SpeechWire Tournament Services - Forensics Tournament Software

Details for Improvisational Speaking:

How it will work: students will draw a (very specific) noun and a quotation prior to performing. The noun will be the topic of the speech, and the quotation must be included somewhere in the speech. So, for example, Josie might draw "a rusted, computer" as her topic and "I never realized unicorns could fly" as her quote. She will have only 1 minute to draw and prep (in the room) and up to 3 minutes to perform.

The speakers can choose to make this more of an Interp piece by acting out a storyline, or more of a P.A. by informing or persuading. Simply put: however the student chooses to address the topic is up to them entirely! For the example above, a student might choose to create a dramatic performance about a horrific experience with a run-down computer, a humorous story about a computer that taught them valuable lessons (some about unicorns), a persuasive speech about why we should eliminate computers from our lives, etc.

We ask that students keep things school-appropriate, but mostly, we want them to HAVE FUN with this and make it their own. They will be judged on their ability to create a clearly defined speech and their ability to entertain.

If your speakers can go into this with an attitude of “I have no clue what I’m doing, but what the heck... I'm feeling adventurous!”, this is the event for them! This is not meant to be stressful and should only bring joy.

Here are some topics and quotes from our 2018 tournament, if your speakers want to test it out.

Topics:
Rapid trick-or-treating
Moldy yogurt
A discarded water bottle

Quotes:
...and that’s why the dinosaurs died.
Put it on my bill, Larry
There aren’t enough bicycles in the world