Structure and Extemp
Extemp is an event with relatively few steadfast rules and guidelines; a student has to draw a question and answer it, using articles and resources. The guidance given to the speaker is minimal.
However, the conventions of extemp are often more restrictive than the rules. Most camps will teach their One Way of constructing an extemp speech, and not allow students to deviate from their rigid methods. Many of these camp formulas can get down to the sentence level in their specificity. Additionally, some even go so far as to look down on other approaches as “not real extemp.”
We think that formulas and pre-defined structures are an excellent start for students new to extemp, as they provide a great framework for a student just getting their start. However, they often hold back the best and brightest students from doing all they could. As speakers mature and learn, these tight frameworks should be gradually rejected. Part of speaking well is finding your real voice, and your own style.
The best students do this instinctively, but it can never hurt to have a little help. In Experimental Extemp, we reject the idea that there is only one approach, only one structure that leads to good extemporaneous speaking. We believe students do best when they know the reasons why they answer the questions in a certain way, and work out their style among a certain level of options. Nothing is sacred in the structure of extemp; and convention is best when it survives rigorous questioning.
So, we start from the basic premise of extemp: answering the question. We talk about different ways to answer different questions. We encourage students to come up with their own approaches. We begin by examining existing techniques, such as Unified Analysis and the Layered Analysis we currently favor. But no one technique is going to work for all students and all approaches. Most of all, we want to engage and tap our students’ own creativity and own ideas on how best to answer the question and deliver effective analysis in a limited time.
At the end of our two weeks, we hope everyone, including ourselves, will have different ideas on how to approach extemp than we started. We can teach new ways of approaching analysis, but above all, we want our students to teach us something in return; and our workshops, lectures, seminars and discussions are all dedicated to asking, and answering, these questions.
