All of us at some point have had to speak unexpectedly, either on our own volition or because someone thinks we have something to contribute. This speaking without preparation is known as impromptu speaking. You may be at a city meeting concerning zoning laws and have no intention of saying anything, but your strong opinions on the issue prompt you to raise your hand to speak. Or you are called upon by your manager at a staff meeting to report on a project you are involved in and had no forewarning that you were going to be asked to say a few words. How can you handle these situations with poise and competence? You do not want your words to be “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Here is a formula that will make you look good and sound on top of things.

          Don’t hesitate. Act as though you are delighted to have this opportunity to speak. Avoid hemming and hawing and mumbling “I’m not sure what to say,” or “I had not given this any thought.” Start confidently by making an assertion. For example, if you want to give your thoughts on recycling, you might begin, “I believe we should have bi-weekly pick-up to show we are serious about recycling.”  Then give evidence that illustrates your point. This is where you include your personal experience with the matter. You might have lived in another community where recycling was started and you can give a case study of the success you had in that town.

          Once you have given your minute to a minute-and-a-half response, you end by repeating the opening assertion. This is a neat little package that allows you to make a point in an organized and easy to understand structure.

          Don’t speak more than a couple of minutes. Speaking for several minutes may mean you run out of new material, stray from this organization pattern, or even say things that are not logical, relevant, or insightful.

          You can’t really prepare for an impromptu speech, but before any gathering of people, you can consider what topics will be discussed and how they might relate to you. Thinking ahead will allow you at least to consider areas where you might have input so that you are not blindsided by a question or request from a peer or the leader of the event.

Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D., CSP, is Professor of Speech Communication in the College of Informatics at Northern Kentucky University in the Cincinnati area. He presents keynotes and seminars to corporations and associations whose people want to speak and listen effectively. See additional articles and resources at www.sboyd.com. He can be reached at 800-727-6520 or at [email protected].

               Speaking concisely is tough for everyone. That is why I enjoy examples of brevity and conciseness. For example, here’s my favorite “shortest ghost story.”

He opened the closet,

checked under the bed,         

locked the window,

and threw the deadbolt on the door.

Then he got into bed and blew out the

candle.

A voice from the darkness said, "Now

we're both locked in for the night.” 

    My favorite short movie title is “Snakes on a Plane.”  That says all you need to know about the movie!

              One of the toughest challenges in speaking is when you are told a day or an hour before you speak that because of extenuating circumstances you must cut your 30-minute presentation to 20 minutes. You have prepared carefully and you know you have at least 30 minutes of important material. What do you do? 

    Don’t rush through the speech. Don’t tell the audience at the beginning of your presentation that you have to cut it short and you do not know how you are going to do it. Don’t go ahead and take your 30 minutes you had originally been promised. Don’t panic!

              Instead, look at the structure of your presentation and determine a point and support to omit. Prioritize the content of your presentation in order to make the decision. If you have three main points, decide which is the least important section and leave it out. You can do that easily if your points and evidence for each point are clearly defined. As a regular part of preparation for any presentation, you should develop your structure so that you have a point and support for each section of the body of your presentation. Having done that will facilitate your ability to cut from the original length of the presentation if necessary.

               If you have slides, consider omitting them. Most visuals take extra time. Remember, your audience will not feel slighted because they don’t know what you planned to do in the first place. Avoid statements such as, “If I had more time I would have included slides or props….” 

              After eliminating the least important point and support, your next source of shortening your presentation is to omit multiple pieces of evidence. Examine which point would be least likely to require as much explanation or evidence for that particular audience and cut out the less important and less interesting.

              Minimize your introduction and conclusion. For example, use a quotation instead of a story to get the attention of the audience. Preview by simply stating the main idea you want them to gain from the presentation. In the conclusion, summarize in a couple of sentences and move them to action with one sentence of admonition.

Stephen D. Boyd, Ph.D., CSP, is Professor of Speech Communication in the College of Informatics at Northern Kentucky University in the Cincinnati area. He presents keynotes and seminars to corporations and associations whose people want to speak and listen effectively. See additional articles and resources at www.sboyd.com. He can be reached at 800-727-6520 or at [email protected].