An Effective Strategy To Impromptu Speaking!
Probably the most dreaded speaking situation that any of us have ever had to encounter, I am sure everyone would agree, is the ‘impromptu speaking’ situation, a presentation style which you cannot basically prepare for. You don’t know it’s even coming. You’re just called off-the-cuff to get up and give a few words.
So in this article, I am going to talk about a few strategies for dealing with this situation. Let us deconstruct the whole idea of impromptu speaking; understand the impromptu speaking as a method, identify guidelines that aid in effective impromptu speaking and then deliver an effective impromptu presentation in your own area of expertise.
Alright, now the back drop has been set, let’s take a closer look at things.
The main cause for undergoing a severe ‘stage fright’ or finding it difficult to gather words to deliver and above all the surplus amounts of unwanted nervousness, the moment you know you have deliver a speech in front of an august audience is explained by the ‘theory of social rejection/acceptance’ — pure psychology. If we ask ourselves and recollect having to go through this situation before, the root cause points to our very own sense of belongingness. Unlike animals which learn about their worlds’ through their five senses, we learn about ours from each other.
Those readers who say “I have not felt it, not even once”, let me tell you are lying. Feel proud that you have overcome that feeling. Social connection is the bread and butter of human life and rejection strikes at its very core. The tsunami of thoughts and speculation that cross our mind includes — will the audience like my speech; can I live up to their expectations; what if I forget a few important points of the speech etc.
We tend to ruin our time speculating about audience acceptance and response, most importantly refrain from thinking about the job at hand; do deliver a great, structured speech filled with moments to cherish. Now that you have been given the daunting task, make up your mind.
What can you do to prepare for an impromptu presentation/speech? There are basically five steps to this process.
First, prepare to speak.
When I say that, I accept you weren’t prepared to do so — you don’t have to start speaking at the moment they make the request. Take just a second or two to organize your thoughts. If you have to walk to the front of the room, use that time. That’s your speech-planning time. Use it to prepare what you want to say and to address the audience.
Don’t use that as a time of just — Ahhh! Kind of freak-out time where — what am I going to do? Use it. Be focused, and that will take you a lot of the way in this type of speaking.
Second, determine your purpose.
The first thing that you want to do in that time that you’re preparing to speak, which is step two in the process, is tell yourself the purpose statement. What is it that you can accomplish in this small amount of time that you have?
Be very clear with yourself about what it is that you think you can achieve, and then focus everything about the presentation around that one particular goal. But determining that goal will make the difference between a really good impromptu speaker and one who just rambles. Chalk out the important talking points, maximum of six or less is adequate that can set the speech.
Third, support your purpose.
Now that you have decided on the talking points, so what are the examples that you can use? What are the stories or the illustrations that you can use to support your purpose?
Those should be things that you’re very familiar with and that you can easily use to show how they support that main idea, the goal of that presentation. Also make sure to use facts (numbers or figures) and day to day examples to connect with the audience. If you don’t know the exact figures, pour in physical examples that the audience can relate to. Say if I’m talking about global warming and melting of polar ice caps at the rate of 220sq km a year, help your audience visualize the magnitude by relating it to the number of families or the state of Los Angeles itself that could benefit, had that water was made potable.
Four, you want to prepare an introduction.
Now, your introduction in an impromptu presentation is not going to be as elaborate as it is in any other type of presentation, because you’re just not going to have the time to have an attention-getter and all these other types of things.
But you can tell the audience what you’re going to talk about. You can tell them what that purpose is, and in some instances, it might be important for you to tell them what your expertise is.
After this, establish your purpose statement and skim through the nuances of the subject (pros-cons, applications, results etc.) you will talk about. It helps you rewind in order, the points in your mind and also gives the audience an idea of what to expect in the upcoming minutes in the speech.
Refrain from using technical jargons. Or even if you have to, explain in layman terms the actual essence of it. Elucidate with an example if required. Allow the audience to get the grasp and follow you along, throughout the speech. Repeat and stress on talking points as and when required based on audience body language and feedback.
Five, Conclude your speech.
And then finally, the difference between an OK impromptu and a very solid impromptu will be in that conclusion. So have some wrap-up. Just don’t say, that’s it.
Have some sort of concluding remark about the subject or whatever it is that you’ve been asked to speak about. It could be your own opinion or general notion. You could even recollect all the points mentioned in the speech in brief in the concluding statement. You could thank you audience for their support and patient listening. Connect with them one more time before you walk off the stage.
You could engage in a quick Q&A Session or ask for audience feedback provided you have time after you conclude the speech. Accept their views and acknowledge their queries by repeating them before answering. If you don’t know about something, be honest and tell them that you don’t know about it. If you promise them you will get back to them with answer at a later while, don’t forget to take them mail id or phone number. All this creates a good rapport and brings in credibility to you as a speaker.
Extra tips
There are some other things that you can consider that will help make your experience as an impromptu speaker more successful.
Don’t rush. Take your time. From the moment that you’ve been told that you’re going to be called on to speak, use that time, and then don’t rush through the particular presentation. Use your time. Think about it. And you know that it’s just not going to be as polished as other types of speaking, and that’s OK. But don’t fumble through it and rush to the end. Focus on the topic.
Do not ramble. That purpose statement that you set as you start the presentation will really help guide this particular aspect and make sure that you stay on track. So focus on the topic. Be brief. You don’t have to talk for an hour. Say those things that you’re certain of, that you’re comfortable with, but don’t go into more detail than you’re prepared to do. That could create worse situations for you later.
Don’t apologize. I wasn’t prepared to speak today. Don’t tell the audience that. Go up there with all the confidence that you have. Know what your purpose is. Go up and support your purpose with examples, and you’ll be just fine.
Anticipate those particular situations where you might be called upon to say a few words. Typically, you kind of know in advance about the context — that this is a situation where they might ask me to explain this or they might ask for my expertise or they might ask for a review of a project I’ve done or whatever it might be. You can anticipate those things, and so have a few notes jotted down so that you can refer back to those if that’s the case. It’s much better to anticipate speaking and not be called on to do it than to arrive, be put on the spot, and not be prepared. So if you can anticipate those moments, that’ll go a long way.
Impromptu speaking doesn’t have to be scary. It doesn’t have to be a disaster or give you a neural break down. Consider it to be an advanced version of extempore speech with lesser preparation time. A little bit of planning can go a long way into making this type of speaking very effective! Human brain is so good a processor that can it can create wonders let alone prepare a speech by the time you climb the steps and walk to stage for delivery. And yeah, constant practice and continuous learning can make you a master in the art of impromptu speaking.
