One of the most common anxieties extempers face isn’t finding sources or analyzing the question–it’s simply remembering what they want to say. When the round starts, adrenaline spikes, and your flow evaporates from your memory.
But here’s the truth:
Memory in extemp is not about memorization.
It’s about how you structure your thinking, your writing, and your recall.
Understanding Before Writing: The Foundation of Retention
Many novices make the mistake of writing a speech in preparation the way they would write an English assignment: full sentences, polished transitions, complete thoughts. In extemp, however, you don’t have the time to write a script out, and your brain doesn’t have the bandwidth to memorize it in just 30 minutes.
Instead, the goal of prep is to have clarity and to understand what you are planning to argue.
- What is the question actually asking?
- How am I going to answer it?
- Based on how I am approaching the question, how should I structure my three points?
- In each point, what am I laying out in the A, the B, and the C sections of my substructure?
- Given my answer, why does the way I am structuring my points make sense and logically answer the question?
Understanding how you’ll organize your speech, but more importantly, why you’re organizing it that way, is extremely important. If you plan on citing a statistic, consider why you are saying this statistic. How does that statistic support your broader argument? What do you plan on saying after the statistic to answer the question?
If you fully grasp your thought process before you write down your evidence and cite the evidence as you present it to your judge in a round, your analysis will automatically flow afterwards.
Understanding → retention.
Understanding leads to retention because you are not trying to remember words. You are internalizing logic. When you fully understand the reasoning behind your arguments, your brain does not store your speech as isolated facts that must be recalled under pressure. Instead, it stores a sequence of ideas that naturally lead into one another. In extemp, forgetting usually happens when speakers rely on memorized phrasing. Sentences are fragile under stress. Logic is not. When you understand why each A leads to its B and why that B demands a C, your speech becomes something you can reconstruct rather than something you must recall perfectly. This is why internalizing your substructure is so essential. If you remember the situation you described in the A, your brain will naturally search for the explanation you gave in the B. Once you explain why that situation matters, the impact in the C follows almost automatically. Even if you forget an exact statistic or phrasing, the argument itself remains intact because the reasoning still makes sense. At that point, you are not remembering your speech in the traditional sense. You are retracing the steps of your own thinking. Each idea cues the next, and your delivery becomes an act of reconstruction rather than memorization. This is what allows experienced extempers to stay composed even when they momentarily lose their place because they are following logic, not reciting lines. When you prepare this way, understanding replaces memory as the primary tool. Because logic is harder to lose than wording, your speech becomes significantly more reliable under pressure.
Use Abbreviations
Abbreviations are a critical tool for prepping an extemp speech. They refocus your brain’s attention to argument construction rather than handwriting. Abbreviations also save valuable prep time. Writing less allows you to think more, which matters when you only have thirty minutes to build a complete argument. By shortening what goes on the page, you are forced to prioritize ideas over details and structure over phrasing. This keeps your prep focused on logic rather than presentation. Using abbreviations also prevents overwriting, which is one of the most common causes of memory loss in extemp. When you limit yourself to symbols and short phrases, you cannot rely on your paper to carry the speech for you. Instead, you are pushed to understand the reasoning behind each point so you can explain it naturally in the round. The result is faster prep, clearer thinking, and a speech that is easier to reconstruct under pressure.
During prep, your brain is doing three things at once:
- Collecting evidence
- Constructing reasoning
- Organizing structure
If your hand has to write complete sentences, you steal processing power from the real work.
Some examples of high-utility abbreviations:
- ↑ = increase
- ↓ = decrease
- “econ” = economy
- “FX” = foreign exchange
- “EU” = European Union
- “CBs” = central banks
- “IR” = interest rates
- “mil” = military
- “dev”— development
- “pol env” — political environment
You can even create abbreviations specific to your speech. For instance, if you have a question centered around President Trump, you can simply write “T” for Trump on your paper. If the abbreviation makes sense to you and saves time, it’s good. Remember, your judge will never see your prep sheet. Because your prep becomes more symbolic, your brain processes it more quickly and retrieves it more cleanly.
Abbreviations go hand in hand with compressing as well. Make sure to write only what you must remember. This can include the core idea of your A, B, or C sections of your point. This can also encompass key statistics, source names and dates, short phrases/pieces of analysis, etc. Everything else should live in your brain, and limit your prep sheet to the niche specifics and essentials.
Making Sources Memorable
One of the easiest ways to tank a speech is to forget your source citations. The sources you use build the credibility of your speech. Your brain, under stress, will often drop your source’s name or date.
Part 1: Write sources in a different color
For example, I prep the majority of my speech in pencil. However, my sources are written with a pen. You can also experiment with different colors, such as blue or red ink. Your eyes will automatically land on differently colored text as you scan your prep.
Part 2: Repeat the source as you write it
As you write down the name and date of your source, quietly repeat it to yourself aloud. When writing down “Brookings, 12/12,” quietly say to yourself:
- “Brookings on December 12th…Brookings on December 12th…Brookings on December 12th.”
This accomplishes two things:
- Auditory memory: You hear it and retain it.
- Fluency: You will say it cleanly during your speech.
The 15/15 Prep Split
One of the most overlooked techniques in extemp prep is giving yourself time to practice aloud before the round. Dedicating 15 minutes to writing and evidence work leaves you with 15 minutes to recite your full speech aloud. Having 15 minutes to practice your speech leaves you enough time for two full 7-minute speech run-throughs.
Here’s why this works:
- Active recall beats passive reading – Speaking forces your brain to rebuild the speech from your bullet points.
- You expose awkward phrasing early – Words that seem fine in your head can trip you mid-speech. Two run-throughs smooth these out.
- You detect holes in your analysis – If a transition feels forced or a B section feels thin, you will catch it when speaking, not while glancing at the paper.
- You build confidence and rhythm – When you’ve already spoken the speech twice, a round performance feels familiar rather than chaotic.
In the last minute or so of your prep, I’d suggest making sure you remember 1. Question 2. Your Answer 3. Your Three Toint Tags. Knowing these three pieces of info will enable you to retrieve the rest of your speech skeleton, as your intro will naturally reconstruct itself based on the question. Knowing your tags will let your transitions fall into place. Your A/B/C sections come back because you designed them logically. Your memory works through structure, so if you remember your speech structurally, the details will follow.
Outline Your Skeleton Before Prep Starts
Before you ever draw a question, you should have a permanent outline ready on your prep sheet. Think of it as your pre-built template. This template can differ depending on your preference, but the general gist of it is the following:
- Introduction
- Question
- Answer
- Point 1
- Point 2
- Point 3
- Conclusion
The template or “Extemp Skeleton” of your speech can differ, or have more sections specifically designated, but the purpose is to have a structure you can follow to organize your thoughts and speech. It saves 30-60 seconds of formatting time, ensures you don’t forget structural elements of your speech(such as the statement of significance), and keeps your writing organized and scannable.
If you build these habits into your rounds, you’ll stop walking into rooms hoping you remember your speech. Instead, you’ll walk in with a system that ensures you do.