Impromptu Public Speaking: Painless Prepping

A poll taken by the Washington Post once reported that of all the fears people have; snakes, heights, losing a loved one, death, et cetera; only one topped everyone's list: the fear of speaking in public. It even bypassed the fear of death to become the number one most feared item.

As a communications professor I encountered this fear a lot. No one took my class on purpose! And I understand the fear. It was the main reason I took more classes in public speaking. I was attempting to become a teacher but had a paralyzing fear of standing in front of people.

By far, the most feared of all public speeches is the impromptu speech. Impromptu simply means unrehearsed or spontaneous. Perhaps your boss comes to you right before a meeting and asks you to sum up what your department is working on. Or maybe you have been asked to give a toast at a party. Whatever the circumstances, an impromptu speech lends itself, by its very nature to being a stressful, chaotic situation. Here are a few tips to help avoid this fear and confusion and give a coherent speech.

First, begin by taking a deep breath and a piece of paper. If you have a few spare moments before giving the speech try to calm your nerves by breathing deeply and organize your thoughts. It is nerve-wracking but attempt to calm yourself and focus on the topic instead of your fears. By focusing on that topic you take the nervous energy and channel it into giving a strong speech. My former professor used to say, "If you get butterflies, make them fly in formation!"

Take the topic given to you and come up with two or three main points. Do not attempt more than three main points because preparation time is relatively short. Keep it very simple and that will keep you from becoming hard to follow. Once you have your main points organize your thoughts with Preview, View, and Review.

Preview

The preview contains two parts: grab our attention and state your purpose in giving the speech. The attention getter should be the first thing you say. Try to avoid something boring like, "Today I am here to tell you about...." If it is appropriate, tell a joke that corresponds to your topic. Give a fact or statistic that is surprising. Most of the time you will be asked to speak to an audience you know, so connect with them.

Once you have their attention move on to your purpose. Your purpose should contain the main points you will cover in your speech. Let your audience know where you are going so they can easily follow along. State it in one simple sentence without elaborating. You can explain the main points once you move into the body of the speech.

Now find a good transition into the main speech. Good transitions help keep your audience with you. Moving into the body of the speech after stating your purpose can be as simple as, "first, let's look at _________."

View

The view is also known as the body of the speech. This is where you will expand and elaborate on your main points. Keep in mind that you should not go overboard in explanations. If you have been given a time limit, spend the bulk of your time in the body of the speech but don't neglect the Preview or Review. A good way to divvy up the time would be 15-75-10. Spend 15% of your time in the Preview, 75% in the View, and 10% in the review.

Once you have transitioned into your first main point, begin explaining it. Be direct and to the point but give enough information to support the main point. Try to keep it focused and clear so your audience can remember it.

Now comes the part my students used to dread. How do you get from one point to the next? "Not only but also" is a good way to transition between main points. Tell them where you just were and where you are going. By doing this, you will have used your main points so many times your audience cannot help but remember them.

Not only do you need to use good transitions with your main points but you also need to figure out how to transition into the Review. Once you have completed your final point, you need to move to the conclusion. Do not leave your audience hanging. "In conclusion" or "Finally" are good ways to signal to your audience that you are concluding your speech. But beware! Once you say those words, close the speech. No one respects a speaker who signals he is concluding and then continues to speak for several more minutes. This why you will spend the least amount of time in the Review.

Review

The review is similar to the preview in that you need two main components: the purpose statement (a review of the main points) and an attention retainer. Once you have signaled the end of your speech to the audience, sum up the main points. "So in review, we have seen (first main point) and (second/final main point)." Do NOT add new material, even if you forgot it when talking about the main points. If you begin adding new information, you will sidetrack and over-talk. Keep it to the main points.

Then conclude with an attention retainer. It is similar to an attention getter in that you will leave your audience with something to remember. Perhaps you left your audience hanging with a story in the Preview and will conclude it in the Review. You could use another startling statistic, a quote, or an appropriate joke. But whatever you do, be sure it goes along with your topic. The one thing you don't ever want to say is, "I'm done." Finish strong!

This may seem like a lot of information but if you can remember these simple steps, Preview, View, and Review, you can give a confident impromptu speech. Channel your nervousness and make those butterflies fly in formation!