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)