Draw categories

Alone. Quiet. Calm. It seems ironic that a bunch of speech kids can be thrown in a room together and not say a word for the longest time – until first round is posted. The draw room is a special place for a different style of speech categories where the speakers don’t know what they’re performing until thirty minutes before performance.

The draw room houses three of the thirteen categories of speech – Extemporaneous Reading, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Storytelling. These three categories all sit in the IMC waiting for rounds to be posted. Unlike other speech events, these categories ‘Draw’ three different topics and then have thirty minutes to prepare and deliver a seven minute speech in front of a judge.

Extemporaneous Readers, with book in hand, read to the judge a selected story out of the ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak. If one word is out of place, or an extra word added, a disqualification is in place for the speaker.

Extemporaneous Speakers on the other hand don’t have a book to read, but a topic on international or domestic affairs that they draw from. Using a computer during prep time, they try to cement their argument to the judge and help solve the world’s problems. Some are able to memorize their speeches, while others use a notecard for the sources they use.

Finally, Storytelling speakers are the craziest of the three! Using character pops to show the different characters in their story, and different voices to portray different emotions. A storyteller can’t modernize a story as well, and must stay within the time frame of their selected story.
The habitation known as the draw room is a wild and mystical place, unlike the crowded and obnoxious lunch room with the rest of the ten speech categories, but they draw categories like it that way. Peace and serenity are to come by at a speech tournament!