Roadmap

Monday, April 11, 2011

The Thrill After Giving a Successful Impromptu

I remember my first impromptu speech at a club meeting like it happened on September 20, 2010, which is weird because it did. It was pretty awful. I had nothing to say, but somehow I stretched that lack of speech into 2 minutes of pain and utter humiliation. The people watching it were nice, though, and told me I needed to relax. I was so nervous. I remember reading the quotes, panicking, having no idea what two of them meant, choosing the other one, resorting hopelessly to using an overused example to show why I agreed with the quote, standing up after the shortest two minutes of my life, shakily asking if everyone was ready, and diving into a speech I knew was bad. My face was bright red too. I could feel it. Well, the good news is, my second speech was better, but it didn't start out that way. It started out with me being handed an envelope of Apologetics topics and panicking slightly ("What? I don't have any examples on the meaning and significance of redemption!") before figuring out the problem. But the time was 3:25, I had three much smoother examples, and as that speech finished I figured out why the heck anyone would want to do impromptu: for the thrilling feeling of elation you get after you do a good one. Now, since I hadn't really given a "good" impromptu yet, I hadn't experienced this to the full. I felt it more when I gave a speech for the same two people who had seen my first and failed impromptu. It was smooth. I was significantly less nervous. The time was 4:23, and, for a first-year, I. felt. great.
Since that moment, I have come to appreciate the art of limited-prep speaking. I now fully understand that the thrill after a successful speech is worth risking a few bad ones. I <3 Impromptu. In fact, I enjoy it so much that I once gave an impromptu ABOUT impromptu! How cool is that?? But I can't tell you how because you might steal it.

Now, why anyone would want to compete in extemp is still beyond me...

You're homeschooled, and you enjoy making up five minute speeches in two minutes. Hahaha, nerd

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