One of the most terrifying moments as a speaker is when you are sitting in a meeting, minding your own business, and someone asks you to stand up and give an impromptu speech. Surveys show that public speaking, in general, causes a lot of fear and nervousness. This nervousness can increase dramatically when the speaker has to create and deliver the speech off-the-cuff. In this session, we going to cover a few impromptu speech tips that you can use in these pressure situations. In addition, we will give you a few ways to improve your impromptu speaking skills as well.
Impromptu Speaking Tips
Realize that Many Impromptu Speaking Situations Aren't Impromptu at All.
Keep in mind that most situations where someone asks you to speak off-the-cuff
rarely come without some warning. For instance, if you attend a business card exchange, you should expect that you will likely stand up and introduce yourself to the group. The introduction shouldn't be an impromptu speech. Since you know it is coming, you should prepare it and practice it.
I was covering impromptu speaking in class years ago. One of the participants, said, "Thank God! That is what I have a lot of trouble with." Curious, I asked him to elaborate. "Every Tuesday, we have a staff meeting. My boss always goes around the table asking us to give a report on our projects. It terrifies me."
There was an awkward silence in the room. The woman sitting next to him raised her eyebrows and said, "Uhm, if it happened last Tuesday, and the Tuesday before, and the Tuesday before, doesn't it stand to reason it will happen this Tuesday as well?"
Situations like this aren't impromptu speeches. You have an opportunity to prepare for them and practice your delivery.
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