Behind the success of any competitor is a regiment of training, hard work and dedication. Each competitor has their secrets to achievement. The coroner is no different. If he were to ask any extemporaneous speaker what is the one thing he could recommend to do well in competition, most would say stay tuned. The main task of an extemporaneous speaker, one of them anyway, is to keep up with world and national news. Two main principles to keep up are:
* Be prepared –> save time. Extemporaneous Speaking topics are chosen from current news stories ranging from the serious (economic issues) to the ridiculous (celebrity gossip). The more you know about current affairs going into a round, the more likely you are to be given a topic that is familiar to you. Since most Extempers send new reports to their bins on a regular basis, if you know of an event, you probably have some items in your box, ready to be cited. This level of preparation will save you time extracting articles to cite, formulating an outline, and with the general organization of your thoughts. The more time you save putting together a speech, the more time you can spend polishing your work.
* Be prepared –> greater confidence. A direct effect of the time savings above can directly lead to higher levels of confidence in your round. People who feel confident and relaxed about a project tend to reflect that in their presentation. They know their speech, they know their theme, and they know they were able to put together the best extemporaneous piece possible. And confidence is a main ingredient for a good presentation and therefore potential for a good ranking.
* Where to look? In your quest for extemporaneous knowledge, there are an infinite number of sources you can draw from. Some are listed below:
1. Newspapers, magazines and online. Read the daily newspaper (preferably from a credible source, like the Tribune). Get a magazine subscription. Clipping and cataloging articles from important and reliable sources is a good way to build your Extemp box. Also, connect to the Internet and check news websites. The Internet opens up a wealth of information that newspapers and magazines might not offer. Plus, printing is relatively cheap! Some resources extemporaneous speakers tend to choose include: Time, The Economist, US World and News Report, Newsweek, Tribune, Washington Post, CNN, BBC and BBC America, and Science News. Some Extempers even choose a celebrity tabloid before the competition with the slightest chance that the topic is celebrity-based.
2. Television. Although you should read your news (more information is available AND you can print/clip articles for archiving), if you watch your news to get an idea of what’s going on, you’re still helping yourself. Stay up to date with local and global nightly news on top stations. Explore CNN too. In addition, the BBC provides news for the entire world and is highly respected, so it is recommended that you tune in to BBC America, if available. If you’re not in the mood for serious news, due to all the knowledge you’ve been reading, watching comedy shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report is perfectly acceptable (hey, you’ll learn AND laugh, why not?).
Keeping up with current affairs is crucial to the success of Extemporaneous Speaking. Knowing what’s going on will keep you prepared for most topics that come your way, which will help boost your confidence and lead to a better presentation. Staying up to date can also be an easy process if you know where to look. Even if you don’t have a massive team and can’t split up the research work, simply picking a few resources to follow can turn a one-person Extemp team into a well-researched machine.
