Augmind StudioImpromptu is the highest-leverage drill in a speech program: it builds the exact skill — think in structure, speak calmly, land a close — that every other event borrows. The middle-school prompts and debate warm-ups below come straight from the practice library our own students drill with; the competition-style topics are the standard high-school draw categories. Take what fits your room.
How to run it: the 1–2–1 format
- 1 minute of prep — pick the frame (answer + two reasons, or a four-beat story), jot five words maximum.
- 2 minutes speaking (60–90 seconds for middle school) — no restarts; recovering from a stumble IS the drill.
- 1 minute of feedback — one strength, one fix, next speaker. Ten students get reps in half an hour.
Middle school prompts (from our practice library)
Tell a story
Narrative practice — 60–90 seconds.
- Tell me about the funniest thing that happened to you this month.
- Tell me about a time you tried something new and weren't sure if you'd like it.
- Describe the best meal you've ever eaten — what it was and where you ate it.
- Tell me about a time you learned something the hard way.
- Tell me about a time you made a new friend.
- Describe a place you go when you want to be alone with your thoughts.
- Tell me about the proudest moment you can remember.
- Tell me about a time something didn't go the way you planned.
- Describe your perfect Saturday — start to finish.
- Tell me about a teacher or coach who made a difference for you.
- Tell me about a time you stood up for someone.
- Describe the most beautiful place you've ever seen.
- Tell me about a time you were really nervous and how you handled it.
- Tell me about something you collected when you were younger.
- Tell me about a tradition your family does that you love.
Convince me
Persuasion practice — 60 seconds.
- Convince me that pizza is the best food in the world.
- Convince me that the school day should start later in the morning.
- Convince me to pick up your favorite book or movie.
- Convince me that summer is the best season.
- Convince me that everyone should learn to play a musical instrument.
- Convince me that dogs are better pets than cats — or the other way around.
- Convince me to try a hobby you love.
- Convince me that we should spend more time outside.
- Convince me that chocolate is the best dessert.
- Convince me that recess should be twice as long.
- Convince me that reading is more fun than watching TV.
- Convince me that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Explain / teach it
Expository practice — 75 seconds.
- Explain how a bicycle works to a younger kid who's never ridden one.
- Explain what makes a good friend.
- Teach me the rules of your favorite game.
- Explain how rain happens.
- Explain how you know if someone is being a good listener.
- Teach me how to make your favorite snack, step by step.
- Explain why we have day and night.
- Explain what your favorite sport is and how you score points.
- Teach me one thing you learned at school recently.
- Explain why brushing your teeth matters.
- Explain how to take care of a plant.
- Explain how money works — what it is and why we use it.
- Teach me one thing you're really good at.
What would you do?
Decision & values practice — 60 seconds.
- What would you do if you found a wallet on the ground with money inside?
- What would you do if a friend asked you to keep a secret you thought was unsafe?
- If you had a free Saturday to do anything, what would you do and why?
- What would you do if you saw a new kid eating lunch alone?
- If you could change one rule at school, what would it be and why?
- What would you do if you and your best friend disagreed about something important?
- If you could invent one new thing to make the world better, what would it be?
- What would you do if you were in charge of school for a day?
- What would you do if you accidentally broke something that wasn't yours?
- If you could spend a day with anyone — real or made up — who and why?
Ten medium-level impromptu speech prompts
Medium means: a position plus one real example, doable in 60–90 seconds by a 6th–9th grader. Not “my favorite food” (easy), not an abstract quotation (hard). The frame is answer → two reasons → one-sentence close.
- Should schools replace letter grades with written feedback? Take a side.
- Is it better to be the oldest or the youngest in a family?
- Pick one rule at your school that should change, and say what should replace it.
- Which matters more to a team: the best player or the best captain?
- Should kids be paid for chores?
- Would you rather live somewhere very hot or very cold? Convince us.
- Name one skill every adult should have learned in middle school.
- Is it ever right to break a promise?
- What should a new student at your school be told on the first day?
- Pick one invention you would un-invent, and defend the choice.
Ten 30-second impromptu prompts for middle school
One point, one reason, done. Run them as 10–30–10: ten seconds to think, thirty to speak, ten for one sentence of feedback — then the same prompt again. Four reps in three minutes; the second rep is where the structure appears.
- The best part of a rainy day.
- One thing you would add to every classroom.
- Why your favorite season beats the other three.
- The most useful thing in your backpack.
- A food everyone should try at least once.
- The right age to get a phone.
- One rule in your family you would keep forever.
- If you could instantly be great at one sport, which — and why that one?
- The most boring superpower, and why it is secretly useful.
- What you would tell a younger kid who is scared of the dark.
High school prompts
Abstract words (competition style)
Classic impromptu draws — argue a thesis about the concept.
- Ambition
- Silence
- Luck
- Borders
- Nostalgia
- Debt
- Shortcuts
- Reputation
- Curiosity
- Comfort
- Rivalry
- Patience
Quotations & proverbs
Agree, disagree, or complicate — with structure.
- “The obstacle is the way.”
- “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”
- “Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
- “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.”
- “You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.”
- “The grass is greener where you water it.”
- “Fortune favors the bold.”
- “A jack of all trades is a master of none — but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
Debate warm-up reps (from our varsity library)
Format-flavored 60–90 second reps for tournament mornings.
- In 60 seconds, sketch the strongest argument FOR a policy you find boring. Tag, warrant, impact.
- Pick a recent news event. Frame it as a public-forum impact in under a minute — magnitude, probability, timeframe.
- Speak for 60 seconds without citing a single piece of evidence — only intuition and weighing.
- State a value premise and defend it for 60 seconds — no evidence, just logic.
- Take a moral hypothetical you've heard before. Argue both sides — 30 seconds each.
- Pick anything from yesterday's news. 60 seconds: attention-getter → preview → first point.
- Take one statistic you remember. Build a 60-second mini-speech around it — source, point, impact.
- Steelman a position you disagree with for 60 seconds. Make the other side sound reasonable.
- Talk for 60 seconds without filler words. If you say “um” or “like,” acknowledge it and keep going.
- Speak for 90 seconds about something you learned this month — what changed in your head?
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a medium-level impromptu prompt?
A prompt that needs a position and one concrete example, and can be answered in 60–90 seconds by a student in grades 6–9. Easy prompts ask for a preference (“your favorite food”); hard prompts hand over an abstract word or a quotation and expect the student to build the topic themselves. Medium is the band where structure gets drilled: the answer comes first, two reasons follow, and a close lands before the timer.
How long should an impromptu speech be in practice?
Shorter than competition. We run most middle-school reps at 60–90 seconds and high-school reps at 1–2 minutes, so students get many attempts per session. Competition impromptu (typically 1–2 minutes of prep and up to 5 minutes speaking, depending on the league) is the destination, not the daily drill.
What structure should students use with these prompts?
One structure, drilled until automatic: answer first, then two or three reasons, then a one-sentence close. For story prompts, a four-beat arc — scene, problem, turn, takeaway. The win condition in impromptu is a clean frame delivered calmly, not crammed content.
How do I grade impromptu practice?
Use a 1–5 rubric where responsiveness to the prompt is its own dimension — that is the star skill in impromptu. Our free rubric packs (middle school and high school) include it with full band descriptors.
Turn one of these prompts into a coach's report
Pick a prompt above, record one minute, and get the five-dimension report our coaches teach from — on the spot, free, no account.
Free to copy and use in your program or classroom. If you republish the bank, credit Augmind Studio with a link to this page.