How to Give An Extemporaneous Speech

Summary

This script introduces extemporaneous speaking as the optimal public speaking method for professional settings, emphasizing its flexibility and listener preference. It contrasts this with manuscript and memorized speeches, which often come across as robotic and mechanical. The speaker outlines a detailed process for preparing and refining speaking notes, advocating for a gradual reduction from a full outline to concise keywords. The goal is to achieve a conversational tone while maintaining control over the content, allowing for adaptability during presentations.

Takeaways

• 🗣️ Extemporaneous speaking is a public speaking method that combines preparation with the ability to speak conversationally, making it versatile and preferred by most audiences.
• 📜 Manuscript speaking, where speakers read word-for-word from a prepared text, is often perceived as dry and robotic, lacking the natural flow of a conversation.
• 🎭 Memorized speeches can come across as mechanical and calculated, similar to reading from a manuscript, and are more suitable for performances rather than professional presentations.
• 📝 Extemporaneous speaking starts with a detailed outline and involves practicing the presentation multiple times, eventually reducing the outline to key phrases or words.
• 👀 The method allows for eye contact and movement, engaging the audience more effectively than manuscript or memorized speaking styles.
• ✂️ Through the preparation process, speakers should make significant cuts to their initial outline, refining it to speaking notes that are concise and focused.
• 🔍 Extemporaneous speaking provides the flexibility to adapt the message to the audience, allowing for expansion or compression of content as needed.
• 📉 The reduction of detailed outlines to speaking notes involves a gradual process of cutting and refining, making the content more manageable and conversational.
• 💡 Notes in extemporaneous speaking serve as a safety net, helping speakers stay on track without relying on them excessively, promoting a more natural delivery.
• 📅 The script outlines a three-day practice process, emphasizing the importance of repeated practice and refinement to achieve a confident and conversational speaking style.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to teach the method of extemporaneous speaking, which is a public speaking style that provides a comfortable, conversational sound and is preferred by most listeners.

Why is manuscript speaking generally not well-received by audiences?

Manuscript speaking is not well-received because it often sounds dry and robotic, with the speaker barely making eye contact and standing motionless while reading, which can be off-putting to listeners.

What is the difference between manuscript speaking and using a teleprompter?

While manuscript speaking involves reading word-for-word from a written text, using a teleprompter can still allow a speaker to sound natural and conversational, although it requires talent and practice to pull off effectively.

How does memorization as a speaking style compare to extemporaneous speaking?

Memorization can make a speech sound mechanical and calculated, similar to reading from a manuscript, whereas extemporaneous speaking allows for more flexibility and a more conversational tone.

What are the key components of extemporaneous speaking?

Extemporaneous speaking involves starting with a detailed outline, practicing the presentation multiple times, and eventually reducing the outline to speaking notes with keywords or phrases.

What is the advantage of using speaking notes during an extemporaneous speech?

Speaking notes serve as a safety net to keep the speaker on track, allowing for flexibility and adaptation to the audience without relying heavily on the notes.

How does extemporaneous speaking differ from impromptu speaking?

Extemporaneous speaking involves significant preparation and practice, while impromptu speaking is done with little or no preparation and often with no notes, relying on the speaker to think and speak simultaneously.

What is the recommended process for preparing an extemporaneous speech according to the script?

The recommended process includes creating a detailed outline, practicing and revising the outline into speaking notes, and making successive cuts to the content until only key words or phrases remain, all while practicing to internalize the material.

Why is it important to practice looking up from notes during an extemporaneous speech?

Practicing to look up from notes helps the speaker appear more natural and maintain eye contact with the audience, which is crucial for a conversational and engaging delivery.

What is the significance of making final cuts to speaking notes on the day of the presentation?

Making final cuts ensures that the notes are concise and clear, allowing the speaker to quickly glance at them for reference without getting bogged down in excessive detail.

How does the process described in the script help a speaker achieve a confident and conversational tone?

The process of detailed preparation, practice, and successive reduction of speaking notes helps a speaker internalize the material, which in turn allows them to speak with confidence and a natural, conversational tone.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ Extemporaneous Speaking: The Preferred Public Speaking Style

The paragraph introduces extemporaneous speaking as a public speaking method that professional speakers use to achieve a natural, conversational tone. It contrasts this style with manuscript speaking, which involves reading directly from a script and often comes across as dry and robotic. The speaker explains that extemporaneous speaking is more versatile and preferred by audiences. It involves starting with a detailed outline and reducing it to speaking notes over practice sessions. This method allows for adaptability during presentations, making it suitable for various professional settings.

05:01

🎓 The Difference Between Extemporaneous and Impromptu Speaking

This paragraph clarifies the distinction between extemporaneous and impromptu speaking. Impromptu speaking refers to speaking with little or no preparation and is often done without notes or with minimal scribbles. It is characterized by thinking on one's feet, as seen in speaking competitions or unexpected requests to speak in a meeting. The paragraph emphasizes that while both styles aim for a conversational tone, extemporaneous speaking benefits from extensive research, preparation, and practice, unlike impromptu speaking.

10:03

📝 Crafting and Practicing Extemporaneous Speaking Notes

The final paragraph delves into the process of preparing and practicing for an extemporaneous speech. It outlines a three-day practice routine leading up to the presentation, focusing on progressively reducing detailed outlines to concise speaking notes. The process involves multiple revisions and practice sessions to internalize the material and achieve fluency. The speaker advises against memorization and emphasizes the importance of making the presentation sound conversational. The paragraph concludes with a recommendation for further resources to improve public speaking skills.

Keywords

💡Extemporaneous Speaking

Extemporaneous speaking is a flexible, conversational style of public speaking where the speaker prepares thoroughly but does not rely on a word-for-word script. Instead, they use minimal notes, allowing for adaptability during the presentation. In the video, this method is praised for its versatility and ability to engage listeners more naturally than manuscript or memorized speaking.

💡Manuscript Speaking

Manuscript speaking involves reading a speech word-for-word from a written script. This style is often criticized for sounding dry and robotic, as it limits eye contact and spontaneity. The video contrasts manuscript speaking with extemporaneous speaking, showing how the latter is preferred for its dynamic and engaging qualities.

💡Memorization

Memorization in public speaking refers to reciting a speech from memory, which can sound rehearsed and mechanical. The video notes that while memorization is useful in fields like acting or poetry recitation, it is not ideal for professional presentations due to its rigidity. Extemporaneous speaking offers more flexibility.

💡Conversational Sound

A 'conversational sound' in speaking refers to the natural and relaxed tone that engages the audience, making the speech feel like a dialogue rather than a formal lecture. The video emphasizes that extemporaneous speaking helps achieve this tone, as the speaker knows the material well enough to adapt and sound genuine.

💡Speaking Notes

Speaking notes are brief cues or reminders that help the speaker stay on track without reading directly from a script. The video describes how extemporaneous speakers use notes, typically with keywords or short phrases, allowing them to maintain eye contact and adjust their speech flow based on the audience's reaction.

💡Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking refers to delivering a speech without prior preparation, often with little to no notes. The video distinguishes this from extemporaneous speaking, highlighting how impromptu speeches are made 'on the fly,' whereas extemporaneous speeches involve prior research and practice.

💡Audience Engagement

Audience engagement refers to how effectively a speaker captures and maintains the attention of the audience. In the video, it is emphasized that manuscript and memorized speaking styles often fail to engage audiences, while extemporaneous speaking is more successful due to its conversational tone and adaptability.

💡Practice and Preparation

Practice and preparation are crucial elements in extemporaneous speaking, where the speaker rehearses and refines their message without memorizing it. The video outlines a three-day preparation process to internalize the content, making the speech sound natural and allowing for adjustments during delivery.

💡Adaptability

Adaptability is the ability of a speaker to adjust their message in response to the situation or audience feedback. The video explains that extemporaneous speaking provides the speaker with the flexibility to lengthen or shorten the speech, depending on time constraints, and adjust the delivery based on audience reactions.

💡Impromptu vs Extemporaneous

The video clarifies the difference between impromptu and extemporaneous speaking. Impromptu involves no preparation and speaking spontaneously, while extemporaneous requires preparation but allows for a conversational and flexible delivery. Both styles can sound natural, but extemporaneous offers the benefit of structure and rehearsal.

Highlights

Extemporaneous speaking is recommended for its versatility and listener preference.

Manuscript speaking is often disliked by audiences as it can sound dry and robotic.

Memorized speeches can be mechanical and are difficult to execute well without practice.

Extemporaneous speaking involves a detailed outline and practice, not a word-for-word manuscript.

Speakers should reduce detailed outlines to speaking notes with keywords or phrases.

Extemporaneous speaking allows for message adaptation to the audience during the speech.

This method provides flexibility to adjust the presentation length as needed.

Notes in extemporaneous speaking serve as a safety net to keep the speaker on track.

Direct quotations, names, and statistics should be written out word for word for accuracy.

Impromptu speaking is different from extemporaneous speaking and involves little to no preparation time.

Extemporaneous speaking benefits from extensive behind-the-scenes research and practice.

The process of note reduction involves cutting down from a detailed outline to key phrases or words.

Practicing the presentation multiple times helps internalize the material for a fluent delivery.

Looking up from notes during practice is crucial to simulate eye contact with the audience.

The day before the presentation should include a dress rehearsal with note cards and timing.

On the day of the presentation, make final cuts to notes and practice the introduction and conclusion.

Extemporaneous speaking can be used in almost any professional situation, unlike other styles.

Thorough preparation puts speakers in the top 5%, as most only practice once or twice.

Transcripts

- You're going to learn a method

of public speaking that gives professional speakers

that comfortable conversational sound.

It's called extemporaneous speaking

which is a misunderstood word.

The key reason to use extemporaneous speaking is

that it gives you the most versatility

and it's a flexible approach

and it's the one that most listeners prefer.

There are other speaking styles that audiences

do not tend to enjoy that many speakers often use

when they should not, so let's look

at some options to put extemporaneous speaking in context.

For example, most audiences don't wanna listen

to speakers who are reading word

for word directly from a manuscript.

This is called manuscript speaking

and it usually sounds dry and robotic.

The speaker barely makes eye contact

and stands motionless at a podium as they read.

It can be done well

but some speakers can read a teleprompter, for example

and you can't even tell they're reading.

They sound natural, but that takes talent, practice.

Those are typically professional politicians

or TV personalities who do this for a living

and they have speech writers who write like they talk

but when the average speaker reads right from their notes

and looks down, most of the time listeners don't like that.

You might remember what it sounds like

when a student is reading their paper assignment

in front of the class.

That's what most speakers sound like

when they use the manuscript style of speaking.

If you wanna lose your audience, as I say,

this is a great approach, but it is a useful point

of comparison for a video like this.

Another style that listeners tend not

to enjoy is memorization.

A memorized speech means

that the speaker memorizes literally every word,

that can sound just as mechanical as reading.

You can even hear that the speaker uses a deliberate

or calculated intonation

and even uses maybe the same exact gestures

that they practiced

but total memorization does have some uses,

for example, actors memorize dialogue.

Performance artists might memorize a poem

or a portion of a poem, but memorization is really difficult

and it has almost no payoff

for your average professional presentation.

The method I'm recommending is extemporaneous speaking.

This works best

for almost all public speaking in professional settings.

Big picture, this usually involves a detailed outline

at least at first, not a word for word manuscript,

and you would practice your presentation

numerous times beforehand.

You would eventually reduce those detailed outlines

to what we call speaking notes, just keywords or phrases

only about three to five words per line.

Your speaking notes would end up looking

like a bulleted list of items you planned to talk about.

You put those on a note card

or a small pad of paper and you just refer

to them when you need to during the speech.

That's big picture.

Now, there are some advantages to this approach, lots.

Through that preparation process,

the speaker gets to know his

or her stuff well enough to speak conversationally

without relying on their notes.

Extemporaneous speaking allows you to adapt your message

to your listeners as you go.

You can expand some illustrations if you need to.

You can compress

or cut other parts depending upon the situation.

If you prepared a 30 minute presentation

and you end up being told you only have 25 minutes to do it,

an extemporaneous approach allows you

to cut that five minutes or even more

and nobody's gonna know the difference.

At it's best, extemporaneous speaking sounds

like a structured conversation.

You have maximum flexibility like this

'cause you're totally prepared.

You can't do those things with a manuscript

or a fully memorized speech.

For extemporaneous speaking,

your notes are there mostly to keep you on track.

They're like a safety net

in case you lose your place or draw a blank.

Ideally, you might just glance down

at your notes every 30 or 60 seconds as a reminder

but you have notes and that still allows for some specifics.

Of course, like I always write

out my most important direct quotations word for word

so I don't misquote somebody important.

I write out important names or exact statistics

but overall I don't need to frame those isolated specifics

in a larger word for word style outline.

I'll show you an example

of how to prepare your notes and practice this

in a moment, but first I wanted

to clarify a very common misunderstanding

that I referred to earlier.

Sometimes people refer to this extemporaneous style

as speaking impromptu.

In everyday conversation,

I've heard people interchange these words often

but that's not accurate

when it comes to specific styles of public speaking.

Impromptu speaking and extemporaneous speaking

are two different styles, and this is not my opinion.

In speaking competitions in college, for example,

these are two different categories.

I used to judge and coach speaking competitions

when I was in graduate school.

Impromptu means speaking in the spur of the moment,

what some people call "Off the cuff," or "On the fly."

Impromptu speaking involves little or no time

to prepare beforehand and it's usually done with no notes

or maybe just a couple of scribbles on a scrap of paper.

You might have just seconds to gather your thoughts.

In speaking competitions for example,

impromptu speakers might be given a topic or quotation

to react to and they have two minutes

to prepare a five to seven minute speech, for example.

In a professional setting, your boss might say

to you unexpectedly in a meeting, "Julie, tell us

how your high priority projects are going,"

and Julie has just a few seconds to think about what to say.

In essence, she'll be thinking as she's speaking,

that's impromptu or maybe she'll have the benefit

of a couple of minutes to prepare because her boss says,

"In a couple of minutes, I'd like to hear

from you all about your high priority projects."

That gives Julie a minute or so right there in the room

to jot down a few bullet points

but she still has no time to practice

or gather materials or anything that compares

to an extemporaneous speech approach.

Now they do have a couple of things in common.

Ideally, both impromptu

and extemporaneous speaking sounds conversational,

that's why they're sometimes confused and neither

of them in the end involve extensive speaking notes.

The key difference is

that extemporaneous presentations have the benefit

of lots of time

for behind the scenes research, preparation, and practice.

Let's get even more hands-on

and I'll show you how to adjust your notes

as you prepare and practice

in the days leading up to an extemporaneous presentation.

There are essentially two ways to end up

with very basic speaking notes

with just keywords or phrases.

I don't recommend the first approach

but some speakers I know insist

that they have to do it this way

as part of their creative process.

The first approach is to start

with a full word for word draft of your entire message.

Essentially, this is

like a really rough draft of a manuscript speech.

Some speakers like to go through this

because they want to get all

of their ideas on paper just

to figure out what it is they really wanna say.

They know they're not gonna read these notes

when they present, the draft is just part of the process.

From there, they revise their notes

by shaping them into a detailed outline that's structured

around an introduction, body, conclusion,

the body of the presentation then usually has just three

or four main points.

This draft outline will be almost as long

as their original rough draft manuscript

but the structure will be more clarified

but I don't recommend starting with a full word

for word manuscript because it's too easy to lead

to a speaker wanting to just read a cleaned up version

of these notes, like they're reading a paper.

I recommend the second method

which is essentially skipping that word for word rough draft

and begin with that extremely detailed outline

of the entire message.

This outline usually has lots of full sentences at first.

This type of outline is superior

to what you would've come up with in a word for word draft

of a message because it's usually stuffed with all

of the quotations, research, citations.

The first outline is usually much more detailed

and longer than your final presentation will be

because you're not cutting anything just yet at this stage.

I always view my first detailed outline

as an organized curated database

of material I can use as a jumping off place.

I give myself permission to put anything

and everything I want in my first outline.

Now, let's say you're at the point

where you have that first big outline researched

and prepared and you're ready

to practice and read through it.

Let's call this day one.

We'll pretend we are three days away

from your actual presentation.

On day one,

I'm not really concerned about how it sounds

as a speech or a presentation yet.

It won't sound smooth.

I just talk through the outline to myself.

I just mutter through it a few times to make sure all

of the big pieces are in the right place

and everything I'd potentially like to include is there.

I read through it a few times like this.

I cut and revise as I go

and then I put it aside and sleep on it.

On day two, the next day, I would make the first big cut,

so start cutting the pieces that you can already tell

don't work or don't need to be there.

This will make the message clearer and easier to follow.

You keep the best off

and toss anything that's not working well.

You cut extra words that you don't need.

That means you'd be rewriting your notes

and cleaning them up by cutting about 50%

from your original outline.

Each full page of notes now becomes about a half page

of notes with more space

and your sentences are getting shorter and then you talk

through it a few more times and you edit

as you go on day two.

You're not trying to say anything perfectly

or memorize exactly how you'd say it as you practice,

don't try to repeat sentences the same way each time

as you talk through it,

keep it conversational as you practice.

You're just learning how to talk

about the ideas and becoming more fluent

with the specifics of the information.

This is the process

of internalizing the material so you know your stuff.

I usually make small changes deliberately

each time I tell a story or share an example

so I'm not tempted to memorize exact sentences.

As long as I hit the key ideas along the way,

I consider that a victory.

I usually time myself on day two to make sure

that I'm at least in the general ballpark

of what the time limit is.

If I'm over time, I look for ways to simplify,

find ways to compress what I'm saying.

As much as you can,

you look up from your notes as you practice,

stretch yourself to recall what comes next

instead of looking down every chance you get.

I practice a few times like this on day two

and then I put it aside and sleep on it again.

On day three, this is the day before the presentation,

you repeat the process.

This is your second big cut where you cut another 50%

of the words from your outline.

This second cut might involve cutting examples

and illustrations from the notes if you're still over time

but will more likely mean you're cutting down

from full sentences in your notes so they are getting closer

and closer to phrases or even single key words.

Your original full page of notes is now just about a quarter

of a page of line spaces and in terms of words,

is really just a skeleton outline.

It should look like a bulleted list

of items you'll talk about

but the actual content hasn't disappeared.

You've just absorbed it to the point where one bullet

of notes will keep you talking for 30 seconds or more

because you know the rest of the story.

A goal at this point is to have one nicely spaced note card

for about every minute you'd like to speak.

So a 10 minute presentation would have just 10 note cards

with keywords only.

You'd again talk through your outline a few more times

on day three, you'd end up making small edits

and revisions each time to your notes.

This is the day before the actual presentation.

It's like a dress rehearsal, so I stand up as I practice,

I gesture as I talk, take it comfortably.

I pretend I'm talking to an audience essentially.

I recommend timing yourself

each time you practice the day before, so you sound concise.

Make every effort not to look at your notes.

You have to fight that urge

and this should be getting easier.

Many speakers look at their notes out of a nervous habit

by this point, not because they really need to look down.

So practice with your eyes up

and if you truly forget what you're gonna say next,

just glance at your notes

and look right back up and pretend to make eye contact.

I practice it about three times like this on the day before

and then I put it aside and sleep on it.

The next day is speech day.

Here we are and I always make one last cut

to my notes.

The morning of a presentation,

I wake up early, I rewrite my notes

on cards one last time to make sure they're clean

and clear and easy to see when I glance down.

I make even more cuts to words and phrases.

A story that used to be a long paragraph

on a full page now can show up on the notes just

as a key phrase or even a single word.

On the morning of,

I always practice my introduction and conclusion

a few extra times to make sure I go through that.

Also any tricky parts I go through one more time.

In total, these three days of practice usually means

that you'll mutter through

or actually practice your presentation about 10 times,

let's say three times each day, and then one extra rep

through the tricky parts the morning of the speech.

This is usually what it takes to get that confident,

conversational sound that professional speakers have.

This may sound like a lot of work

but the good news is this, if you prepare like this,

you'll be automatically in

about the top 5% of speakers in your context.

Most speakers practice just one or maybe two times.

All of your behind the scenes efforts

will make your presentation sound effortless on the day.

As mentioned, you can use the extemporaneous style

in almost any and all professional situations.

That's not true

for manuscript, memorized, or impromptu speaking.

Feel free to take a look at the free resources

on my website, including these seven tips

to instantly make you a more confident speaker.

Thanks, God bless, see you soon.