There are people who enter an Impromptu round and know exactly what to say. They have planned speeches and phrases waiting in their mind to be used. Doesn't this go against the very meaning of "impromptu?" Maybe I am wrong. Perhaps an Impromptu speaker should enter a round with speeches to pull from so they are prepared for any standard topic they might encounter.

Nah! Impromptu is supposed to be unrehearsed and spontaneous (to an extent—you do write an outline). Imagine if a judge thought for an instant that you were rehearsed? I suppose your rank would suffer and the comments would explicitly state why. Also, your reputation's stock would plummet. You may not have the same judge again, but you will be in future rounds with the same competitors.

I would think having a few go-to responses filed in the folds of your brain are good for those moments when you anticipate dead space as you are speaking. Maybe even certain topics or life events you know you can fall-back on if you literally have no clue what the given prompt means. If I ever did Impromptu I most likely would have this security blanket ready for me when I am having a Linus moment.

However, being too planned is not only somewhat obvious but boring for you! Impromptu is beyond doubt the event you have the most freedom. You have no bounds to how clever and creative you can be. And every round offers the opportunity for anyone to place because everyone has to create a new speech. Every other event you basically keep the same pieces that have been manipulated and tweaked to near perfection. In Impromptu the greats may fall due to a topic while the underdog can rise.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR FREEDOM AND ABOLISH CANNED SPEECHES IN YOUR REPERTOIRE!