Attack on Titan
2026 — Salt Lake City, UT/US
A Foreign Extemp
Event Description:
Extemp
Extemporaneous Speaking, typically called extemp, is a speech on current events with limited preparation time. A student’s understanding of important political, economic, and cultural issues is assessed along with critical thinking and analytical skills. Students report to a draw room (often referred to as extemp prep) where all of the extempers gather at tables, set out their files, and await their turn to draw topics. Students may access research brought with them to the tournament during the 30-minute preparation period. When prep time is up, the student reports to the competition room to deliver a 4-7 minute speech, with a 30 second grace.
Students have a lot to do in 30 minutes—they must select a question, review research, outline arguments with supporting materials, and practice at least part of the speech before time expires. Many tournaments prohibit the consultation of notes during the speech in which case speech structure and evidence need to be memorized during prep time as well.
In speech, a typical round will contain six different contestants, although this number can fluctuate depending on how many students are entered in the event. Prior to the start of the round, the judge will pick up a set of ballots from the tournament organizer. These ballots are where judges will record their thoughts on each performance, suggestions for improvement, and general feedback for the performer. At the end of the tournament, each school will receive all the ballots written about their competitors so contestants can use your feedback to improve!
The judge will meet the students in the assigned room and watch the entirety of the round, which usually lasts for one hour. During each speech, the judge will make notes on the ballot, keep the contestant’s time, and ensure the round runs smoothly.
Students will occasionally ask for time signals, it is up to you whether or not you would like to honor that request. Time signals are a simple system that let competitors know how much time they have used throughout the speech. The most common time signals are to alert the student when they have two minutes remaining by holding two of your fingers in the air, like a peace sign, and to alert them when they have one minute remaining by holding one finger in the air.
● In extemp, speakers have been given a political, economic, or social topic. Their goal is to give a persuasivespeech, where they take a position on the prompt, and give supporting arguments that explain their position.Debaters should generally have at least one quote and one piece of evidence/statistics as well. Judging
extemp is based on how well they delivered their speech and on how persuasive their arguments were. Theydon’t have to persuade you, but their arguments should be well-reasoned.
● Speakers are given 30 minutes before their rounds start to prepare a speech on a current issue given tothem. (They will come in one at a time after their prep time).
● Foreign: Non-USA topics
● Speakers are not permitted to use notes. If they do, they cannot be ranked 1st.
● Speeches should last anywhere from 5-7 minutes.
Rubric
Speech events require you to rank the competitors in your round from 1st to last. 1 being first place. Use the rubric tohelp with ranking and feedback.
Skill Score Explanation
Organization (1 2 3 4 5) Does the student have a clear structure to their speech? Are transitions used to move effectively between each part of the speech? Does the
development of the speech make sense?
Analysis (1 2 3 4 5) Does the student directly address the prompt? Does the student develop justifications for their ideas and establish significance to the points?
Delivery (1 2 3 4 5) Does the student use voice, movement, and expression effectively? Is the speaker confident? Is there consistent eye contact? Is the volume
appropriate?
Submit ballots on tabroom immediately after round to keep things moving. You can enter commentslater.