Extemporaneous Speaking will give you a second thought about becoming that professional speaker!
In the pursuit of our goals, it is inevitable that on every path, we will encounter a beast we would rather avoid. I call it a beast. In nice business language, it is called a challenge, and you may have other names for it!
No matter, it is the necessary evil in achieving the goals for which we strive. It is the thing we would rather avoid and still somehow secretly wish to be allowed to reach our target. Everyone has them. For me, it is doing strenuous abdominal training in order to develop a strong enough core to do my dream yoga poses. Or talking French to Parisians with risk of much embarrassment in order to finally someday master a language I adore. And in the pursuit of becoming a professional speaker, it is the thought of extemporaneous speaking on any given topic which I would rather avoid at any cost
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In the video here, the Table Topics master asked me to speak on the topic of my vision for 2010. Our theme was staying motivated in the winter. Our Word of the Day was copacetic. The speech is not rehearsed as it is a perfect example of extemporaneous speaking.
A professional speaker should be able to command an audience of any type and do so with confidence, poise, and fluency and proficiency of the English (or local) language. Speaking on your feet and expressing your thoughts clearly or extemporaneous speaking is a necessary part of becoming a fast thinker and smooth speaker. It is also a necessary portion of every Toastmasters meeting. It is called Table Topics where the person running this part of the meeting presents a question, a comment, or an idea to the participant, on which the participant then needs to eloquently speak for the span of 1 to 2 minutes and use the chosen Word of the Day.
In the video, I can see some strengths and yet much room to improve. The critical eye is important for self-evaluation. While I may still fear it, I see no reason why I shouldn’t share with you my 7 tips on delivering effective Extemporaneous Speaking:
Absolutely and positively do not forget to pause, breathe then speak.
Know what you will say even if milliseconds in advance. Formulate your thoughts, then speak. Try not think and speak simultaneously.
Command a presence. Find your space, stand tall, smile and feign confidence if you must. No one shall know the difference.
Use the Word of the Day early in the conversation. Aim for using it in the first 1-2 sentences.
If you have no idea about the topic, be creative. In Toastmasters, you can definitely make things up so long as you do so eloquently.
Avoid restarts, filler words, and apologies. Use your words judiciously and with clear enunciation.
Have fun with it. Enjoy the attention and the opportunity to share your thoughts with an audience large or small.
I think we should find encouragement in the inevitable progress. In all those things we would rather avoid, all of which we are almost always happy to have done after the fact, we can see ourselves closing the gap between us and our worthwhile goals. We realize those are in fact the very things we need the most in order to achieve our goals, and perhaps we can even learn to embrace the beast….for what could be more thrilling in life than sitting on top of your dreams?
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
You stumbled a little in the beginning, but otherwise it was a very good and I felt your message came loud and clear. You share my same beliefs on the economy. Sure, it is “hurting,” but humans have the entrepreneurial spirit and with foresight and dedication there is nothing that can stop an individual from achieving his or her dreams.
Thank you Steven, especially for pointing out the stumble at the start
! And such awesome outlook you have at such a young age. Good for you !
“If we don’t take advantage of the comfort this age is giving us, it’s our own fault.” You got me there Farnoosh. You hit the right spot! So many people are afraid of this new age of internet and information overload (I call it infobesitas). However, 2010 brings us indeed closer to a re-arrangement of the way we kind of inhale all the information coming to us. Use the new tools, they are not a threat, they are copacetic!!
Thanks for sharing the video!
Emiel
Hey Emiel, so creative of you to use our Word of the Day! And so glad you enjoy the information age rather than shy from it into a cave of darkness. Brave and fearless, that’s the way to live, right?
Hi Farnoosh
I really enjoyed reading this and watching your video.
My feedback on your Toastmasters sessions is that your energy and passion shine through as always. If you could just temper it a little it will give you more time to think, and your audience more time to catch up!
Your elbows could do with releasing, they look as though they are bolted to your body: that way we have even more energy to fill the room!
You use what Satir calls the Leveller hand gesture pretty well throughout: maybe try using other gestures, such as the Thinker (Rodin) or the Dreamer! I cansend you some stuff on this if you like.
Oh, and I’m not sure you actually explained what copacetic meant, not that it mattered, as your message was much more interesting!
Best
Michael
Michael, what opportune timing for your excellent advice as I just won the Club Table Topics contest and will be competing at the area. I have had similar feedback about channeling my energy better and yes I would love to receive (email me please) any and all information you may have. I didn’t know you were in Toastmasters also? Or maybe you are just the fabulous speaker that I remember from years ago! Thanks, and cheers!
Speaking “off the cuff” is all about being able to be quick on your feet. I’ve been doing improv for over 20 years. I suggest that anyone will improve their extemporaneous speaking skills by taking an improv class.
Visit http://www.ProfessionalSpeakingExpert.com to sign up to receive my FREE 52 week MASTERS course on Speaking.
Cheers to your success.
Thank you so much for the tips. Improv is a lot of fun. I did a workshop and really enjoyed it.