As a speaker, one of the most ideal situations to be in is having enough time to craft your presentation and prepare for your talk.
After all, preparation is the first step to success.
However, there will be situations where you won’t have the time to prepare for your talk and would have to deliver it impromptu.
… and while this may sound like a daunting prospect, pulling it off isn’t impossible!
Dale Carnegie, in his book, “The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking,” emphasized the importance of knowing how to assemble one’s thoughts and speak without prior preparation.
According to him, this is even more important than the ability to speak after having ample time to prepare.
Why?
This is because the demands of modern day communications (business or otherwise) make it imperative that speakers have the ability to gather their thoughts quickly and say them out loud eloquently.
Said another way, these days, speakers need to have the ability to collect and speak their thoughts from the get-go and without prior preparation.
… but how exactly can you learn this?
Carnegie says “you have to condition yourself mentally to speak impromptu on all occasions.”
He emphasizes that this requires thinking on your part, which may be hard to do, but is possible nonetheless.
By taking this step, you’ll always be ready to speak on a moment’s notice because you’re already conditioned to do so.
So, aside from mental conditioning, what else can you do to become a great impromptu speaker?
Here are a couple of answers from Carnegie:
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Start your talk with an example.
Carnegie stated three reasons for making this suggestion:
– You won’t be pressured to think hard about your next sentence.
– You’ll get into the swing of speaking, enabling you to warm up to your subject matter and get rid of jitters.
– You will get the attention of your audience easily.
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Focus on the here and now, and gather talking points from your audience and the occasion.
When tapped to talk about something in a moment’s notice, the best thing to do is to stay relaxed, gather your thoughts, and draw ideas for an impromptu speech.
Carnegie says at this moment, there are three sources where you can draw ideas from.
First is the audience. Talk about the people in front of you. This can be about the work they’re doing, the good they’re trying to achieve, or anything that they’re involved in. For maximum effect, always use a specific example.
For the second source, you can draw ideas from the occasion itself.
Last but not least, you can hone in on a matter that was brought up during the gathering you’re attending.
Carnegie argues that the most successful talks are those that are really impromptu since the speaker talks about what he really thinks and feels, enabling him or her to instantly connect with the audience.
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There you have it—the core concepts that will help you become a good impromptu speaker!
Talking without preparation may seem like a challenging prospect, but as a speaker, this is a skill that will serve you well.
After all, you won’t always be called upon in advance to speak.
So, what are you waiting for?
Keep the concepts we shared with you and leverage them to become a great impromptu speaker!
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursdays: Speak on the Shoulders of Giants”
In a meeting with one person…
… a boardroom with five people…
… or a huge venue with hundreds of people…
—whatever the situation or setting, it’s very important to learn and eventually master the art of public speaking.
No matter what, you always need to effectively get your message across.
What good is a presentation with awesome content if you don’t deliver it properly?
Every Thursday, we publish different tips, insights, and secrets on how you can improve your presentation skills to captivate your audience and lead interesting discussions.
The need for great presentation skills applies EVERYWHERE.
(Small meetings with your team, big meetings with your boss, an important marketing pitch, speaking engagements for events with a big audience, etc.)
Learning these skills is not just for the corporate world. Being in other industries such as the Arts, Information Technology, Medicine, and Education while knowing how to communicate and present well will definitely give you an edge.
Have that advantage.
Hope you find this week’s public speaking tip interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s “Speak on the Shoulders of Giants!”
Cheers,
Henry Desai
Managing Director
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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