How to Speak Impromptu
People confuse impromptu speaking with extemporaneous speaking. Extemporaneous means you research and organize but you don't set the words. In other words, you figure out ahead of time what you're going to talk about as opposed to determining exactly what you're going to say. Impromptu is speaking "in the moment" without preparation. You're not just babbling, though, but drawing on your expertise, your experience, your memories, your emotions, etc. We all speak impromptu all the time. If your boss calls on you in a meeting to give an update on your project, and you weren't on the agenda, then you're speaking impromptu, but you're not unprepared (unless you haven't been doing anything on your project).
These ideas will help when you find yourself in that situation.
When you're put in the spotlight. Image from Flickr user Fabrice Florin under CC BY-SA 2.0.
1. Pause. Take a breath or two.
Don't start talking immediately. Adrenaline will kick in, which will speed up your thinking process. With just three seconds, you can apply some of the following so you can actually be organized. The pause may seem like forever to you, but to those listening it will feel like you're simply being thoughtful. That's much better than babbling.
2. Remember you're not under oath.
That doesn't mean you should lie. It means that you can turn the question in a different direction. If someone asks you about your favorite TV show, and you don't watch TV, turn it to what you actually do for diversion, entertainment, etc. "I don't actually watch TV much, but I do enjoy a good book. My favorite books these days is...."
3. Ask them a question or two yourself.
Go back to the work project situation. It's helpful to ask something like, "Well, first, what do y'all know about the project already?" That makes sure you don't waste their time telling them stuff they already know, or confuse them by assuming they know stuff they don't. It also buys you more time.
4. Remember: everybody knows it's impromptu.
They don't expect you to have a 27-slide deck ready to go.
5. Remember: "That reminds me of a story."
You may or may not say that actually out loud, but remembering to instinctively go for "once upon a time," get specific and concrete, focus on the challenge and overcoming it, will serve you and your audience well. Humans have always used story to make sense of our experience, so it's a naturally interesting way of thinking.
6. Use the PREP pattern.
During that pause we talked about, apply the PREP pattern to your thinking. Focus on ONE Point (rather than trying to cover everything you could say). Give Reason you are focusing the way you are, or a Reason this point is important. Give an Example of the point (i.e., tell a story, trot out one or two statistics, talk about a case study—this is where you develop some depth). Repeat the Point. You're done. Just remember to narrow your focus and go deep instead of going broad and shallow.
7. Or use the pattern of issues—pros and cons—recommendation.
If there is the least bit of controversy about your topic (which could be as light as a simple choice between options), this pattern works well. Frame the controversy or choices, consider advantages and disadvantages of each option, and wind up with a recommendation.
8. Or surface no more than two or three points with the Journalist's Questions.
We've all heard to avoid close-ended questions, i.e., yes or no. That includes the questions you quickly ask yourself as you bring your thoughts together in that three-second pause. The Journalist's Questions will help you find your points, by which I mean the five Ws (and H): Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How. Don't repeat the questions out loud. Just use the answers as your points. Don't try to ask each of them, which would be overwhelming. You may only ask one of them, in fact, but more than once. For example, "Who started the project, who has been driving it, and who is going to carry it forward?" The answer to each of those is a point.
9. Be focused and concise.
People worry about going short, and so they wind up talking too much. One sign of being unprepared is going long. If you focus on one point and supporting it in some depth, you will automatically be focused.
10. End with a CTA.
The call to action is not necessarily "buy this" or "support this." But people want to know what they should do as a result of what you've said. It could be as simple as, "If you would like to know more, email me." Think in terms of "next steps" or "what's next?" That avoids frustration and confusion, giving direction to the audience.
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