B. Open Impromptu Speaking Event Prompts
Round 1
Speaker 1
– If animals have moody days, they handle them better than humans do. (Betty White)
– My confidence wavers between being genuine and being insecure. (Bob Saget)
– Everyone knows keeping someone's dish for longer than 48 hours is basically a slap in the face. (Louie Anderson)
Speaker 2
– You can always tell about somebody by the way they put their hands on an animal. (Betty White)
– I don’t censor myself, but I don’t want to force my sick-skewed version of the world, either. (Bob Saget)
– The older you get the more humility you have. (Louie Anderson)
Speaker 3
– If you live without passion, you can go through life without leaving any footprints. (Betty White)
– When you’re famous, you’re always famous. It doesn’t go away. (Bob Saget)
– It’s so much easier to be cynical. (Louie Anderson)
Speaker 4
– You don’t luck into integrity. You work at it. (Betty White)
– Nobody gets a free ride, except maybe bus drivers. (Bob Saget)
– All great comedians make me laugh, but people make me laugh more. (Louie Anderson)
Speaker 5
– My mother always used to say, 'The older you get, the better you get. Unless you’re a banana.’ (Betty White)
– They say “keep your enemies closer,” but what if you live with them? (Bob Saget)
– If I were the last person on Earth, some moron would turn left in front of me. (Louie Anderson)
Speaker 6
– Everyone always comes to one point in their life as an artist where you can either let your heart guide you or your ego. (Louie Anderson)
– Nobody can tell me what I can or can’t do; except that they can. (Bob Saget)
– I’m a teenager trapped in an old body. (Betty White)
Round 2
Speaker 1
– The roots of the word “compete” are the Latin con petire, which meant “to seek together.” (Mihaly Csikszentmihaly)
– A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. (John Maxwell)
– What you do teaches faster, and has a lasting impression, far beyond what you say. (T. F. Hodge)
Speaker 2
– Resistance is a sign that shows you're going the right way. (Constance Friday)
– Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way. (General George Patton)
– If everyone likes what you say something is wrong with your message. (Ashley Orman)
Speaker 3
– Play to win, not "not to lose.” (Dondi Scumac)
– To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less. (Andre Malraux)
– Sometimes not speaking says more than all the words in the world. (Colleen Hoover)
Speaker 4
– Never compete with someone who has nothing to lose. (Baltasar Gracian)
– Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. (Publilius Syrus)
– Trust your mind when it says that it has nothing much to say. (Michael Johnson)
Speaker 5
– The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. (Willie Nelson)
– People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. (John Maxwell)
– Those who don't value their words, will never value your wishes. (Amit Kalantri)
Speaker 6
– Real learning comes about when the competitive spirit has ceased. (Jiddu Krishnamurti)
– A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position. (John Maxwell)
– If you can't impress them with your argument, impress them with your actions. (Amit Kalantri)
Finals
Speaker 1
– One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can’t utter. (James Earl Jones)
– The best way to make dreams come true is to wake up. (Mae Jemison)
– Even if it makes others uncomfortable, I will love who I am. (Janelle Monae)
Speaker 2
– You’ve got to learn to leave the table when love’s no longer being served. (Nina Simone)
– The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. (Alice Walker)
– If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win. (Carl Lewis)
Speaker 3
– If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it. (Toni Morrison)
– Life is not a spectator sport. (Jackie Robinson)
– I am lucky that whatever fear I have inside me, my desire to win is always stronger. (Serena Williams)
Speaker 4
– If the only time you think of me as a scientist is during Black History Month, then I must not be doing my job as a scientist. (Neil deGrasse Tyson)
– I’m not quite sure what freedom is, but I know damn well what it ain’t. (Assata Shakur)
– If there is no struggle, there is no progress. (Frederick Douglass)
Speaker 5
– Racism is man’s gravest threat to man – the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason. (Abraham Heschel)
– To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. (Nelson Mandela)
– The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression. (W.E.B. Du Bois)
Speaker 6
– You’re not to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it. (Malcolm X)
– Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face. (Carole Moseley-Braun)
– In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute. (Thurgood Marshall)
Speaker 7
– A lot of times we censor ourselves before the censors even get there. (Spike Lee)
– When you focus on your enemies, you are ignoring your allies. (Stacey Abrams)
– My vocation is my vacation. (Nick Cannon)