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Impromptu speaking gives you the opportunity to practice effective public speaking skills on the “spur of the moment” -- much like we all do in the natural course of a day in casual conversations. You should employ the same skills used in delivering a prepared speech (eye contact, gestures, vocal variety, etc.), and have an opening, body and conclusion.

FORMULA for Successful Impromptu Speaking:

1. LISTEN – not only to the words, but to their content, to make sure you understand what you heard. Advantages are: (1) Respect - People are more likely to listen to your ideas when you listen to theirs, (2) Ready-made dialogue - You’ll be able to incorporate some of what you’ve heard into your reply, (3) On-target responses - your chances for commenting directly on what you’ve heard are improved.
2. PAUSE – allows you to organize/refresh your thoughts to formulate an answer and can even add drama to your reply. A silent pause is always preferable to verbal place holders such as “um,” “ah” and “y’know.”
3. CONFIRM – repeating the question out loud gives your brain cells a better opportunity to absorb the concept ... providing you with a clearer idea of how to respond. This will also verify that you understood the question!
4. TELL – now that you’ve prepared, dazzle them with your reply (thoughts, opinions or ideas) and remember to stay focused.
5. END – bring your comments to a close: emphasize your main point, smile while making that final audience eye contact ... then, sit down!

The best way to PREPARE AHEAD is to have an “outline” already in mind you can “fit” your comments into. When given a topic, just select a format that “works for you” and organize your thoughts accordingly! Here are a few possible formats.

PAST - PRESENT - FUTURE
BEFORE - AFTER
ALTERNATE VIEWPOINTS
PROBLEM - SOLUTION(S)
ADVANTAGES - DISADVANTAGES
POLITICAL - ECONOMIC - SOCIAL
GEOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES
YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES
AN APPROPRIATE STORY

... and for those of you in Toastmasters --
A “message” to the Topic Master – Topics should be of such a nature that ANYONE should be able, without too much difficulty, come up with their own comments to share. The purpose is NOT to “stump” the victim (oops, I mean, speaker), but to allow them the opportunity to practice speaking on something they should be able to compile a few quick thoughts on. When given a topic to speak on, feel free to take a few seconds to collect your thoughts before speaking. The “nice” thing about Tabletopics is that, if you have difficulty thinking about what to say on the topic you’ve been given, you can SWITCH to a related topic!!! Just have the attitude that you’re going to enjoy yourself sharing a few thoughts/insights ... and, by all means, add a little humor (it “breaks the ice” and puts everyone [including YOU] at ease)!