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by Logan Scisco
Extemporaneous speaking is a seven minute event and although many proficient extempers wish it could be longer, the time limit is not going to change anytime soon. When extempers begin their careers they find the seven minute time limit daunting, but as they learn more information and learn about the structure of the event, they quickly find that there is not enough time to get everything they want into the speech. During their second and third seasons, extempers traditionally struggle to balance time in their speeches, usually losing time in the introduction or spending too much time on their first point, which tends to limit their analysis near the end of the their speech and/or forces them to abruptly conclude. This week’s strategy piece will discuss the importance of time allocation and tips for extempers who are struggling to properly allocate time in their speeches.