because such evidence was originally printed on note cards, though the practice has long been out of favor). Cards are designed to condense an author's argument so that debaters have an easy way to access the information. A card is composed of three parts: the tag, the cite, and the body. The tag is the debater's summary of the argument presented in the body. A tag is usually only one or two sentences. The cite contains all relevant citation information (that is, the author, date of publication, journal, title, etc.). Although every card should contain a complete citation, only the author's name and date of publication are typically spoken aloud in a speech. Some teams will also read the author's qualifications if they wish to emphasize this information. The body is a fragment of the author's original text. The length of a body can vary greatly—cards can be as short as a few sentences and as long as two or more pages. Most cards are between one and five paragraphs in length. The body of a card is often underlined or highlighted in order to eliminate unnecessary or redundant sentences when the card is read in a round. In a round, the tag is read first, followed by the cite and the body.

When I first thought about this event, I thought how hard it was and all the work I had to put into it; but as Henry Thomas once, “You have to work to earn.” Remembering this quote could allow a competitor to be very successful in this event. This event helped me understand crucial issues more clearly, making me a more informed citizen.

“Prep time starting…..now!” These words are almost guaranteed in an “LD” round. It is almost as if debating were a race to the finish line….however things are not that simple. Debate is a time consuming activity that requires lots of research and then more research. Oh and did I mention research? I have been doing this event for almost two years now and I have noticed several things. The first, you may work and research until you are drinking and swimming in coffee but not see any results to your hard work. You have to be tough to do this event. Secondly, your cases need to be your cases. Random fact: Unless you are a Debate Master and can run anything then it is probably better to write your own cases. Finally, abbreviate. At this point, you are probably wondering, “This coffee has gone to her head, what does abbreviating have to do with debate?” Well the answer is simple, you must flow (take notes of) the round. It is impossible for you to take in everything, so you must write it down. I have learned that abbreviating can make everything easier.

“I negate/affirm the resolution. Resolved…..” (State the resolution just to make sure the judge knows what the topic is)

Key definitions (Definitions that you think should be defined within the round….by the way not every word should be defined. If you are the Negative side then you will want to explain your definitions and tell why the judge should agree with your definition.)

Value (What you are trying to achieve in this round…..ex: Justice. Important: have a credible definition)

Criterion (Supports your value. Also should be defined by a credible source. More importantly it is usually the best to go into detail with your value and your criterion because after all LD is a philosophy and value debate!)

Contention(s) (There are no limits on the amount of contentions that your case can have. Word to the wise though….it is best that you have as many as you can cover with the time given.)

Summary (This is also an option as well. This can also be used state your points briefly and then restate your stance on the resolution.)

And then lastly…..the last line that you will say after you are done speaking is, “I’m now stand open for cross examination.”

Well there that covers most of it! Have fun and remember, “Debate is life, the rest is just prep time.”

Humorous Interpretation Humorous interpretation is a humorous cutting which represents one or more characters from a play or plays of literary merit. This material may be drawn from stage, screen or radio. Maximum time limit is 10 minutes, including transitions and the delivery of an original introduction.

Dramatic Interpretation Dramatic interpretation is a dramatic selection representing one or more characters from a play or plays of literary merit. This material may be drawn from stage, screen or radio. Maximum time limit is 10 minutes, including transitions and the delivery of an original introduction.

Duo Interpretation A cutting from a play, humorous or serious, involving the portrayal of two or more characters presented by two individuals. The material may be drawn from stage, screen, or radio. This is not an acting event. Thus, no costumes, props, lighting, etc. are to be used. Presentation is from the manuscript and focus should be off-stage and not to each other. Maximum time is 10 minutes including introduction.

Original Oratory In original oratory, speakers choose a topic that interests them and develop a
10 minute persuasive speech on that subject. The topic does not have to be serious. They address current problems and propose solutions. The key element in original oratory is the persuasiveness of the work.

How Does Forensics Benefit Students?
(Resourced from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA)

What is Forensics?
The word, “forensics”, is derived from Latin and is closely related to “forum”. A forum is an open exchange of ideas in an atmosphere of respect and responsibility.

As practiced by the ancient Greeks, the “forum” was the actual seat of government, a place where the people got together to make the decisions by which they ruled. Later, in Roman times, the “forum” became a place where people could speak out in an attempt to persuade their representatives to one course of action or another.

What is Debate?
Debate is an essential activity in democratic societies. More than two thousand years ago, when democracy first flourished in Athens, citizens met regularly in public assemblies. Their votes determined the policy and the actions of the state.

But their votes were always preceded by debate: citizens and leaders argued about what was morally right and legally right; they argued about the best way to achieve a desired outcome; they argued about what was possible and what was prudent.

Does This Have Anything to Do with Science or the Study of Dead Bodies?
No, although both do share some origins. “Legal speaking in the law courts was referred to as forensic discourse.” (Rhetoric of Western Thought, 3rd edition, Kendall/Hunt, 1983, p. 39).
Forensic medicine is the application of medical science to legal problems. It typically has to do with the application of scientific or medical knowledge to legal matters as in the investigation of crime. A formal argumentation or public debate usually takes place in the determination of the cause of death, thus the term forensics.