On March 6-8, 2025, junior Darsh Chauhan and junior Jasleen Kaur participated in the TFA State extemporaneous speaking tournament. The Texas Forensic Association (TFA) was founded in 1972. It is one of three major organizations in Texas that host debate tournaments for high school students. In order to qualify for state in extemporaneous speaking, or extemp for short, a debater needs to earn 12 TFA points, a process that often takes multiple successful tournaments to accomplish.
TFA hosts over a dozen different debate styles with unique formats and topics, ranging from fast-paced debates on nuclear war to lighthearted presentations about Dr. Pepper. Between all of these styles, Chauhan explained how he chose extemp.
“I’ve always seen myself as more of a speaker than a debater, and after I looked into different formats, extemp stuck out to me,” Chauhan said. “I liked the idea of everyone being at the same starting point.”
Extemporaneous speaking is a format where contestants are given a topic, most often related to domestic or international issues and policies, and are given 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech. Because of this limited time, writing out a full speech typically takes too long, and as a result, most extemporaneous speeches are partially improvised, a daunting task for some. Despite this detail, there are ways to prepare for them, as Kaur explained.
“Well because we only get our topic 30 minutes early, it can be hard to prepare,” Kaur said, “but a way to prepare is to stay updated with current events because that can give you a background on most topics. Obviously, doing practice speeches also helps a lot.”
Along with research and speaking practices, there are many strategies that debaters use to maximize their success. For instance, because a large portion of the speech is improvised, debaters generally spend 15-20 minutes practicing their speech instead of researching. Chauhan explained another strategy that he learned through experience.
“There are certain topics that you generally want to steer clear of,” Chauhan said. “Some judges can be biased, so it’s better to stay away from very controversial topics like abortion and gun control so your judges won’t vote based on their opinion instead of your performance.”
With enough effort and practice, nearly anything is achievable, and that certainly proved accurate for the two debaters in their state run. Kaur laid out the results of the tournament.
“Me and Darsh both did well in the tournament,” Kaur said. “Darsh did really well in the first part, and I got to semis which I’m really proud of. ”
Of course, success isn’t the only benefit of debate; it also helps to build communication skills, confidence, and good relationships. Chauhan identified his favorite parts of debate.
“I think my favorite part is just the friends that I’ve made in debate,” Chauhan said. “It’s such a rewarding experience to succeed in debate, and there’s a great community to help you along the way. Any time I need help with my event, someone is there to volunteer.”
