extemp strategy Archives - Extemp Central

Strategy: Navigating the NCFL Grand National Tournament

On May 16, 2015

by Monica Coscia

Monica Coscia competed in extemp for Montville Township High School in Montville, New Jersey. She was the 2014 NCFL National Champion in extemp, state runner-up in United States extemp, and the extemp CFL point leader for the Newark district. She also has broken at Yale, Princeton, and Harvard and has coached middle school forensics. Monica now studies political science and history in the honors program at Boston College and competes on the mock trial team.

The best part about winning the NCFL extemp championship wasn’t the trophy or the title. It wasn’t being the first national champion for my school and my amazing coach, although that was a close second. Rather, the legacy that I hope I left with my NCFL championship is the lesson that, even in the world of competitive speech and debate, the underdogs can win. CFL Nationals, unlike other prestigious tournaments like NSDA Nationals and the TOC, is anyone’s tournament to win. This is not to say that one can win the title without practice and effort, but you don’t necessarily need years of speech camp and tons of national tournament breaks to be successful here. Sure, I had broken at a few national tournaments, finaled at states, and had been to NCFLs once before, but I had never broken past semis at a national tournament. It’s difficult to ignore the fact that people say I shouldn’t have won, but I would like to believe that this wasn’t a complete fluke. I knew who my audience was, and I catered to that audience. The key to this tournament is being cognizant of who you are speaking to, and gearing your already talented skill set to them. I hope that the following advice is even the least bit helpful to your participation in NCFLs, because anyone who truly dedicates his/herself to practicing for this tournament has the ability succeed here.

Strategy: “Lone Wolf” Extemping

By geniao44446

On March 6, 2015

In Strategy

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by Logan Scisco

A large majority of extempers compete as part of a team. They allocate cutting assignments for everyone on the squad, may critique each other’s speeches in practice, and provide moral support for each other tournaments. However, there is another type of extemper: the so-called “lone wolf.” “Lone wolf” extempers compete on their own, not having a larger team to rely upon. “Lone wolf” extempers are becoming increasingly common as more homeschool students have begun participating in extemporaneous speaking across the country. This strategy piece will provide some tips on how “lone wolf” extempers can prosper.

Strategy: Empathy and Extemp

By geniao44446

On September 11, 2014

In Strategy

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by Dylan Adelman

Dylan Adelman competed for Lakeville South High School (MN) and was the 2014 NSDA Nationals runner-up and Final Round Champion in International Extemporaneous Speaking. He previously finished 7th and 11th place in the same category his junior and sophomore years, respectively. Dylan was also the 2014 Minnesota state champion in extemporaneous speaking, as well as the two-time state runner-up to former NSDA national champion Ashesh Rambachan (2012 and 2013). Dylan will be attending the University of Pennsylvania in the dual-degree Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business.

Strategy: Handling Political Cartoon Rounds

By geniao44446

On June 18, 2014

In Strategy

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by Logan Scisco

At a few select tournaments throughout the year, you may encounter rounds that are different from what you are accustomed to. Instead of drawing three questions and choosing one to speak on, some tournaments may give you a copy of The New York Times and have you draft your own question from the paper. Others may have you examine editorials, and a few may have you draw three political cartoons and choose one to speak on in the round. Extempers are usually befuddled by changes to their normal environment and even good extempers stumble in these “experimental” rounds. This strategy piece will examine approaches to political cartoon rounds so that if you ever come across one you will be comfortable and ready to compete.

Heading to NSDA Nationals? Read These NSDA (NFL) Nationals Preview Pieces from the Extemp Central Archives!

By geniao44446

On June 12, 2014

In Strategy, Tournaments

If you are an extemper headed to the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament in a couple of weeks, you might find it helpful to read some past NFL Nationals strategy pieces by contributing authors to Extemp Central. All of the contributing authors below were either NFL national champions or final round winners (Jared Odessky, Dylan Slinger, Tyler Fabbri, Stacey Chen, and Logan Scisco) or NFL national finalists (Omar Qureshi, Michael Garson, and Mark Royce).

2011 NFL National Champions Share Their Views on the Tournament by Jared Odessky & Dylan Slinger Part I
2011 NFL National Champions Share Their Views on the Tournament by Jared Odessky & Dylan Slinger Part II

NFL National Tournament Strategy Guide by Tyler Fabbri

NFL Nationals Strategy by Stacey Chen Part I
NFL Nationals Strategy by Stacey Chen Part II

Extemporaneous Speaking at NFL Nationals by Mark Royce

National Tournament Psychology by Omar Qureshi

NFL Roundtable by Logan Scisco, Michael Garson, and Mark Royce

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Strategy: Impressing Judges

By geniao44446

On June 4, 2014

In Strategy

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Judges are normal people. They make mistakes, but they do not want to make unpopular decisions if they can avoid it. Depending on your area of the country, judges may know a great deal, or very little about global events. They may be parents, coaches, and/or volunteers and they may know or not know very much about the structure of extemporaneous speaking. Regardless of the background of the judge that you have in a round, there are several tips for how you can impress your judges during a speech. This strategy piece will cover these tips, which will hopefully assist you in rounds when facing a diverse array of judges.

Strategy: Answering Controversial Domestic Social Questions

By geniao44446

On May 21, 2014

In Strategy

by Logan Scisco

The main reason that extempers dislike domestic social rounds is that they cover sensitive issues that many judges have already made up their mind about. Whereas judges rarely have preconceived notions or feelings about Thailand’s political crisis or Brazil’s ability to hold the 2016 Summer Olympics, they will have attitudes about the American education system, abortion, Title IX, affirmative action, gay rights, and illegal immigration. This is one of the reasons why I argue that United States Extemp is harder than International Extemp because although the most capable extempers usually assemble in the International Extemp pool at NSDA Nationals, they do not have to walk through a minefield of hot button issues that could inhibit their ability to advance in the tournament. This strategy piece will provide some tips for extempers on how to navigate controversial issues in domestic social rounds.

Strategy: Maximizing Prep Time

By geniao44446

On May 7, 2014

In Strategy

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According to the rules of extemporaneous speaking, a speaker has thirty minutes to organize their thoughts in a central “preparation” room in order to outline their speech and practice before heading to their competition room. As all extempers can attest, thirty minutes when one is under pressure goes by in a flash and to become a proficient speaker, one must be able to maximize the thirty minutes allotted during this time. This strategy piece will provide a few tips on how an extemporaneous speaker can maximize the thirty minutes of their prep time.

Strategy: Preparing for Nationals

By geniao44446

On April 23, 2014

In Strategy

by Logan Scisco

In just a month’s time, the National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) will host its national tournament and that will be followed a few weeks later by the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA – formerly National Forensic Association – NFL) National Tournament. For many extempers, there is a lag time of a month or more between when their local circuit ceases competition and attending nationals. This is a time when skills can erode if an extemper is not practicing or keeping up with national and international events. Even extempers that are still competing on their local circuits into April risk burnout if not given enough time to mentally decompress and prepare for the challenge of competing against extempers from all parts of the United States at these national tournaments.

This strategy piece will discuss ways that extempers can adequately prepare for each national tournament. I highly recommend extempers that have qualified to either competition to search Extemp Central for strategy pieces that have been written by past national champions and competitors as they will supplement the tips contained here. The Internet is a great tool for acquiring a lot of advice on extemporaneous speaking and extempers should use it to their advantage as they prepare for Chicago and Overland Park this year.

Strategy: Answering With a Thesis

By geniao44446

On April 9, 2014

In Strategy

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Most extemporaneous speaking questions will ask speakers to provide a yes or no answer to a given question. Examples of these types of questions are “Should the United States exit Afghanistan by the end of 2014?”, “Can Hillary Clinton win the presidency in 2016?” and “Does Vladimir Putin wish to reconstruct the old Soviet Union?” As part of our strategy piece series, we have already provided a strategy for breaking down “How” and “What” type of questions. For this, I piece I will explain why it is better to frame your answers to yes and no questions with a thesis. This means that you will not only tell your audience that your answer to the question is yes or no, but will provide a “because” statement that further clarifies your answer. So, instead of answering the Afghanistan question is “no” you would answer it with “No because the United States has yet to accomplish its goal of creating a stable Afghanistan.”

Tips for Dealing with Economic Questions

By geniao44446

On March 26, 2014

In Strategy

by Logan Scisco

Whether you do International or United States Extemp, you will have to answer questions on economic issues. In fact, at the NFL National Tournament it is not uncommon for extempers to run into multiple economic rounds since the tournament has a tendency to divide business questions from those pertaining to the economic policies of national governments. Therefore, being able to handle economic questions is an important skill for a successful extempers and this strategy piece will provide some tips to approach economic questions.

Strategy: Answering Narrative Questions

By geniao44446

On March 12, 2014

In Strategy

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On occasion, tournaments will deviate from asking standard extemporaneous speaking questions and will do experimental rounds that challenge extempers to think differently about global events. One of these experimental rounds involves narrative questions, which put the extempers in the position of a world leader or other notable figure and ask them how they would decide a significant issue if they were in that person’s shoes. Since extempers rarely practice narrative questions or encounter them during the year, they are sometimes tripped up when they find themselves in narrative rounds and I have seen a few normally distinguished extempers give less than stellar speeches in these rounds. This strategy piece will break down what a narrative question is and provide tips on answering them.

Strategy: “Interping” Extemp

By geniao44446

On February 26, 2014

In Strategy

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by Logan Scisco

Although extemporaneous speaking is an analytical event that requires extempers to read about current events, draw conclusions from a variety of sources, and communicate the facts of the day to an audience that may or may not be proficient in the ways of the world, the delivery aspects of the event are sometimes lost in the shuffle when it comes to preparation and coaching. Competitors become so nervous about remembering the growth rate of the Thai economy, the history of the Second Amendment, and the names of miscellaneous Obama administration officials that they forget to make their delivery stand out in a round. Using your brain to remember information and regurgitate it on cue is only one element of extemporaneous speaking and the analytical nature of the event is not an excuse to not take a few cues from the interpretation world in refining one’s delivery to accompany one’s analysis. This strategy piece will discuss the importance to three areas where “interping” one’s extemp can be valuable: facial expressions, pacing, and vocal tone.

Strategy: How to Answer Presidential Election Questions

By geniao44446

On February 12, 2014

In Strategy

by Logan Scisco

Receiving questions about the next presidential election is a usual occurrence in extemporaneous speaking. In fact, these questions appear weeks after the last presidential election is finished. This season you may have seen questions that ask you who the Democratic or Republican presidential nominee will be in 2016 or whether certain political figures like Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, or Paul Ryan are viable presidential candidates. You may have also run into a question about whether Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic presidential candidate and if she can win.

Since these questions appear regularly in extemporaneous speaking, you must have a strategy for breaking them down and effectively answering them. This strategy piece will provide tips on how to answer two different types of presidential election questions: the “viable” candidate question and the “can (insert candidate) win the presidency in (insert year)?” question.

As a side note, for each type of question you need to make sure to compare the candidate you have received a question about to other people that are running! Extempers often fail to do this, but if you get a question about whether Rand Paul is a viable presidential candidate, you need to make sure to compare his chances of winning versus other candidates that will seek the Republican presidential nomination. It is also important to use historical parallels with these types of questions. Compare a candidate’s campaign to past campaigns that succeeded or failed and you will score points with your audience.

Stategy: Answering Midterm Election Questions

By geniao44446

On January 29, 2014

In Strategy

by Logan Scisco

A question that those doing United States Extemp or extemp in states that have mixed extemp have likely encountered this season and will continue to encounter until early November is:

“Who will win the 2014 midterm elections?”

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