Contest Rules

Speech Type:Impromptu Style.

Note: It is not strictly a pure 'Impromptu Speech' because topics are being provided 3 days in advance. ​This is being done mainly because a large majority of participants will be novice speakers.

Contest Groups:

I - 3rd-4th Grades,

II - 5th-6th Grades,

III - 7th-8th Grades,

IV - 9th-12th Grades,

Expected Speech Length:

Groups I & II: 3-4 Minutes.

Groups III & IV: 4-5 Minutes.

Speech Topic (for all groups):​Students can choose to speak on either one of the below two quotations:

"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." –Albert Einstein.

"If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten." –Tony Robbins.

There are 1,000​+ videos on ​Ivy GuruKul's YouTube Channel. ​For ​a ​sample ​Impromptu S​peech, ​you can watch the below video from ​a recent​ Ivy GuruKul tournament on ​ Sunday, ​Feb. 22, ​201​​5​​​.

Joshua Samuel (6th Grade)

Below are detailed guidelines for composing a good Impromptu Speech. ​

1. Open your speech with a​n Attention Getting Device (AGD) such as a question (rhetorical), eye-opening statistic, humor (maybe self deprecating), 'teaser' story or anecdote which ​relates to​ the central idea of your speech and hints toward your interpretation of the quotation.

2. State your quotation and whether you agree or disagree with it.

3. List the three ​main ​points of analysis ​/ examples ​that you will use to build your case in support of or against the quotation.

4. Elaborate on each of the three points one by one with the help of a story or proof thus clearly demonstrating how it supports or refutes the quotation. ​Try to vary your example types by including incidents / anecdotes from:

a. Personal life - How changing your certain habit(s) helped you achieve more etc.​ Use this only if your example is unique; otherwise try to avoid it. ​

b. A book you read or a movie you watched.

c. A famous personality (current or from history) who turned his/her life around by doing things differently.​

d. A historical event of great significance. 

5. Sum up your speech with repeating ​the​ three ​main points examples/ stories / anecdotes you used to build your case.

6. End with a sentence (or two) that ​circles back to your Attention Getting Device (AGD) and ​inspires or motivates your audience members to put that quote to use in their own lives.

7. Deliver your speech in a story telling format instead of a dry bullet point format.

8. Avoid trite (overused or too simplistic) examples from your personal life.​ If possible, avoid personal examples altogether. If you happen to have a compelling relevant personal story, use it as an AGD. ​

9. Use good transitions to connect your three points of analysis.​

10. Sign-post your main points for example use phrases such as first I will talk about..., next...., Lastly.... etc. ​

1​1​. Don't forget to incorporate the basic elements of Public Speaking - Eye Contact Distribution, Varied Gestures, ​smile, ​and Passion. Avoid Speech Disfluencies ​such unnecessary sounds / words as ah, um, ​'like', 'stuff' etc.