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Speaking SpontaneouslyThe hardest thing I face in my professional career is being called upon to speak at a moment's notice. The challenge is that I have a difficult time organizing my thoughts on the fly. I'm not alone. For most, speaking extemporaneously is difficult. You stand up from your seat, begin to mumble some words, hope that your voice doesn't shake too badly, and look for a pleasant conclusion before eagerly returning to your seat. This ritual is usually followed by a mental replay of your performance. I call this the "replay factory" because you are likely be working overtime on it for several weeks.
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Whether presenting facts or opinions, connecting with your audience is the ultimate goal.
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There is a brighter side. You can actually employ strategies, learn techniques, and rehearse opening and closing lines to help you become more effective as a spontaneous speaker. What you gain from learning these tricks is greater confidence. When you have that confidence, you can begin to focus on the more important aspect of speaking, which is connecting with the audience. In this article, I'm going give you some professional speaking tips that will help you become an effective extemporaneous speaker.The most difficult part of extemporaneous speaking is the transition from audience member to speaker. One moment, you are comfortably ensconced in anonymity; the next; you are the center of attention. With such a dramatic shift, it isn't all that surprising that you might have some trouble getting started. This is what I call the transition. If you have a bag of tricks to help you move through the transition, then your actual speech stands a much better chance of succeeding.The audience may not know you, or your voice. Long before they tune into what you are saying, they are adjusting to your appearance, your voice, and your tempo. Instead of launching into the topic you've been asked to address, use the transition time to establish yourself. First, acknowledge the host or moderator, the audience, and finally the topic. You can do this by first thanking the host and the audience, then summarizing what has taken place over the past few minutes (or hours or days, if it is in a larger context). This can easily take 15 to 45 seconds—and that time is incredibly important, because it provides you some breathing room to gather your thoughts. It also gives you a trick that you can rely on in any circumstance to get comfortable with speaking. If you've been watching the recent presidential debates, you'll have noticed that each speaker takes a moment to thank the moderator, audience, and sponsoring institution. Both the president and the challenger are using a well-known method to hear their voices and get comfortable with the room, the audience, and the microphone before addressing the question.During this transition, decide whether you are going to present "op-ed" material or Dragnet material. The term op-ed (opinion-editorial) refers to material that reflects your personal opinion. Dragnet material—as in "Just the facts, ma'am"—is about factual evidence that supports an argument. Most people find it easier to speak extemporaneously using an op-ed approach. Undoubtedly, you have an opinion about a variety of topics—and likely, you can quickly form an opinion on many more. You can usually tell when speakers are presenting op-ed material if they begin by sharing a personal story about themselves or about other people they know. Another indication is if they are giving you several reasons they believe that something is important (or not). With the op-ed approach, you will often hear the words "I believe." This is compelling, if the story is potent and the conclusion obvious. If you decide to use an op-ed approach, you'll want to make sure you don't drag out the speech; keep it short and sweet. But, most important, the conclusion must be obvious even to a third-grader. Stories of questionable relativity and murky conclusions are a sure way to confuse the audience and guarantee a trip to the instant-replay factory.The Dragnet approach is considerably more advanced. You must have a fairly commanding knowledge of the topic, and the ability to present three to five factual statements at any given moment. For topics that are in your immediate ambit, recalling factual material should not be too difficult. As you move farther outside of your knowledge base, you will be forced to use an op-ed approach.The Dragnet approach is more credible if the speaker can draw a relationship between the facts and deliver a logical conclusion, while seeming to be speaking extemporaneously. I know of few speakers who can actually craft a sensational speech using the Dragnet approach with no rehearsal. Most speakers draw upon material that they have used before, thus appearing to be speaking extemporaneously—which can have an impressive effect on an audience.Naturally, the best of all worlds occurs when you deliver a speech that intertwines both op-ed and Dragnet material. This is actually easier than it appears. As you develop confidence in your speaking abilities (usually through the op-ed approach), you will begin to add factual material to your repertoire. In your daily routine, you will find yourself beginning to mentally record quotes, newspaper stories, and research reports that support your opinions. The more speaking you do, the more you will find yourself looking for material to support your claims. It's at this point that you will no longer look for excuses to sit down. Instead, you will focus on the facts and opinions you most want to convey to the audience.For an opportunity to begin practicing your extemporaneous speaking skills, please join us on November 11 at 12:30 p.m. in Room 241 for a special Speaking Up Club meeting. For more information, please contact Joseph Bartning at (212) 799-5000, ext. 7313.Derek Mithaug is Juilliard's director of career development and an alumnus of the School.
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