Just a Minute!

The premise of Just a Minute! is straightforward. Each guest speaks on a topic for a full minute without repetition, hesitation, or deviation. Two players are required, along with a moderator. Speakers are "challenged" by their opponents when they slip up. If the challenge is successful, the challenger gets the remaining minute to speak on the same topic. Points are awarded for

1. speaking the full 60 seconds without repetition, hesitation, or deviation
   
2. challenging an opponent successfully
   
3. opposing a challenge successfully
   

Think it's easy? Think again.

Repetition
In the early shows, repetition meant "repeating an idea." This rule has since been modified to mean no repetition of any word (with the exception of and). Still think it's easy? (Hang on: we're going to modify it for the kids.)

Hesitation
No mercy here with the adult game. Even pausing briefly while the audience laps up your oratorical triumphs could result in a hesitation challenge.

Deviation
This rule originally meant: don't go off-topic. Today, deviation may be called because the speaker has been ungrammatical, unbelievable, illogical, biased, or just plain irritating. The show's most flamboyant panellist, Kenneth Williams, once called a deviation because the speaker was boring. Though deviation challenges are often rejected, they help make the show hilarious.

To play Just a Minute! with kids, follow the game basics above along with these simple adaptations. You need a minimum of three people to play--two plus a moderator.

Use our Talk Play Think topic cards
Wondering what you'd talk about? We have 60 kid-friendly topics in six categories, including Definitions and Pet Peeves--and our download is FREE. All you need to do is print the file on card stock.

Place the topic in a hat or box or let kids pick their topics in five seconds or under. Bonus: you can use these topic cards for writing assignments too.

Loosen up the repetition and hesitation rules.
Tell your kids to challenge real and substantive repetitions and hesitations--whole phrases and long pauses. Here's a basic list of what to challenge:

• Repeating an idea: "The latest Hefty Hamster movie was boring. In my opinion, it wasn't an interesting movie." (encourages logical thinking and sequencing of ideas)


• Repeating entire phrases to stall for time: "Cats are by favourite animal. Cats are my favourite animal because. . ."


• Repeating a word more than five times (encourages kids to use synonyms and pronouns).


• Hesitating more than three seconds.


• Stretching a word out to more than three seconds.

Let deviation = off-topic.
Make sure kids are really off-topic before their opponents challenge them. In developing a topic, speakers should stay with the key idea but also add their own personal insights--something good speakers always do. You could also warn kids the first time they deviate, e.g., "Careful, you're going off-topic--try to bring it back to what you're supposed to be talking about."

Provide kids with cool props. Kids can knock loudly on the table when they spot a speaker's repetition, hesitation, deviation or you can provide them with buzzers or honkers that make a great noise. You could also give the moderator a real stopwatch (explain how to use it). If you're doing JAM in class, create panel seating at the front of the class.

Score as usual. That's

• 1 point for going the full 60 seconds without a challenge


• 1 point for every correct challenge


• 1 point for opposing a challenge successfully

Have you ever had a great idea on a bus?

That's exactly what happened to the BBC's Ian Messiter while he rode the No. 13 bus in London in the 1960s.

Messiter suddenly remembered a punishment meted out by a former Latin teacher: rise and speak on a topic for one minute without repetition, hesiation, or deviation. He immediately proposed the idea to the BBC.

When the show--originally called One Minute Please--was piloted, no one was thinking much beyond six episodes. Today Just a Minute! is still going strong and shows no signs of hesitation. Don't forget to listen at the Just a Minute! website on BBC4.

Please stay tuned for more great information about Just a Minute!