Ripon College Red Hawk Invitational

2011 — US

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[B] Editorial Impromptu

Event Description:

Experimental Event: Editorial Impromptu

We will be offering Editorial Impromptu as an experimental event at this year's Love Fest Swing. These are the official event rules:

Event Rules: Students will be given a short editorial (ideally 3 to 5 paragraphs) to which they will develop a response. Students will be allowed nine minutes to divide between preparation and speech time. Speakers must speak for at least five minutes. Limited notes, prepared in the round, are permitted.

Event Description: Editorial Impromptu represents an attempt to return "impromptu" to impromptu speaking. The speech should involve the development of an argument in response to the thesis developed or opinion shared in a given editorial. The event resembles typical impromptu speaking in many ways, with the following important exceptions:

1. Topicality is more obviously inherent in the editorial format.
2. The development of argumentation is featured over pre-planned exemplification.
3. Social issues often ignored in other formats are fair game.
4. Historical editorials might also add a dimension to the event.
5. The sharing of opinion, as well as a consideration of the opinions of audience members may play a more central role.
6. The event more closely resembles real-life discussion than existing limited preparation formats.
7. Students are rewarded for possessing and articulating a wider breadth of knowledge than existing formats.
8. This format also encourages the development of skills related to evaluating arguments and analyzing rhetoric.

Event Rationale: Several of the advantages listed above also serve as a rationale for the event. Students should be allowed to develop more impromptu argumentative skills in an impromptu speaking event. Also, NFA has featured experimental events derived primarily from prepared speaking and interpretive genres to the exclusion of limited preparation. These valuable speaking skills already represent the smallest piece of the forensic pie. The argumentative nature of the event, from the perspective of both analysis and development, seem to directly reflect the argumentative perspective defined by the national developmental conferences on forensics.

Beyond this, students and judges who have participated in the event expressed a positive regard toward it.