Are you good at extemporaneous speaking?

If someone asked you to speak to a group about your job, would you be able to do it off the cuff or would you need some kind of prompting? If you are good at extemporaneous speaking, can you provide some tips to those of us who aren't.

• Yes -- but I don't think it's something that can be taught. You need to do it often enough that it just becomes second nature. I always joke that I learned how to speak in front of crowds at AA meetings, but it's true. Also, while a grad student, I did political surveys over the phone and taught college courses. And if you can keep the attention of college freshmen, you're good. Practice makes perfect, OP!

• I agree with R1. You either have it or you don't. But, I am a bit confused by your post. If you KNOW the topic on what you have to speak about, how is it extemporaneous? Just have a few notecards to guide you. I teach, so speaking without a script is second nature.

• You either got it....or you've had it!

  Mama%20Rose

• Love it R1. I relate.

• I'm pretty good at it, but I, too, am confused by your definition of "extemporaneous." Btw if you do know in advance that you'll have to give a speech, or even something like a big toast at a dinner, I'd recommend asking your doctor to prescribe a basic beta blocker for "stage fright." Beta blockers are mainly for heart patients but also nicknamed "the stage-fright drug" since they prevent your heart from suddenly racing too fast, out of fear, when you get up on stage to speak. They don't fix *everything*, but they do make it easier to speak without sounding "weird," and also to stop the cascade effect of thinking "oh shit, my heart is racing now and I can't speak" as it's happening, which of course only makes matters worse.

• R2 did not understand R1 's point. Its not "you have it or you don't." Rather you get it through practice. Usually when I have to speak I make a list of the points I want to hit. It is pretty rare to be completely extemporaneous. Usually you get at least a few minutes which is enough time to figure out what end point you are aiming for in your speech.

• [quote]You either got it....or you've had it! no worries, you never had it

• I'm pretty good, but in my head I'm always thinking "I know I'm talking. I wonder if I am making any sense?" Example. About ten years ago, I was at a conference and looking forward to attending a certain panel discussion. About an hour before the panel, I was asked to fill in for the panelist who I especially wanted to hear. OK. So I'm on the dais as part of the panel and had this complete out of body experience. I guess I knew my topic but kept thinking "I know I'm talking. I wonder if I am making any sense?" Afterwards, people came up to me and told me how thoughtful and insightful my remarks were. So my advice is, know what you're talking about. If you go on auto-pilot, so be it.