UHSAA 2A Region 16
2025 — Holladay, UT/US
Impromptu
Event Description:
Speaker uses the 7 minutes however they want. 2 min prep 5 min speech, 3 min prep 4 min speech, however the 2 minute prep and 5 minute speech is the standard a lot of people use, and highly recommended. The speaker gets a list of 3 topics (or whatever is available). The time starts once they flip the paper over. The student then preps using the topic given to them and gives their speech once they are ready.
The judge should look for confidence in the speaker. The speaker needs to have three distinct points (any number of points is fine, however 3 points is highly recommended) that are related to each other, the topic, and points to an overarching message. The points can be basically anything, as long as it is related. Personal anecdotes, historical examples, and hypotheticals are all acceptable, as long as it is related. Given the vague nature of the topics the speaker should be allowed to speak on whatever they want, as long as the topic is used as a thread that runs throughout the entire speech. Look for speeches that expand the topic to a broader idea, and then condense that expanded idea into an easily interpretable speech. The speaker should physically move between their points, to spatially show differences betweens their points. Hand motions should be controlled and deliberate. They should not be moving their hands just because they're nervous. Speech should be slow and metered, and pausing as well as clear diction should be encouraged. The conclusion of the speech should leave the audience as well as yourself with something impactful: A practical implementation, a knot that ties the speech together, or anything that leaves the audience with something. Taking an abstract approach to a topic is often good. Also, make sure that the students who fill the seven minutes are favored heavily (bearing in mind the 30 second grace period).