An extempore is the art of speaking without preparation. Generally, a topic or a choice of a few topics is provided and you need to speak for about a minute or two on the given topic without any preparation or sometimes, even without any forethought.

Many colleges and organizations conduct extempores either separately as one of the admission processes or within other admission processes, e.g., interviewers may ask you to speak on a topic within an interview.

The extempores conducted at FMS, Delhi University are very famous.

Mainly five things are evaluated in extempores:

• Whether you are generally aware of things and can associate them with the topics at hand creatively.
• Whether you can think on your feet, spontaneously and on the spot to design a well-structured and to the point composition on the given topic.
• Whether you can think creatively and voiceyour creative ideas with precision.
• Whether you can speak in English at the basic level and convey your ideas in the language appropriately.
• Whether you can show certain leadership and management traits if the situation arises.

1. It is mainly your awareness about general topics and current affairs that is checked in extempores.
2. Always divide your extempore into introduction, body and conclusion – it helps in your precise delivery and the evaluators’ easy understanding.
3. Avoid criticizing anyone or any organization directly, bursting out in emotions or blaming things on others, especially on the system.
4. Never hover over the gray areas of ethics, morals or the law – any indication of even slightly supporting the unethical, the immoral or the illegal ends your process then and there.
5. Only lots of practice under the tutelage of experienced mentors can help you sail through an extempore.