Making Impromptu Talks

Time comes when we are asked to speak without any warning: we could be asked for our opinion at a meeting or we have to deliver a toast at a wedding. Impromptu speeches for most of us are harder to make than prepared oral presentations. We are forced to think on our feet and have no time to prepare. Here is how we can make these experiences more positive:

1. Condition yourself mentally to speak impromptu on all occasions.

If you're in a meeting keep asking yourself what you would say if you were called upon at that specific moment.

2. Get into an example immediately.

There are three reasons for this. 1) You will free yourself at once of the necessity to think hard about your next sentence, for experiences are easily recounted even in impromptu situations. 2) You will enlist in the audience's attention right away. 3) You will give yourself an opportunity to warm up to the subject.

3. Speak with animation and force.

Your body and mind are interconnected, so if you speak with energy, your external animation will have a beneficial effect upon your mental processes. It also projects enthusiasm to the listeners, which makes your speech a lot more interesting.

4. Don't talk impromptu; give an impromptu talk.

It is not enough just to ramble on and string together a number of unconnected events. You must keep your ideas logically grouped around a central thought, which is the point that you're trying to get across. Your examples should support the central idea.

Contributed by Dale Carnegie Training.