Have you ever been told you “sound like an extemper?” Has that ever felt kind of like an insult? Are you tired of parent judges telling you you sound like a newscaster? Let’s talk about speech voice.
What is speech voice?
Speech and debate asks competitors to do a bit of the impossible. We must talk at the audience while making them feel like we’re talking to them. When we go too far in either direction, it feels off. “Speech voice” is the colloquial term used to describe the particular way extempers talk in speeches; specifically, it’s often a negative term to describe an aggressively stilted or performative way of speaking. When starting out, extempers often fall into two camps of problematic speech voice: they are either too conversational or not nearly conversational enough.
How can I figure out my speech voice?
An easy way to diagnose where you fall on the conversationality spectrum is by observing what your filler words are. The more complicated the word, the less conversational you likely are. Conversational speaking tends to act like a conversation (woah), so filler words for overly conversational speakers tend to be like, really crazy, dude. If you find yourself talking a little bit like a valley girl, and your ballots talk about improving professionalism, your speech voice could benefit from being a little more performative.
The far more common problem, though, is an overreliance on stilted speech voice. These filler words tend to look more like crutch words: specifically, dramatically, or even the dreaded extemp “or rather.” These ballots mention being stilted or nervous, or some other thesaurus word that a nonconversational extemper has totally put in a speech. If you have to think to yourself, “pause for laughter, smile, move on,” then your speech voice could probably afford to loosen up.
How can I get better?
The short answer is overcorrection. There are two drills that are especially effective for improving speech voice in either direction. The first, for making speech more conversational, is the Starbucks drill; this is where you get a drink of your choice and give an entire speech like you’re speaking to a friend at Starbucks. The second, for making speech more professional, is called the Shakespeare drill; for this one, you have to deliver a speech with the weight and tragedy of “To Be or not To Be.” Make sure to have a friend or coach do these with you, because the way we sound to others is notoriously difficult to figure out by ourselves.
Final thoughts
Ultimately, extemp is a compromise between educating the audience and making them comfortable with that education. A good speech voice goes a long way to bridge that gap. Rest assured, beyond crazy drills and ballots, speech voice really is one of those things that improves with time, patience, and confidence.