Giving an Impromptu Talk for the First Time

A situation really comes that you have to face what you dread most. There are
plenty of things that may terrify you. Giving a speech, for many, is on the top of
the list. It is understandable why it is a daunting and an intimidating task. Imagine
yourself facing a multitude of faces, most of which look unfamiliar. You going up
to the stage, planting your feet squarely, and holding your breath by pulling back
your shoulders a little bit can create such a rolling hush of forced silence in the
audience. All of the sudden, all eyes lock on you. Everybody waits with bated
breath what you are going to say. Now it dawns on you that the pressure seems to
weigh you down. Your first few words are crucial. This is just one of the many
impromptu talks you have given already, and yet here you are. It is a talk that you
are thrusted into or is thrusted into you.

Being familiar with doing impromptu is without benefits. In fact, the

benefits far outweigh the difficulties of being acquainted with it. But it is a beast
that you can only control by wrestling with its horns. Giving impromptu speech
contributes in speaking, enhancing poise and confidence, and providing
opportunities to gauge the level of vocabulary. It is a requirement to be able to
engage in sustained high-level conversation and other types of oral
communication.
When you are expected to give an impromptu talk
You are expected to talk about yourself, family, education, skills, and relevant
training. You have finished to college. You are soon to join the profession of your
choice. So, people expect it is just natural you can speak off the cuff. Though you
have prepared and rehearsed how to answer certain questions, you are also ready to
explain, expound, and substantiate certain information you are bringing up,
anticipating that some answers may turn into a long discourse. It is here that you
will realize that being able to give an impromptu talk is beneficial. Below are some
examples of impromptu talk at work:

Business Presentation – This can be a business proposal, product,

or service presentation. It is already a token that you are that
familiar with your proposal, product, or service, that given an
opportunity to discuss it, you are perceived to be ready by others.
Though sometimes you are not informed about the need to do a
presentation, it may be something that you should expect because
business people are usually calculating with regard to venturing
into an enterprise in which their money and resources have to be
invested at some risk of not generating more wealth. You must be
prepared to inform and convince.

The presentation will not usually afford you the use of multimedia
and technology that can enhance your presentation. You may be at
the mercy of the audience who will demand from you where they
want you to focus on. This may be understandable since a more
comprehensive presentation of the proposal, product, and service
could have been done already.

What will help your presentation? Remember that you are actually
about to give an impromptu talk. Read the more comprehensive
presentation. Be really familiar with it. If somebody is assigned to
give that presentation, you have to listen to him, take notes, and
ask questions to him if necessary, especially on points which
appear complicated to you. Research about them. Analyze the
content so that you are able to see clearly how details and aspects
of your subject constitute into a big picture.

Project Presentation – This may proceed out of a lengthy

presentation of the project. It is essential that you have been around
since the formulation, research, and writing of the project. This can
be an electronic, computer, and mechanical software or hardware.
As part of the group which has developed the project, you might
find yourself drawn into a speech context where you have to
explain, discuss, illustrate, and expound something.

To handle an impromptu talk in this context, try not to lose sight of

why you have to talk about the topic. Do not forget that impromptu
talk is commonly brief and direct to the point. Try to be acquainted
with what information the listeners are actually looking for. Focus
on it, but do not be rigid. It is possible that some feedback may
come in the middle of your presentation that requires you to adjust
your talk. You have to be conversational, always connecting to
your audience.

Introduction of Speaker and Emceeing – You may be asked

right from your seat to be in charge of introducing the speaker.
Well, do not worry. You could have been chosen because you are a
friend to him, a classmate, or have worked with him. You might
have been given some information you can use in doing the
introduction.

Some word of reminder: Do not make it too long by reading or

taking about every accomplishment he has. Connect to the
audience by letting them share your experience in being a friend or
close to the speaker. Punctuate a story you cherish with him with
what makes him qualified to talk about the topic assigned. Build on
his credentials without blowing away the audience that you might
place too much pressure on him because of the expectation that is
created in him to do very well. Perhaps emphasize his passion and
dedication, qualities that qualify him to be an expert or
knowledgeable of the topic.

You may be asked to emcee an event or a program. Care not to

read and depend too much on the script. With the limited time you
have, try to know the background of the event. Parts and
performance are associated with the background and theme of the
event. Speak in conversational English. Most Filipinos are not
familiar with idioms so try to tamper you uttering them. Stir away
also from sounding formal and wooden. Be yourself. An emcee is
an entertainer. You have to study how it can be done
professionally. You have to know how to converse spontaneously
and enthusiastically with the performers and participants of the
program.

Presiding in a Meeting – A meeting usually begins with

discussing its general objective. It is appropriate that a quick
discussion of the context of the meeting. The discussion has to be
straight to the point, though conversationally and clearly stating the
scenario that leads to the meeting. You can start by recognizing the
presence of the attendees. Try to make them feel you personally
know each of them. Build positivism in the meeting by
highlighting the recent agenda that were accomplished. Those that
have not been completed will contextualize the new set of agenda.
Be specific on objectives, procedures, activities, budget, personnel
involved, and deadline.
Snap Talk Topics
You can choose a topic from those you are quite familiar in your course. Below are
some of the possible topics:

1. My biggest concern for the future is...

2. Real wealth is never measured in money or possessions.
3. Conservation is survival.
4. Real love is not the stuff of pop songs.
5. If I were an animal I'd be a...
6. Plants have feelings too.
7. Junk food's popularity relies on marketing.
8. To err is human. To forgive is divine. Discuss.
9. The world is a smaller place these days.
10.The more we communicate, the less we really say.
11.When I grow up...
12.To be grown up is a state of mind.
13.Goals are good for you.
14.The most important lesson of my life so far...
15.Intelligence is not enough.
16.If I ruled the world...
17.Color affects the way people feel.
18.Ill health begins in the mind.
19.Team sports build strong individuals.
20.Laughter is the best medicine.
21.Fools and their money are easily parted.
22.Discipline is not a dirty word.
23.Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
24.Children learn what they live with.
25.Poverty is a state of mind.
26.What characteristics make an ideal hero and why?
27.What and who is an average person?
28.Being young is over-rated.
29.In what situation is lying a good idea?
30.Does money make the world go round?
31.What human quality do we need more of and why?
 32.Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?
33.How we look is unimportant. It's who we are on the inside that counts.
34.Fashion victims I have known.
35.Pets are for people who don't have children.
36.Summer is the best and worst of times. Why?
37.The media controls how and what we think.
38.Advertisement targeting children is immoral.
39.Talking to someone and talking with someone are two different activities.
40.Real learning doesn't occur in a classroom.
41.What would you rather be - wise or intelligent?
42.True wisdom comes from experience.
43.A sense of humor is essential.
44.Uniforms stifle individuality.
45.What is normal is decided by the society we live in.
46.Manners matter.
47.Children should not watch television.
48.Art is essential to life.
49.Cities are for people not cars.
50.Peace is possible.

How to effectively give an impromptu talk

Impromptu talk is chiefly characterized by a brief period of preparation
given to the speaker, if there is even some given to the latter. After a quick scrutiny
of a quotation, object, issue, or anecdote, you have to get yourself in front of the
audience to give it. A principle that governs an impromptu delivery is clarity. If it
is a quotation, it would help if you analyze the relationship of concepts in it.
For example, after saying, “Those who have not learned the lesson of the
past are bound to repeat its mistakes,” what do you do next? Collect your wits, and
analyze the concepts in the quotation. You have to be familiar with how a lesson
can be learned in the past and what situations can make people susceptible to
repeating it. Outstanding and worthy examples in history can be cited to convey
the concepts and mistakes that people can learn.
A simple but succinct definition of the important concepts in the definition
can be an opening for an impromptu talk. You can define what we mean by the
word “lesson,” “past,” and “mistakes.” You can bring up illustrations and life
experience to make the definition interesting and narrative-focused.
There is no clear-cut suggestion on how to prepare for an impromptu talk.
People who can handle and have succeeded giving this type of talk are those who
are fond of reading every material they can get their hands on and can remember
most of the information in it. So, you have to cultivate the habit of reading. You
should also try your best to develop a good memory so that you can retain a large
amount of information from what you have read.
To talk about a topic the first time takes more than having adequate
information of it. You must have the mental and conceptual mapping of what you
know about it. This principally involves organizing your thoughts. It makes the
impromptu delivery more at ease and not painfully dragging. You can expand a
concept by using an illustration, analogy, experience, story, facts, and statistics.
The mapping aids in organizing the delivery into a functional framework in which
some main point is developed.
In delivering an impromptu talk, you can still adapt mentally the framework
below:

Introduction
Specific Purpose Statement
Tease your Point
Body
Main Point 1
Supporting Idea 1
Supporting Idea 2
Supporting Idea 3
Main Point 2
Supporting Idea 1
Supporting Idea 2
Supporting Idea 3
 Conclusion
Restating of main points and what have been learned.

Tips on How to Give an Impromptu Talk

Impromptu speaking is laden with pressure because you have to talk about a
subject with minimal or even without preparation in front of individuals who for
some reason make you feel not that comfortable. You have to depend on your
stock knowledge and experience. Below are added tips on how to think on your
feet while engaging in an impromptu talk:

 It is about your listeners. When you are requested to talk about a

topic with you no inkling about it, it helps if think about the people in
front of you. You can ask yourself: Who are they? What have they
done? Why are they there?

“I have always been comfortable being in front of people who love

painting. Particularly paintings that tell the story of the marginalized,
those whose voice is suppressed and almost forgotten. . .”

 It is because of the occasion. You have to zone in the speaking event.

“Today marks the day of my third year with the company. It is also
the day the company celebrates its third time of breaching its sales
target. . .”
 It can be told by examples. Try to illustrate by examples.

“Marketing has adapted and absorbed strategies from various

disciplines. The mobile and unconventional approach it owes from
military warfare. The theatrical it adapts from entertainment....”

 It can build from another remarks. You can work on another

speaker’s statement.
 “Margot Corvette, famous for running a number of hotels and
restaurants, said the service industry would never run out of business.
Saying she is right and what she has said is even an understatement of
sort. . .”

 It cannot linger too long. You know when it is time to give up the
floor. You do not have to drain yourself of ideas about the topic. You
should know when to walk away. Your time is up when the audiences
are still eager to listen to you but it has just dawned on you that you
are there to give a snap talk only.

 It is no time to be sorry. You should expect that the audiences are

aware you have been asked to speak in short notice. They will allow
you some room in which you can wiggle out some idea to make
yourself understood. There is no need to tell your arms are being
twisted to give an impromptu talk, and you are apologetic for things
that will come out of you which may not be accurate.