BISZ Tournament
2024 — Shenzhen, CN
Impromptu Speaking
Event Description:
Purpose: The general purpose of the speech is to explore your topic in an entertaining and persuasive way.Topics: Prompts may include proverbs, abstract concepts, events, quotations, and famous people.
Topic Selection: A judge in each section/room shall be provided an envelope containing a uniform set of topics, with a different subject area used for each round. Once the first speaker is called, the other speakers shall leave the room, and wait outside the door. Each speaker will draw three topics, choose one, and return the other two to the envelope.
Preparation and Delivery: The speaker has seven minutes in which to prepare a response AND present a speech without consultation of prepared notes. Notes may be created during the preparatory process but may not be referenced while speaking.
High School competitors may use up to 2:00 minutes of preparation time.
Middle School competitors may use up to 3:00 minutes of preparation time.
There is no minimum amount of preparation time. If a student were to prepare for 1 minute, they could then speak for 6 minutes with the grace period.
Recuse: Once a speaker has spoken, they may listen to other speakers in that round.
Time: The maximum time limit is 7 minutes with a 30-second “grace period,” which includes both preparation and speaking time. If there are multiple judges in the round, all must agree that the student has gone beyond the grace period. Should a student go beyond the grace period, the student may not be ranked 1st. There is no other prescribed penalty for going over the grace period. The ranking is up to each individual judge’s discretion. No minimum time is mandated.