Athens Spring In Person Tournament
2024 — San Francisco, CA/US
Open Impromptu
Event Description:
About the Event
Impromptu speaking is a competitive speaking event in which contestants are given a topic and 7 minutes to both prepare and deliver a speech inspired by the topic. Unlike debate, students don’t engage with each other’s speeches; Instead, each speaker gives their own unique speech based on a chosen prompt/topic. A full Impromptu round takes about 1 hour.
Round Procedure
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The round consists of a judge and 4-6 students.
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Spectators are allowed if all competitors and judge give consent. Spectators may not interact with or distract competitors.
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The contestants are assigned speaker numbers - this is the order in which they will take their turn speaking.
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At the beginning of each speaker’s turn, the judge will give the speaker 3 tournament-provided topics. The student will have 30 seconds to choose a topic, and should notify the judge of the topic chosen.
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After the topic is selected, the speaker is given 7 total minutes. During this time, the speaker should outline and deliver a speech inspired by the chosen topic.
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Internet research may not be used during this time.
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Students may allocate their time however they wish.
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Upon the conclusion of the time, students are given a 10 second grace period if necessary.
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Judge should take notes during the speech, paying close attention to the speaker’s time management, content, structure, and delivery.
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Non-speaking contestants should stay quiet and respectful during others’ speeches. Students should remain in the competition room until dismissed by the judge at the end of the round, unless the student is double-entered and needs to get to another event.
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To keep the tournament running in a timely manner, judges should dismiss students immediately after the final speech.
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After all students have spoken and been dismissed, the judge should immediately fill out and submit their ballot on Tabroom.com. It’s vital that judges submit their ballot before providing any verbal feedback to students.
Judging Criteria
Judges should evaluate each speech based on the following criteria:
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Time Management: Students should work swiftly to organize their thoughts, and manage their time effectively.
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Structure: Speeches should be well-structured, clear, and easy to follow.
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Content: The speech contents should be relevant to the topic, engaging, and well-organized. Originality, nuance, scholarship, and use of supporting evidence/examples should be rewarded.
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Delivery: The speaker should deliver the speech clearly and effectively, using appropriate vocal variety, body language, eye contact, and other presentation skills.
Scoring Procedure
Once all speeches are completed, the judge will use a ranking system to score the round. The overall “best” speaker in the round should be ranked 1, the 2nd best speaker should be ranked 2, and so on. Every speaker should be given a rank; Ties are not permitted. DO NOT VERBALLY DISCLOSE RANKINGS TO COMPETITORS.
Feedback Writing
For students, feedback is one of the most educationally valuable resources at a tournament. Judges must provide each competitor with written feedback on their speech. Feedback should be positive and encouraging, but should also include clear, actionable constructive suggestions for student improvement - particularly as it relates to the judging criteria above. To keep the tournament running on schedule, please keep feedback concise.
Example Feedback:
“Overall, great job! You have excellent presentation skills - great eye contact and hand gestures! Your thesis was very thoughtful and unique. One area for improvement is structure. Instead of bouncing around back and forth between different supporting points, work on saying all you have to say in one section of your speech before moving on to the next point. Keep up the great work!”