Extemporaneous Speech

Extemporaneous speaking is speaking before a group on a topic you are familiar with, using very few notes. Extemporaneous speeches are presentations that must be given without any notes or slides and with minimum preparation time, usually less than 30 minutes.

How to Give an Extemporaneous Speech Step 1: Know your purpose and audience Step 2: Prepare your outline Step 3: Practice

Purpose Why are you speaking? What do you want audience members to know, think, believe, or do as a result of your presentation?

People Who is your audience? How do the characteristics, skills, opinions, and behaviors of your audience affect your purpose?

Outline your Speech Introduction – 25% Body – 50% Conclusion – 25%

First Impressions: The Art of the Opening Introduction Grab the attention of your public in a one- liner that states the theme. Relate the one-liner to the question. State the question, and tell why it is important. Briefly answer it. Tease your main points.

Goal of Introductions Establish a common ground with the audience. Let the audience know who you are. Let the audience know about your style, choice of language, and personality.

Goal of Introductions Establish the theme of your talk. Establish why your audience should care about the theme. Connect with the body of the speech so smoothly that the introduction obviously fits with your talk.

Nuts and Bolts: Building the Presentation Body Take your key messages and break them down in order of importance, then start fleshing them out individually. Remember not to spend too much time on any single point--leave the audience wanting more.

Tips for Preparing the Body of Your Speech The main points in your speech should be phrased as argumentative statements. Devote an equal amount of time at each point. Try to come up with three main points. Try to come up with three sub-points of the main extemporaneous speech topics.

Tips for Preparing the Body of Your Speech Construct your sub-points with credible arguments and factual evidence. Maybe you also can add relevant statistics and references. Think about the pros and cons, likes and dislikes, advantages and disadvantages. Try to refer to a reliable source; it will enhance your credibility. Write down your main points in one sentence for each point.

The End: Keep them asking for more Conclusion: The most important part of the presentation is the close. The audience will remember best what they hear last. Restate key points you want your audience to remember, thank them for their interest, and invite questions.

Conclusions should: Bring closure to your topic and leave the audience feeling satisfied. End deliberately, not just because you have run out of things to say (or time). End with flair.

Practice The best way to practice a presentation to perfection is to give it from the outline over and over again, tinkering with the wording as you go.

Delivery Don’t be boring. Add some humorous extemporaneous speech topics in your presentation. Talk easy and in a normal tempo; don’t talk too fast. Move a little bit, using the proper gestures to emphasize your main points.

Extemporaneous Speech You will be given a topic and background material for your speech. You will have 20 minutes to prepare for the two-minute talk.