Extemporaneous Speaking - Types

Types

Most high school level districts offer two kinds of extemp events. Usually, those are Foreign Extemp (FX or IX) and Domestic Extemp (DX or United States Extemporanious Speaking, USX). Both kinds of event follow the same format but the questions which the speech is supposed to answer are concentrated on either foreign or domestic political/economic topics. Some states, like Pennsylvania, offer a different event called Extemp Commentary. In Extemp Commentary, the speaker, seated behind a desk, gives a five-minute speech about a topic rather than about a question. Extemp Commentary is also held at the National Speech and Debate Tournament as a Supplemental Event.

In college forensics, as well as at a number of large tournaments like the Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking at Northwestern University, the Barkley Forum at Emory University, the Harvard Invitational and the NCFL National Championship, there is only one mixed category for Extemporaneous Speaking, referred to as simply 'extemp' (with the event code 'EX'). Mixed extemp can prove more challenging, because it requires the speaker to have broad awareness of possible topics ranging for questions about American culture to foreign policy or obscure international economic issues.