how to give a impromptu speech

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How to Give a Great Impromptu Speech

Last Updated: March 19, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Lynn Kirkham . Lynn Kirkham is a Professional Public Speaker and Founder of Yes You Can Speak, a San Francisco Bay Area-based public speaking educational business empowering thousands of professionals to take command of whatever stage they've been given - from job interviews, boardroom talks to TEDx and large conference platforms. Lynn was chosen as the official TEDx Berkeley speaker coach for the last four years and has worked with executives at Google, Facebook, Intuit, Genentech, Intel, VMware, and others. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 408,309 times.

Most speeches are the result of careful planning, revision and practice. There may be times, however, when a situation demands that you give an impromptu speech with little or no time to prepare. When you find yourself in an unexpected public speaking scenario, you’ll be improvising what you say, which means you’ll have to be able to think on your feet. Following a basic structure, pacing yourself and staying composed will help you deliver an oration you can be proud of, or at least survive with minimal embarrassment.

Setting Up an Unexpected Speech

• Most of the time when you’re giving an impromptu speech, you’ll be singled out to say a few words on the spot. Since you’ll only have a few moments, preparing yourself is more about getting yourself in the right state of mind than it is knowing exactly what you’re going to say.
• If you really need to milk it, you can buy yourself some extra time by shaking hands, exchanging pleasantries or adjusting the microphone stand before speaking.

• Assume that everyone around you wants to see you succeed. This will help put you at ease. Expecting yourself to fail will only destroy your composure and make you more fearful of your audience.
• Confront the reality of your situation to avoid being blindsided by panic. Accept that you have to give a speech and then focus all your resources on giving a good one.

• Oftentimes, the more confident you make yourself appear, the more confident you’ll feel.
• Relax! Speaking in front of a crowd is not that big a deal. Even if you make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world.

• Don’t just jump right into the main idea of your speech. Test the waters by getting used to speaking and sharing a little about yourself first.

Delivering an Effective Speech

• Use simple sentences that follow a logical progression and enunciate your words carefully to keep yourself from getting tongue-tied.
• Slowing yourself down a little will give your mind time to catch up and formulate new ideas.

• Two minutes will fly by once you start speaking. Despite your reservations about being put on the spot, you may actually find it harder to give a short speech than a long one.

• A good way to give your speech a solid beginning, middle and end is to present details chronologically. For example start with “when I first became friends with John, he…”, follow that up with “now that we’re coworkers, we have more fun than ever…” and conclude with “I have no doubt that the future of our friendship will be just as entertaining.”
• When describing personal experiences, avoid sharing opinions on irrelevant controversial subjects.

• Humor is a great icebreaker and also makes it easier to hold your audience’s attention.
• Be sure any jokes you make are suitable for the age and demographic of your audience, as well as the occasion itself.

Ending on a High Note

• As with the rest of your speech, keep your conclusion brief. It’s alright to sign off with a simple “thank you for your time” or “let’s hear it for the newlyweds.”

• If you’re planning on making a specific request or appeal, as for a business conference, the end of your speech is the proper time to do it.
• The conclusion is the perfect occasion to come out with something especially heartfelt. Emotions will run high and the crowd will be moved by your sentiments.

• You don’t have to thank every important figure at the event individually. A general expression of gratitude is all that’s needed.
• Be clear who you’re supposed to hand the microphone or floor off to so that you don’t end your speech by looking around in confusion. [11] X Research source

• Impromptu speeches are mostly appraised by the willingness of the speaker to rise to the occasion. There’s no sense in being too critical of your performance since you’ll have had no time to work on it beforehand.

Expert Q&A

• Practice for unexpected speaking scenarios by volunteering to give impromptu speeches at casual events. Thanks Helpful 16 Not Helpful 2
• If you're using a microphone, stay within optimal range for your voice to be amplified. Don't move the microphone too close or too far away from your mouth. Thanks Helpful 14 Not Helpful 2
• While brainstorming, quickly come up with three or four main points to cover. Thanks Helpful 18 Not Helpful 4

• Steer clear of subjects you don't know much about. Thanks Helpful 13 Not Helpful 2
• Be careful not to offend your audience. Not only is it bad form and will make your speech be perceived as a failure, it could actually harm your standing among your acquaintances. Thanks Helpful 12 Not Helpful 3
• Take a moment to get your appearance in order before presenting yourself. Steal a quick glance in the mirror or have a trusted friend tell you if your hair is a mess, your shirt is untucked, you have food stuck in your teeth, etc. Thanks Helpful 10 Not Helpful 3
• Don't use generic, pre-written speeches pulled from the internet or oration guidebooks. These can easily come off as stilted and inorganic. Your audience will be able to tell if you're simply going through the motions. Thanks Helpful 9 Not Helpful 4

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Lynn Kirkham. Public Speaking Coach. Expert Interview. 20 November 2019.
• ↑ http://wittcom.com/how-to-develop-confidence-speaking/
• ↑ http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/how-to-impromptu-speech/
• ↑ http://www.askmen.com/money/body_and_mind_150/192b_better_living.html
• ↑ http://www.write-out-loud.com/how-to-use-humor-effectively.html
• ↑ https://speakingwithoutnet.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/ending-on-a-high-note-the-last-sentence/
• ↑ https://www.workingvoices.com/insights/presenting-how-to-react-when-you-make-a-mistake/

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15 Best Impromptu Speech Tips (With Examples)

An impromptu speech is often the scariest type of speech you can make because you don’t get to prepare or predetermine what you’re going to say.

The speaker only gets a topic given in the form of a quotation, object, or proverb, and they have to do their best to deliver long-awaited answers.

Impromptu speech doesn’t have to be a full speech on its own. It can be a combination of answers to short quotations or terms provided during interviews or live discussions broadcast on the television.

While you can’t prepare yourself for the impromptu speech since you might not have any idea what you’ll be asked, you can still work on improving your speech and dialog with the help of the tips below!

I have also listed some great examples of impromptu speeches to give you an idea of what I am talking about.

Also Read : Common Weaknesses List & Examples

15 Best Impromptu Speech Tips

These 15 tips will let you know exactly how to behave during an impromptu speech, how to know what and when to say, and how to guide your speech without having too many pauses or breaks in between.

1. Hold it Together (Be Confident)

Impromptu speeches might happen suddenly for many reasons, and often, you might find yourself in front of the audience without even agreeing to it.

No matter what happens during the speech, you have to assure yourself that you’ll be alright. This means you should look up, never avoid eye contact, and breathe deeply. Thinking about something positive is a confidence boost you might need to get through the speech.

2. Focus on Your Audience

When you’re starting your impromptu speech, keep in mind that you’re not going against the audience, yet the audience will be on your side.

Therefore, you should work with the audience and focus your speech around something positive and helpful to the audience.

The goal is to have the audience listen and understand what you’re saying in your impromptu speech but also respond to the things you’re saying. Being confident in front of the audience is one thing you should do, while the other is to focus on the audience and plan a structure you’ll learn in the next tip.

3. Plan a Structure

Even though you might not be prepared for a speech, you will still be able to quickly develop a speech structure in your head as soon as you hear the topic, question, or object you’re given to talk about.

Every speech structure should include three steps and the speech can be structured around almost anything. The most popular structures are:

• Past/present/future
• Cause/effect/remedy
• Before/the event/the result

Think of the structure as a guideline of your speech that will help you get from start to finish as smoothly as possible. Another thing to keep in mind is that you can tell your structure/plan to your audience so they can easily keep up with your speech and know what to expect from it.

Check Out : Professional Development Goal Examples

4. Don’t Ramble

When you come up with a quick structure for your impromptu speech, you’re left to deliver the speech, but one thing you should keep in mind is not to ramble.

Rambling won’t get you anywhere; you’ll feel unease, and your audience won’t follow your speech easily.

Instead, it would help if you stuck to the “less is more” saying, stick to the target, and keep things short and to the point.

With a proper structure plan, you’ll have three key points (no matter what they are), so by splitting your speech into three sections, you’ll be able to judge how much time you should spend talking about each section.

5. Stand Out

Many try to stand out by actions, gestures, and confidence during their impromptu speech. While this is also important, there’s something even more important.

The first and the last sentence are the most memorable. It’s all about the primacy and recency, and most of the audience will most likely remember the first and the last thing you say.

Therefore, starting and finishing with powerful sentences that go well with your given topic and are linked to the message you deliver in the speech is super important as it will have the biggest impact if properly executed.

6. Talk as if You Were Talking to a Friend

Talking in front of the audience can be scary, but without preparation, talking in front of the audience can be even scarier.

Instead of feeling the pressure, feeling uncomfortable, or sweating buckets, you should go on with your impromptu speech as if you were talking to a group of friends.

You don’t have to fake anything, as the audience will see right through it. Instead, be yourself and try to do your best as this will always provide a better result.

Also Read : Best Executive Summary Examples

7. Tell a Relevant Story to Personalize Your Speech

The great thing about impromptu speeches is that they can go in your favor. If you don’t know what to talk about or what to include in your speech, here’s one tip that can help change the way you do your speech.

Try to think of a personal story that will be relevant to the subject of your impromptu speech. This will give you a topic to talk about, you won’t have to do any research or try to come up with facts that you will have to somehow back up, and your audience will love a personal story.

Personal stories are always easier to follow, and they’ll always go down well with any audience. Another piece of advice is to include a personal story in the middle section of your speech, but you can place it somewhere near the beginning of the speech.

8. Pay Attention to Your Voice Tone

When you take care of everything else before the speech and during the speech itself, many speakers forget to think of the voice tone.

There’s not much to overthink and you should speak slowly. Rushing might get you near the end sooner, but your speech won’t be a smooth ride.

Instead, take your time, focus on your breathing, rely on pauses, and have an impact while you deliver the key parts of the speech.

9. Make Sure to Follow Your Speech with Confident Actions

Confident actions are the most powerful body language actions that are not hard to get right, yet you might have to remind yourself to be “presentable”.

Standing tall on both your feet, not slouching over, keeping eye contact, using hand gestures, and avoiding fiddling are some of the things that will make you look confident.

Such confident actions will go well with your speech structure, confident voice tone, and relaxed, personalized speech.

Learning a couple of hand gestures will also put you at ease as you won’t have to wonder what to do with your hands during the speech.

10. Don’t Aim for Perfection

Every speaker wishes for their speech to be perfect, but an impromptu speech is the worst time to expect a perfect speech from yourself.

Therefore, it’s okay to lower the bar and focus on the execution and let the main goal be the smooth flow.

Setting the bar too high will only put you under pressure. In reality, most impromptu speeches happen due to unpredicted reasons, so if you’re put under the spotlight unwillingly and unprepared, the audience will notice, and they’ll understand, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.

Explore : Goal vs Objective – Difference & Examples

11. Practice Beforehand

You might not ever be prepared for a specific impromptu speech, but if you’ve been put into the spotlight once, you can be put under the spotlight again.

What you can do is practice quickly coming up with a speech structure on any given topic. Even if you have only a couple of minutes, you can develop a quick and concise structure and rehearse it in your head or in front of a mirror before you go in front of the audience.

And if you have a couple of hours, you can do a lot of practicing and even go through all these tips and be fully ready, no matter what the audience throws at you.

12. Use Humor to Break the Ice

No matter what the speech is about, you can always add a bit of humor to it. Don’t overdo it, but even a tiny bit of humor can help you make a better connection with your audience, ensure they pay attention to what you’re saying, and that they’re intrigued to hear what’s next.

Followed with a personalized story, you’ll have the audience hooked up until the end of the speech.

Of course, humor should come naturally, and you shouldn’t do it if you feel like you have to force it. But keep in mind that humor can be a great ice breaker, so it’s never a bad idea to keep it as a “secret weapon”.

13. The Meaningful Pause

Unfortunately, you’ll likely feel stuck or not know what to say next during your impromptu speech.

Just the thought of this can paralyze many speakers who are put under the spotlight. However, there’s a quick tip you can use to turn the block in your head into an advantage.

Instead of worrying if your audience noticed, try to “fake” a meaningful pause whenever you’re feeling stuck. During this pause, you can relax, and sooner than you know it, you will think of something.

The best thing is, your audience will never notice that “something’s wrong”, and yet this will also give them a breather and help them continue following your speech.

14. Keep Things Short

Less is more, and during impromptu speeches that can go extremely wrong, it’s better to cut your speech short and yet deliver everything you believe is valuable to the audience.

In other words, it’s better to regret not saying something than to say too much and then be on the spot from where you can’t turn back.

Also, keeping things short will help you stay in control of your impromptu speech and even look a lot more confident during your performance!

15. Try Turning the Impromptu Speech into Q&A Session

Since most impromptu speeches happen unexpectedly, not only will you have to come up with something from nothing, but you’ll also have to give the audience something you’re looking for.

Therefore, depending on the setting of your speech, you might try and turn your impromptu speech into a Q&A session, just like the journalistic interview type.

This will help you think less about what your whole speech will look like and focus on things the audience asks you in pieces.

You’ll still have full control over the answer, so turning a speech into a Q&A session is never a bad idea.

Check Out : Motivational, Funny, & Uplifting Sales Quotes

Best Impromptu Speech Examples

We’ll now take a look at some of the best examples of impromptu speeches to draw inspiration from.

University of Kentucky – Speech and Debate Team

In this impromptu speech example, the speaker only took two minutes for a quick structure plan from where she was put under the spotlight straight away.

A great start with a personalized story that leads straight into the argument. During the argument, clear signs of uncertainty are visible, but the speaker did well by slowing the speech down and taking a couple of very short meaningful pauses.

Prepared with examples which is a bonus, the speaker went through her speech structure with ease. There were moments where the speaker was nervous, but she kept it well together and even seemed confident in her speech at times.

Use gestures, confident actions, eye contact with the audience, and all other positive things you can learn from the tips above.

Closing the speech without any rumbling and getting the point straight across to the audience is a memorable way to end the speech, which is why this is one of many perfect examples of an impromptu speech.

Interesting Post : Popular Digital Marketing Quotes

Chris Gurrie Impromptu Speech Example

This is a short yet educative impromptu speech example where the speaker, Chris Gurrie, gets assigned a random topic by the audience and then guides the viewers of this video on how to plan a perfect impromptu speech structure.

While you would usually have around two minutes for the planning and practice process, Chris does it in about 30 seconds.

Chris starts his impromptu speech with many questions that come from a personalized story that then leads into the main topic of the speech.

What Chris also does is focuses on his audience and he shares his planned structure.

Chris’s impromptu speech is full of valuable information the audience might not have been aware of, which then ties to things on a larger scale. Even though Chris only took 30 seconds to work on the speech plan, he looks very relaxed, confident, with a strong game right until the end of the speech.

What’s interesting enough is that if you didn’t know this was an impromptu speech, you might not even know. Therefore, this is a perfect example of how good you can get at impromptu speeches without knowing the subject beforehand.

Toastmaster International – Impromptu Speaking

If you prefer learning from a video example, this four-minute video is everything you’ll need to gain the confidence to do an impromptu speech.

In this example, you’ll learn opportunities where impromptu speaking might be required. Of course, all of the opportunities are the ones where you don’t have much time to prepare.

However, with the techniques covered in this example video, you’ll learn how to manage last-minute speeches.

Lastly, the video will teach you all the benefits of holding impromptu speeches.

Even though this is an educational-type video, if you have a better look, you would notice that this whole video is less than five minutes long, and it’s scripted in a way to serve as yet another impromptu speech example.

Therefore, as you learn how to perform an impromptu speech, you’re watching an impromptu speech which is a brilliant idea.

Preparing yourself for an impromptu speech is only half the job, so in this video, you also learn how to deliver your impromptu speech with more useful tips.

Impromptu Speech Example: Thesis-Point-Story Format

Planning a structure for your impromptu speech is super important. The thing about the structure is that you can develop any three- or four-step process that will get you through the speech.

This video is a perfect example of a thesis-point-story format where Chris, the speaker, gets assigned a random topic from where he creates the thesis-point structure, shares it with the students, and gets down to the speech itself.

With word play, Chris slowly introduces the topic to the audience, and while he speaks to his students as his friends, he is getting down to the story’s main point.

As Chris goes through his impromptu speech, you can also notice that he asks the audience plenty of questions, and by answering his questions, he is slowly revealing the whole story behind the point of his impromptu speech.

Even though this example might be a bit complicated to understand, you can also learn from Chris’s body language, how he speaks, and how he controls his speech as he’s a highly skilled impromptu speaker.

Angel Anderson – Impromptu Speech Example

In this four-minute impromptu speech example video, Angel Anderson teaches you exactly what impromptu speaking is, how to practice it, and even shows an example full of important tips that can help you develop the same skills.

Angel uses a question-style topic, after which he sets the timer for two minutes for his impromptu speech.

With this type of question, Angel starts his impromptu speech with a personal story that gets interesting, which ensures that the audience follows him.

Not only did Angel answer a question, but he also shared an anecdotal story, and even then, he shared some more information connected to this story.

By far, Angel’s video is not the perfect impromptu speech, but it’s a real example of how easily you can work on your impromptu speech, practice, and learn as you progress.

Of course, this example is ideal for all interview-type impromptu speeches, which can be as hard as the topic-type speeches.

Impromptu speech can seem scary at first, but with plenty of preparation and practice, you will be able to speak on any topic without much preparation.

These 15 tips are everything you’ll need to start, develop, and finish your impromptu speech while being confident both verbally and nonverbally.

On top of that, these five examples show you how impromptu speech is done first-hand. Remember that you shouldn’t aim for perfection, but even tiny improvements are a good step forward to achieving a decent impromptu speech.

Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing. I started my first e-commerce company in college, designing and selling t-shirts for my campus bar crawl using print-on-demand. Having successfully established multiple 6 & 7-figure e-commerce businesses (in women’s fashion and hiking gear), I think I can share a tip or 2 to help you succeed.

How to Deliver an Impromptu Speech: A Comprehensive Guide

Hrideep barot.

• Speech Writing , Toastmasters

It was in eighth grade when I gave my first impromptu speech. Being an introvert, delivering a well-rehearsed speech was itself a big deal, let alone an impromptu one.

It was during one of the monthly events in school where we were seated and waiting for the chief guest to arrive. To fill the gap and to keep the audience engaged, the volunteers called out names at random who were supposed to talk about any topic.

My cortisol and adrenaline levels were at its peak when they called out my name. It was more of a ‘say something, and get embarrassed’ or ‘stay quiet and get embarrassed’ situation.

Since either way, the outcome was to ‘get embarrassed,’ I went with the former, and till today, my friends make fun of me. But, it was a much needed push to not be afraid of going on stage. Since then, I tried to learn more about giving speeches on the spot so I could save myself from so-called embarrassing moments!

So, let me save you from such a situation and help you deliver an exceptional impromptu speech. I understand it’s challenging if you’re like me, but hey, it’s the baby steps that matter the most. So, read on to find out more about it.

What Exactly is an Impromptu Speech?

An impromptu speech is a speech delivered with zero preparation. It can be at an office meeting, job interview, or an event. One needs to be vigilant and mentally prepared at all times when it comes to giving an impromptu speech.

Imagine this. You’re at your colleague’s dinner party on a Friday evening. While trying to get ‘in the mood,’ your pal suddenly calls you to come on stage and talk about the evening.

It’s untimely, and you’re unprepared. But, you must present the best version of yourself at the moment. Now, that’s what is called an impromptu speech.

If you’re the type who does not like social interaction or fears being on stage, then delivering an impromptu speech might be quite challenging.

Scenarios Where You Might be Asked to Give an Impromptu Speech

• When you’re at an art exhibition, a reporter might come up to interview you.
• You might be asked to talk about your friend or colleague during a send-off.
• If you’re attending any conference or talks, you get questioned about the event/topic.
• Business meetings are a commonplace where you’re interrogated about your ideas or updates on the project unexpectedly.
• During events, the speaker might choose you to come on stage and demonstrate or talk about anything.
• Dinner parties are a common place where you might have to speak about if the person hosting is close to you.
• College farewells and events are also where you might have to speak on-spot.
• If you’re interning at an organization, you can be called upon stage anytime to share your experience. It can also be while bidding adieu without prior notice.
• Job interviews are also one of the places where your wit is tested. No matter the amount of preparation, you get asked bizarre questions.

7 Tips to Deliver a Captivating Impromptu Speech

1. Understand That You Only Need to Talk About Your Experiences

When someone gives us a topic, we prepare, rehearse it till the last minute and present it at one go. But, in an impromptu speech, you’re not given a topic that you will not know.

The prime focus of the subject will be either you or your surroundings. If you think about it, this is more straightforward.

It can be about your journey with your colleagues, your company’s latest product, or about your best friend. These are always easy to interpret.  

Well, If you think about it, impromptu speaking has been a part of our everyday lives unknowingly. When you meet a stranger at a cafe or when you head to a nearby store, it is impromptu.

You might be asked to speak on random topics like “Why should one not be a part of the rat-race,” or “Why is it ideal to embrace adversities?” Though these are just examples to give you an overview, you might be asked to speak on any topic under the sun. It all depends on where you are.

2. Learn to Describe What You See Around

We commute to different places in a day, and we see plenty of things happening around. If your friend tells you to describe that cute guy/girl you met on the metro ride, you would go on and on about him/her.

But, if you’re asked to describe a pretty vase on your table, you end it in a few seconds. Learning to describe is an art.

More than describing, it’s about building strong opinions for issues that concern us. Let’s say, the topic is “Your take on mental health.” Though this is a pretty general topic, it’s about your perspective on that particular topic. The upsides and downsides of the issue, the why and what of it. Forming opinions and describing it with actual facts adds a lot of credibility to your speech.

Once you master it, it’ll be easy for you to deliver any speech. If you’re an introvert, you might be well-versed at playing with words on a blank white sheet, but practicing the same by talking can help you with presenting better.

Be a keen observer, try to watch the details. The more you observe, the better you will be able to relate your personal story to the facts, and your audience will love it when your speech is relatable and not generalized.

3. Organize Your Thoughts

I have this problem where a bunch of things will be going on in my mind simultaneously. It’s complete chaos where I end up speaking irrelevant things.

So especially if you’re new to going on stage unprepared, then more than making points, you might start worrying about what others might think of you.

I’ve gone through that, my face would be as red as a tomato and I completely screw up the speech as my voice would stutter and show that I’m obviously nervous.

So, it’s essential to organize your thoughts and prioritize the ones that you want to talk about first.  Also, an impromptu speech is a short speech, so even if you have plenty of things in your mind, filter them and say the best ones. It should be short, engaging, and the audience should resonate with what you say.

A basic strategy is to ask yourself the 5 W’s and H questions when you’re called on stage. Taking the example of “Is it ideal to embrace adversities?” well, you start by asking yourself why is it ideal, how can one overcome, what is the best way to deal with it, and so on.

You can start your speech by speaking about the time when YOU experienced such a situation in your life, move on to tell about how it affected you internally, and finally the ways you overcame your adversity. Conclude by going back to the topic and answering it.

Here, the audience is able to relate to your personal story and also motivate them in the end. This way, you can deliver your impromptu speech more effectively and without much effort. You never know, you might surprise yourself in the end.

4. Try and be as Candid as Possible

Now that you’ve learned to describe things, describing your experiences should be easy.  As mentioned above, though describing the lowest point in your life may not be easy, you can add characters to it and speak as a different story.

When someone asks you to deliver an impromptu speech, go straight up to the stage (this is the time to recollect every possible thing) and express what you feel at that very moment.

If it’s about your colleague or mentor, you can start by speaking about one of the most cherished moments with them, what qualities you liked and learned from them, and how they brought in a positive change in your life.

I’ve seen people who try to be extra formal but end up ruining their speech or make it boring. Just breathe and talk your heart out. No amount of preparation can beat the candid speech ever. It’s the one that comes from your soul, and the one, that touches the audience’s heart.

5. Go with the Flow and be Light-hearted

If you’re a newbie, your first few speeches will not be the way you expect it to be. If you want to be the best version of you, then you need to face complicated situations.

Well, not all the time, but if you land in such a position, embrace it. Never let that consume you. You’re not stooping low and disrespecting yourself, you’re saving yourself from intensifying the situation. It shows you’re confident enough too. 

I bet, even the best speaker would have been through an embarrassing situation at least once.

6. Set a Brand for Yourself

It was during one of my first few speeches in school where I tried imitating the hand gestures similar to that of my classmate. It was so obvious, and also, it did not go well with my personality. So, never do that.

If you’ve watched TEDx Talks, you might have observed that every individual has a unique way of conveying their story to the audience, whether it’s the tone or the body language.

Thus, be comfortable with yourself and your body. You will see the results for yourself. An impromptu speech judges who you are. It’s those few minutes that shows the world who you are. Give your best shot no matter what.

7. It’s Okay to Screw Up in an Impromptu Speech

You might forget your topic while on stage, or you might end up being blank in between your speech. That’s totally alright. It’s a matter of time and everyone would have gone through the same phase.

Learn from it and avoid making that mistake the next time. Maybe even your fifth speech might not be good, but your tenth or twelfth speech will definitely be better than your previous speeches and no one can stop you from there.

Remember, it’s okay to screw up and it’s okay to be reckless. In the end, you will be happy to have that experience. Here’s former NFL player, Bo Eason, telling his students why being reckless is actually a good thing: 

Impromptu Speech Outline

Like any other speech, an impromptu speech has the same structure: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.

Introduction

There are many ways you can start during an impromptu speech. Like always, the introduction should be captivating. 

Gone are the days where the usual “Hello Everyone, I’m ABC and so on” was the norm for starting a speech. It gives the impression that your speech will be boring right from the beginning. 

• One way is by sharing a quick personal story. You can start this way, “I remember the time when I was in a similar situation…”
• Another way is to ask questions. You get enough time to recall notable points. Questioning your audience can buy you extra time if you do not remember right away. (Keep in mind that you do not make majority speech a question-answer session. You’re out there to speak, not to make the audience speak).
• Also, knowing your audience and the time of the presentation is equally important. It can be at an NGO, a corporate place, or even a party. Start your speech accordingly. Knowing your audience can help you be a lot more contextual.

Thus, start with a relatable quote or come up with one. Share a story that is relatable to all. Your introduction is a gateway to you as an individual. Keep it simple yet effective.

Related Article: 15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own)

Now since an impromptu speech is only for a couple of minutes, you need not rush to conclude your speech. Honestly, I even dread to talk continuously for 2 minutes, so a couple of minutes on stage is a big deal for me. Breathing helps to calm my nerves. I remind myself to live in the moment and continue my story.

• If you’re speaking on “Mental Health,” make 3 to 4 informative points like when did you realize mental health is important, how important is it to focus on our overall well-being, in what way does it affect our day-to-day lives, why is there a stigma around it, how can everyone join as a community and offer help, and so on.

If you have gone through any mental health issues, you can share your story and deliver the speech. You can also talk about personal experiences.

• If it’s a light topic, go on about the details of it, what made you despise or love that phase of life, relate it with the current topic, add facts, quotes, references from movies, or stories if you remember that very moment.

The body of the speech should be informative and engaging. Try not to make it too long. Keep it to the point with all the details included.

Conclu sion

The conclusion is as essential as your introduction. Maybe a little more valuable as your audience will remember your conclusion more than anything. You can either make a gist of your speech and stress on the important points in the end or end it by speaking something that is motivating and inspirational.

• If it’s on Mental Health, you can probably end it by saying “Let’s push the pause button and not be too busy to not care about the one’s next to us. The least we could do is to ask ‘How are you? Are you OK?’ to the people around us. You never know, it might make a huge difference and bring positivity and hope among everyone.”
• If it’s a wedding party, be energetic and lively. You can simply end by congratulating the couples and telling the audience to enjoy the evening.
• If it’s business-related, you can end it with a ‘success’ quote or something compelling enough that is contextual to a business setting.

Keep your speech short, crisp, and sweet.

Related article: 5 Ways to End Your Speech With Maximum Impact!

I came across this video and loved every bit of the impromptu speech. The speaker starts with a story as an example, relates it to our lives, and explains why we should live like the character in the story ending on a positive note with a great message.

How to be Better Prepared for Impromptu Speeches

“The very best impromptu speeches are the ones written well in advance.”  Ruth Gordon

Though an impromptu speech is delivered straight away without preparation, if you practice for a couple of minutes every day, you will definitely nail it. Here are some of the ways to improve your impromptu skills and gain confidence by speaking on-spot on a daily basis. It will help you think fast and deliver your thoughts effectively.

1. Practice at Home With Your Family

 The best way to deliver an impromptu speech is to practice more. Ask your family members to give you a topic on-spot every day. It can be a short 5 min session where you practice one topic or one-hour session where each family member takes turns and speaks on any given topic. A perfect bonding moment as well. Once you develop the confidence to speak in front of your family members, you will be much more comfortable speaking in front of strangers. 

2. Call a Friend

You can call your friends and play pick-and-speak . It will definitely be fun and everyone can improve their impromptu skills. It’s always entertaining with friends when they come up with cool topics.

Call your friend up and give her a topic. Let her speak on the topic for a minute or two. After she’s done, switch your roles and allow her to give you a topic. Once you both are done speaking, evaluate each other and give feedback on how you can improve each other’s speeches.

This is a short, effective and fun way of practicing and gives you a buddy to practice and track your progress with.

3. Attending Toastmasters

You can join a Toastmaster’s club near as they help you in improving your speaking skills. You meet like-minded people, and here, you are supposed to pick a topic and present it in front of the members under the Table Topics section. It’s a perfect opportunity to improve your impromptu skills.

Here is another video where a member of a Toastmaster club speaks on a Table Topic. The flow of the speech is natural, and she presents it with grace and autheticty, which is laudable.

Related Article: How to Best Perform the Role of Table Topics Master in a Toastmasters Meeting?

4. Attend an Event or Volunteer at Your Neighborhood 

You can also volunteer at NGO’s and take part in conducting campaigns, reaching out to people, and hosting events. It boosts your self-confidence and gives you a chance to host events or speak on stage at certain occasions. 

Impromptu Speech Delivery

Here are a couple of things you need to keep in mind to be prepared for delivering a speech. Even though you cannot prepare for the topic, you can prepare yourself for any topic.

Read, Read and Read a Lot

Now that you know that an impromptu speech is unplanned, it’s a test to your knowledge. Though you will be sharing personal experiences, the more you add quotes and facts, the better your speech. So, it’s essential to read a lot. Pick up any book, newspaper, or magazines every day and read. Make notes on points you could connect, or the ones that you feel would help you in your speeches.

Work on Your Body Language

When it comes to body language, it’s okay to not be comfortable in your first few speeches. But come home and practice it in front of the mirror. Make sure to not repeat the same mistakes again. A few basic rules to remember are to not keep moving around too much or standing completely still, to not cross your hands, keeping it authentic, etc.

Realted article: Body Language Guide to Public Speaking (The Do’s & Don’ts)

Practice Voice Modulation

When you’re anxious, you might want to get done with your speech so end up speaking in a monotonous tone. Voice modulation is essential while delivering a speech. Another crucial thing is while describing your experiences, try to bring in various tones rather than being monotonous. Explain how a mother narrates a story to her child.

Read aloud at home, narrate a story to kids, or record your speech and listen to it repeatedly. Find out where you’re going wrong. Recording your voice will help you understand the areas where you need to work more.

Related Article: The Incredible Impact of Video Recording Yourself While Practicing a Speech

Related article: All You Need to Know about Voice Modulation & Tonality for Public Speaking

Impromptu Speech Topic Examples

• Do you think self-love should be given more priority than any other form of love?
• Does engaging in journaling ensure productivity?
• Why is there a stigma around mental health? What should be done to spread awareness?
• Why should one not be indecisive in life?
• Is it true that if a person masters one skill, he is capable of mastering every other skill?
• Why is it essential to obtain physio-mental stability for everyone?
• Is it ideal to follow your passion even after knowing the rapid changes happening in the world?
• What is the most significant thing in life to succeed: persistence or hard work?
• Should one always go with the flow in life?
• What should one do to find one’s true potential at the earliest?

Impromptu Speech Online Course

While I encourage you to practice impromptu speaking by yourself, sometimes, a little help can go a long way. 

If you want to learn impromptu speaking in a more structured format, check out this course by Shola Kaye on Udemy :

Public Speaking Success: IMPROMPTU public speaking

The course is quite handy when it comes to understanding impromptu speaking at deeper level. I personally like this course for two reasons:

• The instructor makes you practice impromptu speaking within the course framework itself. So you’re practicing AND learning, not just learning
• You get familiarised with various impromptu speech topics and scenarios. This helped be more sensitized to different topics and situations I could face where I would have to rely on impromptu speaking

I really like the instructor, Shola Kaye, as well. Being an introvert herself, she’s quite a relatable instructor. 

She’s also familiar with Toastmasters’ Table Topics. So all you TM members out there, this will be a great match! The curriculum is set out for only 7 days. So the content is extremely snackable and easy to watch. Check it out!

Bottom Line

An impromptu speech may not be as daunting as you expect it. A little belief in yourself and a never give up attitude is all that is needed to master it.

Sometimes, well, most of the time, it’s all the chaos in our mind stops us from being the best version.  It’s the thought about what others think of us put a full stop to our personal growth. Get that thought off your mind, and you’re half-way there.

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

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Impromptu speech outline: 7 formats

How to prepare for an impromptu speech.

By:  Susan Dugdale  

Using a speech outline to prepare an impromptu speech seems counterintuitive, doesn't it? After all, impromptu means of the moment, spontaneous, without preparation. So, what is an impromptu speech outline?

Quite simply it’s the structure, or format of your speech. It’s how you order your material from the time you open your mouth at the beginning of your speech, until you close it at the end.

An outline doesn’t need to be a written document or put on note cards to be effective. An experienced impromptu speaker will have an assortment of structural patterns memorized. When they’re asked to speak, they’ll mentally flick through them and choose the most appropriate.

Following an outline lessens the possibility of rambling aimlessly off topic. And, given my flibberty gibbet tendencies it's vital! Maybe yours too?☺

What's on this page

Seven structural patterns , each with example impromptu speech outlines and a printable blank outline template to download.

How to use these structural patterns : guidelines for practice

About the printable impromptu speech outlines

How to reframe a topic : examples of openings showing how to adapt a topic.

The patterns are: 

• Point, Reason, Example, Point (PREP)

Past, Present, Future

Problem, solution.

• Pros/Cons, Positives/Negatives, For/Against, Advantages/Disadvantages

Cause, Effect, Remedy

• Before/The Event/The Result

Local, National, International

 How to use these structural patterns

To become a competent impromptu speaker you need to get familiar with them. So initially just play with them for practice either with a friend or by yourself.

• Get a subject to talk about. (Click for 150 impromptu speaking topics ).
• Choose yourself a pattern to form the body of speech.
• Now go. Open your mouth and speak.

You’ll need an introduction followed by your material organized according to whatever pattern you’ve selected, and then a conclusion.

Keep it simple. You don’t need to try hard to say devastatingly intelligent insightful things. The starting goal is to get used to thinking, then speaking, without a great deal of prior preparation.

This is impromptu speaking, ‘off the cuff’, largely spontaneous. Be honest and where you can, add personal stories. Your own experiences, plus your knowledge of the subject, will establish rapport and credibility. Don’t be afraid to experiment, or 'fail', as that's how you'll learn.

If your content at this stage is trite nonsense and you putter out of ideas too soon, so be it. At the beginning it’s more important to learn to let go of feeling anxious, inadequate and the need for perfection. 

Once you’re used to a pattern, and can follow it easily without having to stop and think about which part comes next, you’ll naturally come up with better material.

Along with examples of each impromptu speech outline structure there's a link to a blank printable. There are seven of them: one for each pattern. They are there for you to use as a guide. You'll find the links for them below the example outlines. 

Each outline has the same four step format.

The first step is mentally preparing yourself: sorting out your topic, considering your audience and working out what tone best fits with them, as well as your speech purpose. 

The second step covers preparing the introduction, the third, the body, and the fourth and final step, the conclusion.

Your chosen structural pattern is the body  

The third step, the body of your speech, holds the specific pattern you’re working with. It’s this step, the body, you’ll want to focus on first when you’re practicing. After you’ve set your topic allow yourself a few minutes to think it through (or make notes) using the pattern headings as a guide.

Once you feel comfortable with the body, you’ll find the openings and conclusions become much easier.

Getting the time and content balance right

The overall length of your speech or the time you take to deliver it is, to a large part, determined by how much information you put into the body. Obviously one or two main points and their supporting material will take less time than three or four.

( Practice will help you confidently and reliably get the balance of time to content right. Click the link for  examples of one minute speeches  prepared using the Point-Reason-Example-Point (PREP) pattern. They'll give you an idea of what's required.)

Practice, practice, and then do it some more

You don’t need to follow each of the four steps of the outline slavishly. However, to use that old cliché, before you can run, you need to know how to walk. So before giving yourself permission to try to improvise and dazzle publicly, ground yourself in structure. Give yourself a solid baseline to work from.

There’s no secret behind becoming more confident and competent reasonably quickly. It’s practice. Lots of it.

Time and record yourself. Play it back and listen carefully.

Is there a good opening? Have you followed the pattern you chose in the body of the speech? Is it clear? Have you got clean transitions between each part of your speech and the one following it? Is there a strong ending? And are the words you’ve chosen, as well as the way you use them, right for your subject, the purpose of the speech and your intended audience?

And lastly, learn one pattern well before you work with another.

Effective impromptu speech activities 

If you teach a public speaking or communication class or lead a public speaking group, here's  a comprehensive bundle of   17 proven fun and effective impromptu speech activities , complete with full guidelines and printables. They ease, rather than jettison, students into impromptu speaking one step at a time.  

How to reframe a topic

Sometimes when you're asked to speak on a topic you'll find yourself needing to modify it before going ahead.

Or maybe you want confirmation that you've understood what you're being asked to speak about.

Here are examples of three ways to reframe the topic as part of your opening. They are particularly useful for Question and Answer sessions.

Add them to your practice too.

1. Give the topic a scope. This establishes what you're prepared to cover.  

For example: Thanks. That’s a great question. I am happy to share what has happened since I joined the organization in 2020.

Or:  Thanks, that’s a great, and very big question. I don’t have time right now to cover all aspects of it. So here’s the first part. If anybody would like me to follow up with the second and third, please see me later and we’ll make a time.

2. Summarize and ask for confirmation. Use this technique to  make sure you’ve understood what’s being asked of you before you answer. 

Example:  Thank you for your question. It's an important one and I want to make sure I’ve understood it correctly before answering. You want to know why we’re not mobilizing the Defense Force to clear protesters from the streets, is that right?

3. Redirecting, reshaping the question or angle, before responding . This can be useful when you want to give a bigger picture, or establish context - something the original question didn't allow for.

Example: You’ve asked about using the Defense Force to clear the streets. Let’s consider the precedents for that: the 1951 Waterfront Dispute, Bastion Point, 1978, and the anti-Springbok rugby tour protest in 1981. What have they taught us?

7 impromptu speech outline patterns

Please note, these examples are not complete speech outlines. In most instances they don't include the opening or the conclusion. What they do is illustrate seven ways to organize material in the body of the speech. And some of the examples are more fleshed out than others.

 PREP: Point, Reason, Example, Point

PREP is an acronym for: Point, Reason, Example, Point. The pattern adapts well to most situations.

Here are two PREP impromptu speech outline examples: one for a social setting and one for business or workplace audiences. You can also see it in action on this page of one minute speech topics where I've used it in three sample one minute speech outlines.

PREP impromptu speech outline: workplace 

Topic: Cameras off during a virtual team meeting

Point: Human Resources are reporting numerous requests from employees to be allowed to leave their cameras off during routine virtual (zoom) meetings.

Reason: The reason most frequently given is fatigue due to  strain 

Examples: It is hard to:

• maintain focus while looking at a grid of faces for the length of an entire meeting,
• see yourself on camera and NOT respond to it,
• be physically constrained in a small space in order to remain on camera,
• arrange life so it doesn’t intrude in the form of kittens, babies or anything else while on camera,
• have your colleagues in your home without having issued the invitation yourself.

Point: And that’s why we’ve asked Human Resources to develop a set of guidelines to cover when cameras should be on, and when they can be turned off. If you have any suggestions or points you’d like them to consider, please get them by Friday.

For more: 

• Bailenson, J. N. (2021). Nonverbal Overload: A Theoretical Argument for the Causes of Zoom Fatigue . Technology, Mind, and Behavior, 2(1). 
• Should We Require Students to Turn Their Cameras On in the Zoom Classroom?   Anna Lännström, Stonehill College. Published by Wabash Center, 2020  

PREP impromptu speech outline example: social

A toast to acknowledge friend’s engagement

Point: It’s a joy to join you celebrating Ryan and Mary’s engagement.

Reason(s): There’s dozens of reasons for my being pleased to be here. We haven’t got time for them all. So here’s three. The first goes back a long way to when we were ten years old. I’m never going going to get married, he said. Thanks to Mary, look at you now! I am delighted you have to eat those words. The second reason is quite selfish. At least the field is cleared now because he’s well and truly spoken for. Hi ya singletons out there! And the third and most important is because I’ve never seen Ryan quite so deliriously crazy happy, ever, in all the years I’ve known him.

Example(s): This is the man who has spent all his weekends for last year renovating the house they share. You know it’s got to be the real thing when unclogging drains, getting rid of rat nests and replacing rotten window frames is better than time out with me and the boys. When you add making significant positive changes to his eating and drinking habits, throw in running a kilometer or two or three or more, several times a week, it’s proof. You’ve got be happy to do any of that!

Point: Which in turn, makes me happy too. Here's to Ryan and Mary!

Download PREP impromptu speech outline

Click the link to download a printable pdf file to use: PREP impromptu speech outline

Use this pattern if you want apply a time line treatment to a subject.

Topic: In your experience what's an effective way of getting children to eat vegetables?

In the past:

When I was a child not eating whatever was served was not an option. It didn’t matter if it was something dreaded like cauliflower, broccoli or spinach. It was on the plate. Therefore it needed to be chewed and swallowed. If it wasn’t you were in for a long sit at the table. Because both you and the plate of food remained in place until the plate was cleared. This as a technique was a failure. It built resentment rather than a love of vegetables.

That kind of stand off would not happen nowadays. I have more tolerance than my parents for children whose taste buds do not thrill to strong tasting vegetables. The only thing I ask of my kids, is that they try a little of each new one when it is served. If they don’t like it, they can put it to one side. Alongside that, we use vegetables as snacks, sneak them into purees and sauces, get the kids involved in choosing and cooking them, and set an example by eating copious quantities of them ourselves.

Our diets are changing. They are becoming increasingly plant based. Vegetables are no longer an accompaniment, an after-thought. Instead they’re center plate – up front and proud. 

Perhaps the infamous battle over vegetables will disappear entirely. It’s my hope that through showing greater tolerance of our children’s preferences and by being more creative with how we introduce them into their diets, that the issue will simply cease to be one.

Vive la broccoli!  

Topic: What are the most popular and enduring toys for children?

Past : Toys that sold well: Teddy bears, named after Theodore Roosevelt 1902, yo-yos – 1928, Silly Putty, 1955, GI Joe – dolls for boys, 1960s, including two that have kept right on selling;

Present: Lego from Denmark, 1932, and Barbie from USA, 1959

Future : More Lego, more Barbies who are more diverse, more skin types and shapes. Both seem set for along time yet.

Download Past, Present, Future outline

Click the link to download a printable pdf file to use:  Past, Present, Future impromptu speech outline

This is a simple two part pattern: here’s the problem. Now here’s the solution.

Example: The problem is congestion on our main city roads during peak hours.

The solution is to:

• reroute heavy vehicles over those hours
• look carefully at the current design of the roundabouts, on and off ramps and laybys and update them if necessary 
• adjust the speed limit

Example: The problem is maintaining a work routine while working from home

• make yourself a dedicated work space.
• set yourself regular hours for getting up, having breakfast, being at your desk, lunch etc.
• establish clear boundaries around your work time for family and friends. Being in the same room or the next one, doesn’t mean you’re available.
• prioritize your tasks for the day each morning.

Download Problem, Solution outline

Click the link to download a printable pdf file to use: Problem, Solution impromptu speech outline

Pros and Cons, Positives and Negatives

This is a useful beginning point toward answering the classic ‘what shall I do?’ dilemmas.

Setting out the pros and cons * of a situation gives us an overview, which we can then use to help make a rational, considered decision.

* 16th century: from Latin  prō  for + con, from  contrā  against

Dilemma:  Whether or not to go to university

• New experiences, new people, broadens outlook
• Builds networking opportunities, long term friendships, & professional relationships
• After graduation enter workforce at different level – a leg up because core competencies already established
• Scholarships available
• Leadership and extension activities/clubs available
• High levels of personal debt
• Difficult to sustain oneself mentally, physically and financially without support
• Doesn’t guarantee a job on graduation
• Doesn’t train you for a specific vocation
• Doesn’t automatically mean entry into higher paying job

Dilemma:  Whether or not to buy cheap or fast fashion

• Affordable – instantly gratifying
• Up to the minute clothing – democratization of fashion – not just for elite rich
• Can follow the trend – included rather than excluded on price
• Can change mind and buy more if don’t like what you have – not going to cause you hardship
• Profitable for retailers and manufacturers
• pollution: people throw out their clothes which then enter land fills
• waste: breeds throwaway mentality – chuck rather than mend
• loss of skills: how to mend clothing: sew on buttons, fix a fallen hem, patch a rip etc.
• exploitation of woman and children in 3rd world countries: low wages, and unsafe workplaces

For more: Fast Fashion by Adam Hayes, April 2021, investopedia.com

Download Pros and Cons outline

Click the link to download a printable pdf file to use:  Pros and Cons impromptu speech outline

 This is a three-part problem solving pattern.

• What is the cause of something?
• What is its effect?
• And what is the remedy?

Topic: Public speaking anxiety

Cause(s) of public speaking anxiety:

• feeling self conscious in front of others
• fearing repeat of past poor experiences
• fear of being judged
• fearing not being as good as you’d like to be, or as good as others
• breathing poorly which doesn’t support the voice
• becoming overwhelmed by symptoms of fear: shaking limbs, quivering voice, racing heart beat, forgetting what had been practiced
• gabbling through speech at break neck speed
• becomes a cycle which intensifies each time a person has to speak in public
• limits personal potential in many ways: at work and socially
• take a public speaking course, join a public speaking club
• practice a great deal,  get good support and practical feedback you can use
• and take every opportunity to speak in front of others as it will lessen the fear.

Topic: Procrastination

Cause(s) of procrastination:

• boredom: not being interested in the task that needs completing
• fear of failure: thinking the task will prove too difficult - would rather not begin it, than risk failure, perfectionism
• unable to prioritize what needs to be done against what isn’t so urgent
• overwhelmed: too many things to do, and too little energy

Effect(s) of procrastination:

• pressure: rushing to catch up on what should have been done which leads to poor decision making
• failure: letting oneself, friends, family and workmates down, compromised work standards, reputation
• losing time, opportunities, limiting your career options
• escalating low self-esteem issues and health risks
• Create incremental to-do lists – a bit at a time rather than one huge overwhelming piece of work.
• Create a stimulating work-place for yourself – surround yourself with what you genuinely like to see.
• Time-line your work realistically - what needs to happen. today, tomorrow and the next day to arrive at the due date with the work completed to your satisfaction.
• Get rid of the temptations you know you are distracted by. Put your phone on mute. Remove bookmarked sites.
• Find a mentor, someone you admire and who will hold you to account.

Download Cause, Effect, Remedy outline

Click the link to download a printable pdf file to use: Cause, Effect, Remedy impromptu speech outline

Before, The Event, The Result

This three-part pattern is a time line centered around an event. The result of event (eg. a natural disaster or a personal or societal change, large or small) profoundly changes what came before it. Sometimes the end result is much better, and sometimes far worse.

It’s a pattern much loved by advertisers who imply that the event (the purchase and use of whatever product or service they are selling) will result in whatever is desired: health, wealth, beauty, popularity, longevity, peace, love, intelligence... It's the classic Before and After format.    

Topic: Covid-19 - its impact on the tourism industry in NZ

Total annual tourism expenditure had increased by almost $15 billion, or 55%, in the seven years prior to 2020. 

• Tourism was New Zealand’s biggest export industry, contributing 20.1% of total exports. 
• Tourism generated a direct annual contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $16.4 billion, or 5.5%, and a further indirect contribution of $11.3 billion, another 3.8% of New Zealand’s total GDP.  

Then along came Covid–19.  The borders were closed in an effort to keep it out for as long as possible. Good for the population: fewer deaths and hospitalizations compared to other first world countries: USA, UK, Australia but not so good for tourism.

The result:  

• total tourism expenditure was $26.1 billion, a decrease of 37.3 percent ($15.6 billion) from the previous year.
• international tourism’s overall contribution to New Zealand’s total exports of goods and services fell to 2.1 percent from 20.0 percent
• tourism generated a direct contribution to GDP of $8.5 billion, or 2.9 percent, a decrease of 47.5 percent ($7.7 billion), or 2.6 percentage points

Reference:  https://www.tia.org.nz/about-the-industry/quick-facts-and-figures/

Here’s a feel-good-hard-work-pays-off story using the format, the sort you might hear on your local TV or radio station.

Topic: the house makeover

Before the makeover:

• dark and dingy – very few windows, dated décor
• very poor heat retention – no insulation
• no outdoor – indoor flow
• small poky kitchen with limited storage
• one bathroom – not adjacent to either living areas or bedrooms

The Event:   the makeover of the worst house in the best street,  a perfect project for husband (builder) and wife (interior decorator), 12 month time line, carefully planned

The Result:

• jump in value of property
• a house which is a pleasure to live in, fabulous garden, everybody is happy, reporters come calling for house and garden magazine before and after spreads☺
• an inspirational example of talent plus effort

Download Before, The Event, The Result outline

Click the link to download a printable pdf file to use:  Before, The Event, The Result impromptu speech outline

This structure is excellent for comparisons and overviews spanning spatial areas.

Topic: Deaths from Covid-19 in New Zealand as at 22nd February 2022

Local: none

National: 56

International:  5,905,942

Reference: Google News - Covid 19 map - New Zealand  

Topic: Who follows the news?  A survey of 38 countries, 2018

Local news :  Global median = 78%. 78% of respondents are  more likely to follow the news if in own area and own country. 

National news : Global median = 86%. 86% of respondents are more likely to follow if the news is about own country.

International news : Global median = 57%. Comparatively significantly less of the respondents are likely to follow the news. That changes with the amount of education a person has. If they have more education, they are more likely to follow the news.

Reference:  Publics around the world follow national and local news more closely than international : Pew Research Center report, 2018

Download Local, National, International outline

Click the link to download a printable pdf file to use:  Local, National, International impromptu speech outline

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12 effective impromptu speech tips you should use

• Filed under: Featured articles , Public speaking articles , Public speaking tips and tricks , Speaking tips , Speech delivery , Speech preparation

An impromptu speech is something most people are afraid of even more than public speaking . There’s hardly any time to prepare, and, sometimes, this speech must be longer than just a few minutes.

So, what is an impromptu speech? An impromptu speech is a speech which is given without any thorough preparation. It is five- to eight-minute speech with a characteristically short preparation time of a couple of minutes.

This can be frightening, but it’s not the hardest of things. Today, I’ll give you 12 good tips you can use in the future. That said if you want even more information about impromptu speech and public speaking then definitely check out this list of the best public speaking books I have compiled for you.

Table of Contents

12 impromptu speech tips (short version)

Video: 12 effective impromptu speech tips you should use.

Why give an impromptu speech? Here are the reasons:

• The actual speaker is running late or you have to give a speech totally last moment instead of the actual speaker.
• At a meeting , you are unexpectedly asked to give a longer overview of what’s happening.
• You are forced (or decide for yourself) to take part in a discussion (e.g., parents’ meeting).
• A cheering speech at a birthday party or other similar event (e.g., colleague’s birthday).
• An unexpected (or even agreed beforehand) interview .
• You must unexpectedly introduce yourself at an event or talk about your area of activity .
• Unexpected questions during a Q&A session following your presentation.

Remember that the better public speaker you are, the more people will be pointing in your direction, because no-one wants to go out there. So, get ready to be teased, „James, we all know you can do it so well…“

12 impromptu speech tips that will make you shine

1. a good speech has a structure.

There are several speech structures, but I use the one called the FAT system.

• F = Feeling . Express how you feel about the subject of your speech
• A = Anecdote . Tell a story related to it. If it’s funny, even better.
• T = Tie back . Link the story to the subject.

F = Feeling

Share your feelings about the subject. If it makes you sad, show it. If it makes you happy, express it with all your nature.

A = Anecdote

The anecdote doesn’t necessarily mean making a joke. Indeed, if your story is funny and related to the subject, that’s just great. Keep in mind that the make-a-point-tell-a-story approach usually works well.

T = Tieback

When you’re done with your story, keep in mind that now is the time to link it to the subject. For example: if your topic is „Your Favourite Car Brand“ and you told a good story about which bad (or good) cars you’ve come across, now is the time, to sum up, the topic pointing out why you chose a particular car brand.

2. Practice giving a speech

Mark Twain once said, „It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech“. In other words, it can be practiced. The more you practice and the more topics you go through, the easier it will be .

You can practice alone or with your friends. One of the ways to do it with your friends is to play a game. Scroll down for instructions!

As a side note, I wrote an article (with 10 effective tips) about how to practice a speech. You can read it here.

3. Go on stage and give speeches whenever you get an opportunity

The more experience you gain, the better you will be able to handle unexpected situations. You’ll also learn how to deal with tricky questions and smarty pants.

Recommended books

How to Deliver a TED Talk: Secrets of the World's Most Inspiring Presentations

Jeremy Donovan

Resonate: Present Visual Stories that Transform Audiences

Nancy Duarte

Confessions of a Public Speaker

Scott Berkun

Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds

Carmine Gallo

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

Atul Gawande

The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything... Fast!

Josh Kaufman

By the way, I did my MA thesis on the fear of public speaking, in which I also studied the way in which the level of the fear of public speaking and the frequency of its occurrence is related. It revealed that the people who do public speaking more often suffer from the fear of public speaking significantly less than those who do it rarely.

Have a look at the figure below:

4. Believe you can do it

If you only focus on the idea of potentially failing, you focus on the wrong thing . You’re not the most important person at the moment of giving a presentation. Your listeners are. Anyway, if you don’t believe in yourself, why should I as a listener? Oftentimes, the audience is your allie , and you should keep that in mind at all times.

Why is the audience your Allie ? Because the better you do, the more they will benefit from your presentation.

5. You could mention it’s an impromptu speech

An impromptu speech is just like any other speech, that is, it’s not a good idea to start your speech with an excuse. If the listeners are aware of the situation anyway, it might be worth mentioning. Do it in a brief and professional manner and avoid futile apologies.

Briefly explain why the speech is improvisation and get to the subject. If you use the above-mentioned FAT structure, it’ll be much easier for you to give a good speech.

6. Don’t forget about humor

For example: if you mention that it’s an impromptu speech, make a joke about the situation . Already today, it would be a good idea to think of a funny story or two about yourself for such occasions.

At the same time, keep in mind that if you’re not particularly good at making jokes , don’t try to overdo it . Equally important, never say „I’m going to tell you a funny story“ because you set the expectations high. Just say that you’re going to tell a story, and if the audience finds it funny, great success!

7. Think of universal introductions or stories to use in the future

Getting started with a story is always a good idea, especially, if it’s a personal one. For example, you can start with a story of how you had to give a speech once and what went wrong.

Sometimes, it may happen that you have to give a speech so unexpectedly that there’s no time whatsoever to think of a story introducing the subject. In this case, after making an introduction, you can make a transition in the form of a joke about yourself.

For example, you could say, „Some of you will wonder how this story is related to my presentation. It’s not, really… I just had to give a speech so unexpectedly that this story was the first thing that sprang to mind. Speaking of the subject… (and you go on with the actual subject)“.

But there’s a lot more to it so I wrote a complete guide on how to make a speech introduction that grabs the attention which you can read here.

8. If you get stuck, pretend it’s a meaningful pause

Remember that one speaker from Ancient Greece once summed up the fundamental truths about public speaking tips:

• Speak clearly to be heard.
• Stand straight to be seen.
• Be quiet to be enjoyable.

Take your time and try to avoid unnecessary voiced sounds during the pause – most people won’t even realize there’s something going on.

9. Customize the topic and make it your statement

Sometimes, it’s the only solution. For example: if I’m unexpectedly asked to talk about maths for 15 minutes, I have to admit this is a subject I don’t know anything about.

So I have a couple of stories about how I wasn’t very good at maths at school and that there’s one thing I’m very good at when it comes to maths. Calculating percentages by cross-multiplying. Then, I’ll be talking about how it really helped me in practice and how the audience could use it.

To sum it up, if the subject is something you don’t know much about, you will adjust it a little and change the focus , talking about it from a perspective you feel more confident about.

10. In relation to your speech, find answers to the following five questions:

• What (or about what)?

For example: if you have to talk about the fact that you’re afraid to speak publicly, your speech could answer the following questions:

• Who are you?
• What have you done to cope with it and what could others learn from it?
• When did you succeed (or fail) in relation to the subject (add a short story here)?
• Where could your tips be used?
• Why is it important at all?

It’s essentially the same as the FAT structure but explained from another angle.

11. Turn your presentation into a Q&A session

If you have no idea what to say in the beginning, go for a Q&A session. For example, your topic is „How to Give a Speech“, but you don’t have any good idea. So you start with something like „Dear all, today, we’ll be talking about how to give a speech. How many of you have given an impromptu speech or done public performances unexpectedly? Yes, Paul, what were the circumstances?“

This way, you’ll get hints from the listeners about what you could talk about, and you can smoothly go over to your speech.

But if you say „Today, we’ll be talking about how to give a speech. First of all, you’ll be able to ask a few questions about what you find most important when it comes to our topic“, the questions asked by the listeners will give you an idea of what you should talk about.

Keep in mind that you have to encourage your listeners as they may be too shy to ask questions. If no-one asks a question, go back to one of the tips above.

12. Don’t blab all the time

To be brief is always a good thing . The longer you talk, the greater the likelihood that your speech becomes somewhat boring , and, as a result, the listeners lose interest.

An impromptu speech developing game you can play with your friends

It’s quite common to play different games in larger or smaller groups. The game I recommend is suitable for groups of all shapes and sizes.

• Beginner : On a piece of paper, each participant puts down a topic they are able to talk about for a minute or two, without preparation.
• Advanced : On a piece of paper, each participant puts down a completely random topic.
• Put all the topics together. Now, in turns, you pick one topic and start talking about it for about a minute or two, without preparation. If you pick the topic written by you, you put it back and pick a new one.

When one participant is finished, the next participant picks a new topic and starts with their speech.

• Other listeners shouldn’t interrupt the speaker during their speech.
• It is advisable to give feedback, especially by the person who has come up with the topic.

How does this game improve giving an impromptu speech?

First, you get used to talking about topics you don’t know anything about at a first glance.

Second, you get a wealth of experience in terms of how to customize a topic. For example: if you pick a topic entitled „My Trip to Spain“, but you’ve never been to Spain, you’ll be talking about „What I Could Do on my Next Trip to Spain“.

Third, you get feedback from other people about how you did. Pretty soon, you’ll discover that you’re actually much better than you think.

Finally, the more you play this game, the more comfortable you will feel in different situations . You will learn from experience, right?

An impromptu speech can be frightening, but it’s not the hardest of things. It’s all in your head, and you can start fixing it now.

Have a look at my 12 impromptu speech tips and think of the situations where you can use one or the other. And then… go on stage. First thing. The more you practice public speaking , the better you get.

Related questions

What is a persuasive speech? The main objective of a persuasive speech is to make your listeners do what you want them to do. For example, „buy my product“, „vote for me“, „believe what I’m talking about“, and so on. ( full article here)

What is the elevator pitch? An elevator pitch is a well-thought, meaningful, and repeatedly practiced brief (about 30-60 seconds long) overview of who you are, what you offer, and how your partner can benefit from it ( full article here ).

What is audience analysis? Audience analysis gives you the opportunity to get as much information about the background of your listeners as possible. Using this information, you can prepare your message so that it builds on the interests, needs, and expectations of your listeners. ( full article here )

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• Tags: Art of public speaking , Effective speaking , Good speech , Impromptu presentation , Impromptu speaking , Impromptu talk , Making a speech , Prepare a speech , Presentation skills tips , Presentation techniques , Speech skills , Speech tips , Writing a speech

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How to Give an Impromptu Speech (21 Ultimate Tips)

Giving a speech in front of an audience is one of the most common fears in the world. It’s right up there with public speaking and death. But, what if you’re put on the spot and have to give a speech? That is going to be a nightmare for most of us!

In this blog post, we will discuss 21 tips for giving an impromptu speech. Whether you’re in a meeting at work or caught off guard at a party, these tips will help you deliver your message with confidence and style!

1. Buy Yourself a Bit of Extra Time

2.  organize your thoughts, 3. remember the key points, 4. calm yourself down, 5. try to appear confident, 6. concentrate on the audience, 7. feel free to submit you aren’t prepared, 8. go for a short and bold introduction, 9. begin with a relevant story, 10. try to speak casually, 11. try not to rumble, 12. be aware of your tone, 13. don’t rush your speech, 14. use open body language, 15. keep it short, 16. use pauses impactfully, 17. a little humor often helps, 18. don’t try to be 100% perfect, 19. ask questions, 20. end with a strong conclusion.

Time is something that you never have enough of when you’re giving a speech. If possible, try to buy yourself an extra minute or two before you actually have to deliver your speech. This will give you time to gather your thoughts and calm your nerves.

If you’re feeling nervous about giving an impromptu speech, this will give you a chance to collect your thoughts and compose yourself before you have to speak.

There are a few ways you can do this:

Ask for clarification: If someone asks you to give a speech and you’re not sure what they want, ask for clarification. This will give you a few extra seconds to come up with an answer.

Say you need to think about it: If you’re given a topic at the last minute, say that you need time to think about it. This will buy you a few minutes to come up with a plan.

Make Your Way to Stage Slowly: Take your time walking to the stage. This will help you calm down and focus on your speech.

Once you’ve bought yourself some extra time, it’s time to start thinking about what you’re going to say.

Now you have a few extra minutes to organize your thoughts. The best way to do this is to come up with an outline for your speech. This will help you stay on track and make sure that you cover all the important points.

If you’re given a topic, try to brainstorm a few ideas before you start writing. If you have time, write your thoughts.

If you’re really struggling to organize your thoughts, try using a mind map. This is a visual way to brainstorm and can be a helpful tool for getting your ideas down on paper.

Once you have a general idea of what you want to say, it’s time to start crafting your speech.

When you’re writing a speech, it’s important to remember the key points. These are the most important things that you want to say and should be at the core of your speech.

If you’re giving an impromptu speech, try to focus on these key points. This will help you stay on track and make sure that you cover all the important information.

Some key points to remember:

The introduction: This is your chance to make a good first impression. Make sure you introduce yourself and catch the audience’s attention.

The body: This is where you’ll deliver the meat of your speech. Make sure you stay on topic and cover all the important points.

The conclusion: This is your chance to wrap up your speech and leave the audience with a memorable message.

Make sure you know these key points inside out. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, try focusing on one key point at a time. This will make it easier for you to stay focused and deliver a more cohesive speech.

Once you have the key points down, it’s time to start thinking about your delivery.

It is normal to feel nervous when you’re about to give a speech. However, it’s important to try and calm yourself down before you take the stage.

If you’re feeling nervous, there are a few things you can do to calm yourself down:

Deep breathing: This is a simple but effective way to calm your nerves. Focus on taking deep, slow breaths and you’ll start to feel more relaxed.

Visualize yourself giving a great speech: This might seem like a strange technique, but visualization can be really helpful in calming down. Picture yourself giving a great speech and you’ll start to feel more confident.

Talk to someone else before you speak: If you’re feeling nervous, talking to someone else can help. This will take your mind off of the speech and give you a chance to relax.

The more relaxed you are, the better your speech will be.

One of the most important things you can do when giving a speech is to appear confident. This will help put the audience at ease and make them more likely to listen to what you have to say.

There are a few ways that you can appear confident:

Make eye contact: When you’re speaking, make sure you maintain eye contact with the audience. This will help show that you’re inquisitive in what you’re saying.

Smile: A smile is a great way to appear friendly and confident. It is also a great way to hide your nerves.

Pretend you’re speaking to a friend: If you find it difficult to make eye contact, try pretending that you’re talking to a friend. This will help you relax and make it easier to connect with the audience.

When you’re giving a speech, it’s important to focus on the audience. This will help you connect with them and make sure that they’re paying attention to what you’re saying.

There are a few things you can do to focus on the audience:

Make eye contact: Again, this is one of the best ways to connect with an audience. Make sure you make eye contact with as many people as possible.

Engage with the audience: Try to engage with the audience as much as possible. This means making jokes, asking questions, and connecting with them on a personal level.

Talk to them, not at them: It’s important to remember that you’re talking to the audience, not at them. Make sure you address them directly and keep your tone conversational.

When you focus on the audience, they will be more likely to listen to what you have to say.

If you feel like you’re not prepared for your speech, don’t be afraid to submit. Most people will understand if you say that you didn’t have time to prepare.

Actually, the audience will have less expectation if you say that you aren’t prepared. And they will appreciate your honesty.

So don’t try to wing it, because it will only make things worse. If you submit, at least you tried.

As we said earlier, your introduction is your chance to make a good first impression. So make sure you take advantage of it!

Keep your introduction short and to the point. Don’t try to be too funny or clever, because chances are high that it will only backfire.

And most importantly, don’t give away too much information about what you’re going to be speaking about. The introduction is supposed to be a teaser for the main event.

So make sure you keep it short, sweet, and to the point.

If you have a relevant story, starting your speech with it can be a great way to captivate the audience.

Starting with a story will help you connect with the audience on a personal level and make them more interested in what you have to say.

Plus, it’s a great way to break the ice if you’re feeling nervous. Besides, it will help you to get into the groove of your speech nicely.

But if you don’t have a relevant story, don’t force it. Don’t feel like you have to start with a story just because everyone else does. Just go with a simple intro.

If the event is not a formal one, it is better to speak casually. You will be remembered as a speaker who spoke comfortably and informally.

When you speak casually, it also gives off the impression that you’re more confident and relaxed. This will help put the audience at ease and make them more receptive to what you have to say.

However, if you are speaking in a formal event, you should adjust your tone and manner of speech.

Rumbling is a common occurrence when giving an impromptu speech. And it’s easy to understand why it happens. When you’re nervous you sometimes start shaking and you lose control over your voice.

Usually, speaking too quickly is the main cause of rumbling. So if you find yourself rumbling, try to slow down your speech. Take a few deep breaths and focus on speaking slowly and clearly.

Your tone of voice is just as important as the words you use. In fact, your tone can sometimes convey more meaning than the words themselves.

If you’re feeling nervous, your tone will likely reflect that. If you sound too nervous, the audience will be hesitant to trust what you have to say.

Make sure you stay aware of your tone and adjust it accordingly. However, don’t overthink it and just speak naturally.

When you’re feeling nervous, it can be tempting to rush through your speech. But this is a big mistake!

Rushing will only make you sound more nervous and it will be difficult for the audience to follow what you’re saying.

Plus, if you rush through your speech, you’re more likely to make mistakes. So take your time and speak at a comfortable pace.

Your body language can be a great way to convey confidence and authority.

If you stand up straight, look the audience in the eye, and gesture while you speak, you will come across as more confident.

However, if you slump over or avoid eye contact, it will appear that you’re unsure of yourself. So make sure you use your body language to your advantage.

When you’re giving an impromptu speech, it’s important to keep it short and sweet. No one wants to listen to a long, drawn-out speech.

The best way to keep your speech short is to focus on one main point. And make sure you get to the point quickly.

The audience will appreciate your brevity and you’ll be more likely to hold their attention.

If you need to take a pause while speaking, don’t just stand there awkwardly. There are a few things you can do to make your pauses work for you:

Use pauses for emphasis: If you want to emphasize a certain point, take a pause before and after you make it.

Pauses for transitions: Pauses can be a great way to transition from one topic to another.

Use pauses for comedy: If you’re telling a joke, pausing before and after the punchline will make it funnier.

Humor is a great way to add appeal to your speech and connect with the audience. But it’s important to use it appropriately.

Don’t force it: If you’re not naturally funny, don’t try to be. It will only make things worse.

Know your audience: Make sure you know your audience before you crack any jokes. What might be appropriate for one group of people might not be appropriate for another.

Use self-deprecating humor: If you want to make yourself more likable, use self-deprecating humor. This is a great way to show that you’re comfortable with yourself and that you don’t take yourself too seriously.

No one is perfect and you definitely don’t need to be when giving an impromptu speech. In fact, trying too hard to be perfect can actually make things worse.

When you’re nervous, it’s normal to make a few mistakes. So don’t worry if you forget what you were going to say or if you stumble over your words sometimes.

The audience will understand that you’re nervous and they’ll be more forgiving if you make a mistake. Just relax and go with the flow.

Questions are a great way to engage the audience and get them involved in the discussion.

You can ask general questions or question specific members of the audience. Just make sure you keep things moving and don’t let the conversation drag on for too long.

Your conclusion is the last impression that you leave with the audience. So make sure it’s a good one!

Make sure you recap your main points and remind the audience why they should care about what you have to say.

And if you want to leave them with something to think about, end with a call to action or a powerful quote.

If you’re looking for a good way to start your speech and get the audience on board, here are 21 of our favorite tips. But don’t worry if they all seem too difficult to follow!

We tried to include some practical advice that will help you feel confident no matter where you stand in the room. The best part is that you don’t have to memorize anything. Just focus on delivering your message in a clear and concise way and you’ll be sure to engage the audience.

We hope these tips will help the next time you’re called upon to give an impromptu speech! And remember, practice makes perfect. So the more speeches you give, the better you’ll become for such an event.

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Impromptu Speaking Skills

Preparing for last-minute opportunities.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Your boss, Amanda, is due to introduce a speaker at a conference this afternoon. But, at the last moment, she's taken ill with food poisoning and you need to take her place.

You've had almost no time to prepare, and you're worried that your nerves will get the better of you. Your reputation and credibility are now on the line, and you're not sure what to do.

Many of us have experienced situations like this in the past, but there are a number of ways that you can prepare yourself to give an effective, unplanned speech.

In this article, we'll look at why impromptu speaking skills are so important, and we'll explore how you can prepare for these last-minute opportunities.

Benefits and Opportunities

Many people feel nervous or fearful about public speaking . When you need to talk in front of people, and you've had little or no time to prepare, it's easy to feel overwhelmed.

Impromptu speaking might sound like something to avoid whenever possible, but it can open doors and lead to new, unexpected career opportunities. For example, impromptu speaking skills can give you the self-confidence you need to give a last-minute presentation, sail through a challenging job interview, or win over a difficult client.

You can build your reputation and impress leaders in your organization when you learn to speak effectively under pressure. Impromptu speaking skills can also help you deliver an elevator pitch , conduct a successful question-and-answer session, or make important connections at a networking event.

By developing impromptu speaking skills, you can learn to speak with eloquence, humor, and confidence, and you'll ensure that you can communicate your messages clearly and succinctly.

How to Build Your Impromptu Speaking Skills

Use the strategies below to develop good impromptu speaking skills.

1. Adjust Your Attitude

Impromptu speaking doesn't have to be scary – it can even be fun! Your attitude has a big impact on how well you perform, and having a positive mind-set is the foundation for success.

First, use positive thinking to try to see the situation as an opportunity to share your skills and expertise, build your reputation, and help others.

Next, take a moment to envision your success . Imagine that the speech is over: everyone is smiling and clapping. You feel great because you did a fantastic job, and you helped everyone in the room. It feels good, doesn't it?

Last, use affirmations to develop a positive, confident attitude. Consider using the following statements:

• "My audience is genuinely interested in what I have to say."
• "It's about them, not me."
• "I only have to talk to other people, it's no big deal!"
• "I will be calm and relaxed while I speak."
• "Everyone wants me to do well."
• "The audience will benefit from my expertise."

Come up with your own personal, positive, and meaningful affirmations, and repeat them to yourself before you start your speech.

You might not have a great deal of time, but use the time you do have to prepare. Think about what your audience expects you to discuss, and what your main objective needs to be.

For example, if someone invites you to speak at a meeting, think about your audience members. Why are they there? What do they need to learn about? Why were you asked to speak? What value can you provide?

If you have enough time, plan a rough outline of what you want to say using the PREP* mnemonic. PREP stands for:

• P oint – make your main point clearl in your introduction.
• R eason – state why you made your main point. Include opinion, research, statistics, and any other material that adds credibility.
• E xample – cite an example that supports your point.
• P oint – make your point one last time. Aim to link your conclusion back to your introduction.

Make sure that you're always prepared for the possibility of an impromptu speech. Keep a pen and paper with you, so that you can take notes and draft a plan. As you speak, use the PREP method to remember the points that you want to make.

3. Slow Down

Last-minute speaking opportunities can make you feel stressed, unprepared and anxious . Learn to think on your feet , so that you remain calm, cool, and collected.

If you only have a few minutes to prepare before you speak to an audience , take several deep breaths to slow down and relax. If you're in a public setting, get up from your chair slowly, and take measured steps toward the podium. This will give you extra time to collect your thoughts.

When you stand in front of your audience, resist the urge to start speaking immediately. Instead, take deep breaths to calm down and collect your thoughts. Be conscious of your body language – stand up straight with your shoulders back, and look right at the audience.

Don't apologize for being unprepared, or for speaking at the last minute. Chances are, the audience won't even notice! Instead, repeat your affirmations to yourself, and remember – the audience wants you to do well. Speak slowly, talk directly to people, and think about how you can add value or help them. Stay focused, and try not to ramble, repeat points, or get distracted.

If you're taking part in a question-and-answer session, repeat or reword questions slowly after people ask them. This will give you extra time to think about your response, and it will show the audience that you're listening actively to what the questioner asked.

It can be useful to prepare mini-speeches, stories , and jokes in advance. Practice these in front of a mirror.

A useful practice exercise is to pick a random topic. Give yourself 30 seconds to plan your outline, then talk for two to three minutes about your topic. Breathe deeply, slow down, and engage with your audience.

4. Join Toastmasters

One of the best ways to become comfortable with public speaking is to join a group like Toastmasters International . Toastmasters focuses exclusively on helping people learn good public speaking skills.

The format is simple: you meet with other members in your community, and you give prepared and impromptu speeches. There is no instructor – instead, members provide constructive feedback on your performance. This can be a practical, fun way to gain public-speaking experience.

Look for other ways to get out of your "comfort zone," too. Offer to give a toast at a friend's wedding, attend community meetings, speak about issues that are important to you, or volunteer to introduce a speaker at the next town hall meeting. The more experience you have speaking publicly, the easier it will be when someone asks you to lead a last-minute meeting.

5. Control Your Nerves

If you're nervous before you start to speak, take several slow, deep breaths. Deep breathing slows your heart rate and calms your thoughts, and it can help you to sound more confident.

It can also be useful to put things into perspective. Will this impromptu speech matter in a month, a year, or five years? And what's the worst that can happen if you don't do a good job? In most cases, this situation won't be very important if you look at the big picture, so focus on relaxing, and enjoying the experience!

Finally, learn how to manage your emotions . It's entirely possible to control nervousness; and, in fact, a good amount of nerves can even give you the edge you need to deliver an excellent speech!

During your career, people may ask you to speak publicly with little or no time to prepare. For example, you might need to chair an important meeting, give a sales presentation, or deliver an elevator pitch.

Use these five strategies to develop your impromptu speaking skills:

• Adjust your attitude.
• Take time to prepare.
• Join Toastmasters.
• Control your nerves.

* Originator unknown. Please let us know if you know who invented this model.

Sedniev, A. (2014) ' Magic of Impromptu Speaking: Create a Speech That Will be Remembered in Years to Come ,' Dallas: Primedia E-Launch LLC.

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10 top tips for delivering an impromptu speech

No time to prepare take heart – and take note..

For many of us it’s the worst-case scenario – suddenly having to deliver an impromptu presentation. Being asked to speak in public is a major challenge for many leaders. Being asked to speak spontaneously as well as publicly can catapult the task straight into the very-difficult, to-be-avoided-at-all-times-I’d-rather-die category. The negative possibilities appear grave – your brain freezes, you mumble incoherently, or you appear to lose all gravitas.

Yet these scenarios happen all the time – introducing yourself at networking events, giving a toast at a company party, unexpectedly being pulled into a meeting to give an update, having a colleague directly turn to you in the middle of a presentation for input or being asked an unexpected question on a panel.

While you may wish for thorough preparation, giving an  extemporaneous  speech can mark you out as an excellent communicator. It’s how you handle yourself when you are least prepared that often demonstrates your leadership and influencing abilities.

Here are 10 top tips for performing – and presenting – under unexpected pressure.

• Be confident – look up, breathe deeply, say to yourself something positive – ‘I’m going to be fine’.
• Focus on the audience – Every presentation, including impromptu ones, need to be audience centric. The audience will be on your side – focus on what will be useful to them.
• Less is more – Avoid the tendency to ramble. An audience is far more likely to listen if you stay on target and are succinct. In fact, they’ll love you for it. Keep it short and to the point. Remember the Power of 3 – stick to three key points.
• Have a structure – Tell them what you are going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you told them. In the main section use a simple structure. For example:
• Past / Present/ future
• Cause / Effect / Remedy
• Before / The Event / The Result
• Primacy and recency – The audience will remember the first and last things you say. Make sure these are therefore powerful and linked to your key message.
• Talk conversationally – imagine you are speaking to your best friend and let yourself be authentic and natural.
• Personalise your speech & have a relevant story . Share from personal experience. No need to research, no need to investigate, and no need to memorise anything. When in doubt about what to say, just tell a story from your past related to the situation. Stories are memorable.
• Demonstrate powerful body language – Stand tall on both feet, resist the urge to slump or fiddle, use big gestures, smile and get eye contact with your audience.
• Use a credible voice tone – Go slowly! Hurrying will increase any feelings of unease you have. Take your time. Breathe deeply. Deliver your words slowly and use pauses.
• Turn your impromptu session into a Q&A session – For lengthier impromptu speeches re-frame the session as a Q&A session, which are probably easier for you to answer individually and breaks a session up into a series of very small impromptu interventions. Also, the content comes directly from the audience, so you are guaranteed to deliver what they are seeking.

Whilst we can still enjoy the famous tongue-in-cheek Mark Twain quote ‘it usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech’, you now know what to do when confronted by the dreaded impromptu business presentation. Now all you have to do is practise on the edge of discomfort.

Appeared in Management Today – April 2018

Previous post authenticity: how to be genuine when you present, next post how to engage an audience in 3 minutes flat, contact jeremy:.

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45 Impromptu Speech Topics and Ideas

October 29, 2017 - Dom Barnard

Impromptu speeches are a great way to practice quick thinking and concise speaking – you usually have only a couple of minutes to  prepare a speech  lasting around five minutes. Even in this shorter form of speech, you still need to have a structure to what you are saying to ensure your message is understood by everyone.

If you struggle with lack of confidence, practicing with these impromptu speech topics can be a great way to build confidence for all types of speeches and conversations, whether you’re talking to someone at a business networking event or speaking at a wedding.

What is an impromptu speech?

For an impromptu speech, you’ll generally have 1-3 minutes of preparation for a speech lasting 5-8 minutes. Tougher speech events can reduce this preparation time down to 30 seconds and require you to plan your speech mentally, without any paper to write notes on.

Impromptu speeches are often given as part of university and college debates.  Oxford Union event  shown above.

These types of speeches are usually found in public speaking courses, speaking organisations such as Toastmasters and  debating competitions  (both professional and student based).

They are a great way of testing a range of communication skills, from organisation to clarity to creativity, and are becoming a popular way to practice general public speaking skills.

Practice Impromptu Speaking

Practice your impromptu speaking skills by talking about a series of random slides for 30 seconds each. Receive feedback on your performance. Learn More

Tips for picking an impromptu speech topic

Here are some quick tips and considerations for picking an impromptu speech.

• Pick a topic you are familiar with, have knowledge of and want to talk about. Personal experience on that topic is a bonus as you’ll be able to speak more naturally about it.
• Your organisational skills will be tested to come up with a powerful introduction and conclusion in your preparation to back up your argument.
• Pick a topic where the scope is limited (or you can easily limit it) as you’ll only have 5 minutes to discuss it.
• Your goal is to either inform or  persuade your audience  so choose a topic that suits these criteria

Impromptu speech topics

There are a huge amount of topic to choose from so we’ve compiled a short list of interesting topics below, some of which will hopefully inspire you or give you talking points you hadn’t previously considered.

• A non-biased news site is impossible
• The Romain Empire was the most important empire to have existed
• Keyboards will be replaced by speech-to-text technology in 10 years
• Performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in sport
• Colour affects the way people feel
• Poor health begins in the mind
• Team sports build strong individuals
• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
• Poverty is a state of mind
• What characteristics make an ideal villain?
• How would you describe an average person?
• In what situation is lying a good idea?
• Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?
• Pets are for people who don’t have children
• Real learning doesn’t occur in a classroom
• It is better to be influential than rich
• Do violent video games contribute to youth violence?
• School uniforms removes individuality
• Children should not watch television
• Art is not important to the future of the human race
• Future conflicts will be confined to online hacking
• Social customs are a waste of time
• My biggest concern for the future is…
• Climate change is a natural occurrence
• What is the most important skill for starting a business
• Space exploration advances the human race
• Parents are the most influential factors in our lives
• Sports people salaries are justified by viewing figures
• Reading fiction is a waste of time
• Going to university / college is not necessary anymore
• Facebook makes society less happy
• Anyone can be a millionaire if they work hard enough
• No extra-terrestrial species have found us because…
• Translation technology will replace the need to learn a language
• Colonizing Mars is necessary to ensure human survival
• Presidential / Prime Ministers time in office should be lengthened
• Social circles and friends are the most important factors for happiness
• Real wealth is not measured in money or possessions
• The minimum wage should be doubled
• Should adults have the right to carry a concealed handgun?
• Is sexual orientation determined at birth?
• Junk food’s popularity relies on marketing
• Both snooker and darts are sports
• Being a vegetarian is healthier than eating meat
• Renting a house is better than buying

Use any of these topics for your next impromptu speech or just as personal practice to improve your communication skills.

Impromptu Speech: Meaning, Tips And Skills

Whether it’s tackling unexpected job interview questions or bidding farewell to a colleague, we have all been in situations where…

Whether it’s tackling unexpected job interview questions or bidding farewell to a colleague, we have all been in situations where we were asked to talk about a subject on the spot. These are some examples of impromptu speech, which means exactly how it sounds.

Even though it’s often unexpected, you can always practice impromptu speaking. It not only helps you be confident in your delivery but also makes meaningful speeches that leave a lasting impression on your audience.

Meaning Of Impromptu Speech

The good and bad of impromptu speaking, how to give an impromptu speech.

When you deliver a speech without any prior preparation, it’s known as an impromptu speech. The word impromptu means without preparation or organization. While impromptu speaking may seem intimidating and not as glamorous as a well-prepared speech, it’s an essential skill to master. You may find yourself in various scenarios where you’re asked to share a few words. Here are some common instances that often encourage an impromptu speech:

Small talk at networking events or parties

Exchanging opinions in business meetings

Weddings and other celebrations

Sharing your experience when you’re leaving an organization

A speaker goes missing and you need to fill in at the last minute

As you can see, an impromptu speech can be as professional as sharing opinions in a meeting or as informal as a toast at a party. Either way, you’re expected to say something smart and meaningful.

The Good And Bad Of Impromptu Speaking

In an impromptu speech, you’re in an advantageous position as you get to choose the topics you want to talk about. You can enhance the quality of your speech by using personal anecdotes and real-life examples. As you aren’t prepared, you’re likely to deliver your speech as if you were in a conversation with another person. Speaking with conviction makes you sound confident and impresses your audience.

At the same time, impromptu speaking means not being well-prepared. Collecting your thoughts may be time-consuming if you don’t have much knowledge about the topic. Even if you’re familiar with a topic, your speech may lack relevant details. Moreover, if the audience doesn’t engage or ask questions, you may miss out on significant content.

However, speaking without prior preparation shouldn’t be so difficult. There are several strategies that can help you brush up on impromptu speaking skills and deal with any situation confidently.

Communication is an integral part of our lives and speech is one of its fundamental components. Language wouldn’t have evolved like it has without the help of speech. Impromptu speech, in particular, gives you the liberty to explore ideas, opinions and perspectives while sharing them with an audience. Here are some impromptu speech tips that’ll help you deliver your content confidently while captivating and convincing your audience of your thoughts:

Organize Your Thoughts

If you’re speaking in front of an audience unprepared, the first thing you should do is collect and organize your thoughts. When you start making points in your head, you gain clarity and direction regarding your topic. This further helps you prioritize and filter out unnecessary elements from your speech.

Go With The Flow

While formal situations such as business meetings and conferences may require you to be mindful of the information you share; informal situations like parties and gatherings can be candid and light-hearted. It’s best to be as candid as possible and not force yourself to behave in a certain way. This further helps you feel relaxed and use a conversational tone with your audience.

Share From Personal Experience

It’s best to focus on yourself and your surroundings. When you speak from personal experience, you’re not only familiar with the topic, you don’t require much preparation time. Storytelling is a great way to increase audience engagement. Personal anecdotes and examples can make a huge difference.

Start A Q&A Session

If you’re caught off-guard and you’re unsure about what to say or present, you can start your speech by engaging in a question-and-answer session. An interactive start will not only involve the audience but will also keep them captivated till the end. This is particularly helpful in situations where a speaker is absent and you’re filling in for them.

Use A Written Paragraph Approach

Speaking successfully involves the same outline as a written paragraph. There is an introduction, main idea discussion, supporting examples and conclusion. This structure is generally followed by people who prepare their speeches in advance. Following such an outline can help you organize your thoughts and improve the flow of the speech.

Working on your speaking skills should be a part of your career-development strategy. Harappa’s  Speaking Effectively course will teach you how to strengthen your communication skills and create ever-lasting impressions on people. The PAM Framework will help you understand your Purpose, Audience and Message better, while the Non-Verbal Cues framework will help you exhibit confidence. Be the speaker that everyone takes notice of. Start your learning journey today!

Explore topics such as Art of  Public Speaking , What is  Business Communication , Importance Of  Speaking Skills ,  Presentation Techniques  and  Audience Analysis  from Harappa Diaries to build a personal brand that inspires, motivates and guides others.

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How to Give Impromptu Speeches

Last Updated: September 15, 2021

This article was co-authored by Patrick Muñoz . Patrick is an internationally recognized Voice & Speech Coach, focusing on public speaking, vocal power, accent and dialects, accent reduction, voiceover, acting and speech therapy. He has worked with clients such as Penelope Cruz, Eva Longoria, and Roselyn Sanchez. He was voted LA's Favorite Voice and Dialect Coach by BACKSTAGE, is the voice and speech coach for Disney and Turner Classic Movies, and is a member of Voice and Speech Trainers Association. This article has been viewed 10,486 times.

The secret to a successful impromptu speech is to anchor it in your personal experience. Your experience may be different, but it is never "wrong". Even if you're invited to speak on something you don't know well, turn it around and speak from experience. Always "go with what you know".

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• ↑ Patrick Muñoz. Voice & Speech Coach. Expert Interview. 12 November 2019.

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How to Organize Your Five-Minute Impromptu Speech: Building Your Introduction (Part 1)

What do five minutes feel like to you? You could tell us that it’s made of up 300 seconds, in which time corn on the cob could be microwaved, a round of commercials could be played, and one kilometer be could run – at least for some of us. But the experience of five minutes is relative. It feels a lot longer if you’re waiting in traffic, than if you’re running late for class. So in this article, you’ll learn what five minutes should feel like when making an impromptu speech, by breaking down the different parts of your speech in order to create a structure that’s both organized and timely. All organized speeches have a beginning, middle, and end, also known as the introduction, body, and conclusion. Knowing how to plan the content of these parts is key to reaching a five-minute impromptu speech, especially because of the limitations you’re under with only two minutes of prep time. Why is this important? Two reasons. One: without keeping track of your time, you may end up finishing early and leaving out essential analysis. Two: many of us have a tendency to ramble and go off-topic, confusing both you and your audience in the process. So, as you map out the structure of your speech, you’ll learn how much time to allow for each part, and what content should be included to reach that timing. Let’s start with impromptu introductions, which require five key ingredients. First, the hook. All good speeches should create a strong first impression. For impromptu, hooks generally come in the form of a personal or well-known anecdote that’s related to the meaning of your prompt and thesis. If you choose a famous story, consider picking something simple that you know well, like the plot of a fable you’ve been taught or a movie you’ve watched. These anecdotes are the quickest to think of and can often be told smoothly without much preparation. For instance, if we suddenly asked you to retell the tale of Snow White, or your vacation last summer, you probably remember quite well what happened. In total, you should spend approximately 40 seconds on your hook, which is about six sentences. Second, the transition sentence or sentences. It’s important to link your hook to the prompt so the audience can see how they relate together. This link should be approximately one to two sentences, no more than ten seconds. For instance, let’s say the last sentence of your hook is, “The story of Snow White ends as a happy one, as the princess wakes up after true love’s kiss from her Prince Charming.” You wouldn’t want to immediately follow it with, “This quote by Stephen King says, “The trust of the innocent is the liar's most useful tool.” Why? Because the audience wouldn’t understand how Snow White is related to “innocence” or “liars.” So, ask yourself, what do the story and the quote have in common? Well, if you recall, Snow White was too innocent, trusting the old lying granny who sold her the apple. Let’s try to use this information to link the hook and the quote together. Your transition might be: “Fairytales such as these don’t exist, with innocent people often getting hurt rather than living out their ‘happily ever after.’” Notice how this sentence makes the connection between the hook and prompt by comparing how fairytales are different from real life. Third, the prompt and your interpretation. Even with a transition sentence, it’s helpful to add a dependent clause before you present your prompt. A dependent clause is a group of words that cannot be used alone; they instead provide additional information for the independent clause, which in this case, is your prompt. Avoid directly saying things like, “the prompt I got today is…” Be a little bit more subtle in your language. You could do this one in of two ways. One: link specific parts of the hook directly to the prompt. You could say something like this: “Snow White’s trusting actions are exactly what Stephen King described in his quote…” Two: If your transition sentence is already clear, use a conventional phrase like: “This brings me to today’s quote…”, or “Which is why we see in today’s quote…”, or “This story is fitting with today’s quote…” You can of course replace the word “quote” with proverb, word, or picture, depending on what type of prompt you’re given. Now for your interpretation. If your prompt is a quote or proverb, spending a sentence to explain its meaning is enough. Elaborate on who or what the prompt refers to and what kind of tone it sets. If there are any hidden meanings, then you might add an extra sentence or two. For word prompts, take more time to describe or define it, giving an example of how this word is commonly used. For picture prompts, read off any text, and describe the picture and its purpose. In total, introducing the prompt and your interpretation of it should take about 20 seconds. Fourth: the thesis statement, which its main objective is summed up in one clear, concise, and debatable sentence. This should take no more than five seconds. Finally, your roadmap (also called the preview), which outlines your speech’s three main points. Usually, in other speeches, your roadmap would include your three claims. However, because most impromptu speakers don’t have time to fully brainstorm these claims during prep, it’s common practice to simply introduce the three stories you plan to talk about in two or three sentences, which is your final 15 seconds. The best way to make this short and simple is to create story titles for each example or to refer to the names of the people or groups you plan to talk about. And there you have, five key parts and their timeline for building a one-minute and 30-second introduction. In the second part of this article, you’ll see an example of a good introduction, and then we’ll break down body paragraphs and conclusions.

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50 Topics for Impromptu Student Speeches

Illustration by Catherine Song. ThoughtCo. 

• Homework Tips
• Learning Styles & Skills
• Study Methods
• Time Management
• Private School
• College Admissions
• College Life
• Graduate School
• Business School
• Distance Learning
• M.Ed., Education Administration, University of Georgia
• B.A., History, Armstrong State University

For the many people who break out in a sweat at the very idea of speaking in front of an audience , the prospect of speaking on an unknown topic with little to no preparation is likely terrifying. But you don't have to be afraid of impromptu speeches. As it turns out, the secret even to off-the-cuff speeches is preparation.

Impromptu Speech Tips

• Decide on your topic
• Come up with three supportive statements related to your topic
• Prepare a strong conclusion

Use this list of impromptu speech topics to practice making a quick speech outline in your head. For each of the topics below, just think of three main points you'd like to make. For example, if your speech topic is "Your least favorite chores," you could quickly come up with three statements:

• I don't know anybody who likes to fold laundry, so the first task on my list of unhappy chores is folding laundry.
• Taking out the trash is another chore that most people dread, and I'm no different.
• The worst chore in the entire household has to be cleaning the toilet.

If you go into your speech with these statements in your head, you can spend the rest of your time thinking up supporting statements as you speak. When you've identified your three main points, think of a great finishing statement. If you end with a great closer, you'll really impress your audience.

Start Practicing With This List

• My three favorite animals.
• What you would find in my closet. Make something up.
• What you'd find under my bed.
• The best letter of the alphabet.
• Why your mom/dad is special.
• A day that stands out.
• The best surprise ever.
• If I had a million dollars to give away.
• If cats/dogs ruled the world.
• A trip to remember.
• My favorite day of the year.
• If I could only eat three foods forever.
• If I could design a school.
• Why books are important.
• Three surprising facts about me .
• How to impress your parents.
• How to plan a party.
• A job I'd love to have.
• A day in my life.
• If I could have dinner with anyone.
• If I could travel through time.
• My favorite book.
• An important lesson I've learned.
• What I've learned from cartoons.
• The smartest cartoon character.
• Three things I'd change if I ruled the world.
• Why sports are important.
• The worst chores at home.
• Why I deserve an allowance.
• If I were in charge of school lunches.
• If I had invented school.
• The best theme park rides.
• Whom do you admire most?
• What is your favorite animal?
• How to achieve your dreams.
• Why you need a baby brother.
• How to annoy an older sister.
• How to save money.
• Three things that scare me.
• Great things about snow days.
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Speak like a pro: The 8 types of speech you need to master in life

Imagine finding yourself in a situation where your shyness takes over, your throat closes up and you seem to have forgotten how to speak.

The words that usually flow effortlessly seem to have disappeared, leaving you in an awkward, painful silence. All the audience can see is how nervous and sweaty you are. It’s as if your heart is beating out of your chest too.

This is a situation we all hope to never be in. Yet, far too many of us have been there and will likely be there again — unless we master the eight key types of speech.

Why it’s important to master the 8 types of speech

In life and at work, there will be times when we’ll be called to give speeches.

Whether it’s for a big or small event, planned or impromptu, knowing the eight types of speeches can prepare you for these moments.

How persuasive should you be? Should you provide information or do you have to do more? What do you say when your mind just goes blank?

At this point, you’re probably scratching your head over how to answer these questions.

And that’s because you’re unaware of the finer details of the eight types of speech. Once you know them, things will become much clearer to you.

Then, you can truly make the most of these eight types of speech. Life is short, and it’s not every day that a loved one gets married or graduates.

And it’s not always that a friend or family member is down and distraught, in desperate need of a pep talk.

These are the big moments that we’re called upon to step up and speak up.

No matter how bad a communicator we are, we have a duty to master the eight types of speech so that when the time comes, we’re ready to do right by our friends, family and colleagues.

While anyone can give a speech, having the right intention and a general understanding of the environment and your audience can help ensure its effectiveness. Source: AFP

We benefit loads too. Knowing how to convey our ideas persuasively, share valuable information clearly, or even navigate impromptu situations with ease can take us far — especially in our careers.

In a survey of more than 1,000 corporate recruiters and staffing firms around the world, 59% say communication is the most in-demand skill they need — with 69% saying presentation is gaining the most future importance .

Another survey conducted by Hirect India found that as many as 57% of job positions in 2022 require strong communication and the ability to sell .

Being able to give speeches is just as important if you’re a leader.

One out of four employees (26%) strongly agree that their manager’s feedback helps them do better work and four out of five start looking for a new job when they get negative feedback from a manager.

Anyone can read off a paper, but you won’t be doing your life and your career any justice by settling for just this.

The good news is with the right knowledge and preparation, however, you can give the eight types of speech without a paper.

8 types of speech you should master as a student

An acceptance speech often follows an award speech and is given by the winner of the award. Source: AFP

1. Speeches of acceptance

Mastering the art of delivering an acceptance speech is an essential skill for everyone. Imagine this: you’ve just received an award or an honour, and all eyes are on you.

What do you say? How do you express your gratitude without stumbling over your words? The acceptance speech is your moment to shine. It’s your chance to acknowledge the recognition you’ve earned and thank those who played a role in your success.

A well-crafted acceptance speech typically has three key elements:

• Gratitude to the award or honorees
• Recognition and thanks those who supported and contributed to your journey towards achieving this milestone
• Explanation on why this recognition is meaningful to you

Whether it represents years of relentless effort, unwavering dedication, or triumph over challenges, your acceptance speech is the perfect platform to convey your gratitude.

Here are examples of short phrases and words you can use:

Expressing gratitude to award or honorees:

• “I am truly honoured and grateful for this recognition.”
• “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this incredible award.”

Acknowledging the support you received:

• “This achievement is not mine alone; it belongs to the amazing team that supported me.”
• “I couldn’t have done it without the unwavering support of my family and friends.”

Recognising the hard work put in: 

• “This award represents years of hard work, dedication, and countless moments of perseverance.”
• “This recognition is a reminder of the challenges we overcame and the growth that resulted.”

2. Informative speech

Informative speech is next on the list of eight types of speech you should know. 

This is a presentation that focuses on educating and enlightening the audience about a specific topic. The goal is to simplify complex concepts, ensuring the audience understands what you are talking about.

Unlike speeches driven by emotions, informative speeches rely on facts and statistics to convey information accurately. This makes them useful, especially when sharing knowledge and fostering a deeper understanding of subjects.

In these scenarios, using straightforward language backed by relevant facts and data is key to conveying information and engaging your audience. 

 Here are examples of words and phrases you can use in an informative speech:

• “I’d like to share some valuable insights about…”
• “To begin with, let’s break down the basics of…”
• “Did you know that…”
• “By the end of this presentation, you’ll have a better grasp of…”
• “According to recent studies…”
• “Building on that idea, let’s consider…”
• “To sum up, this presentation aimed to…”

3. Persuasive speech

The art of persuasion is the ability to present your viewpoint convincingly and sway others to agree with your perspective. 

Think of it as your opportunity to be a TEDx speaker, sharing your ideas and trying to convince people to align with your thoughts. 

Crafting a persuasive speech starts with clearly stating your viewpoint, supporting your arguments with strong evidence, addressing counterarguments with a well-thought-out rebuttal, and using persuasive language and techniques to sway your audience. 

Imagine having this skill when you are trying to convince your lecturer to grant you an extension on an assignment or reconsider your marks.

Much like a lawyer persuading a jury, you can present concrete evidence to support your case, making your stance more believable and potentially influencing the decision in your favour.

Emotions can also play a role, as appealing to your audience’s feelings can help them better understand your opinions and motivations.

Here are examples of words and phrases you can use in a persuasive speech:

Phrases to start with:

• “Imagine a world where…”
• “Picture this scenario:…”

State your point of view:

• “I strongly believe that…”
• “In my opinion…”

Provide evidence:

• “Research consistently shows that…”
• “Statistics reveal that…”

Addressing counterarguments:

• “While some may argue that…, it’s crucial to note that…”
• “A common misconception is that…, but a closer look reveals…”

Debate speech is one of the 8 types of speech that can be useful in your professional and personal life. Source: AFP

4. Debate speech 

Unlike persuasive speeches that aim to convince someone to join a particular side, debate speeches focus on justifying a stance on a specific matter.

Since you can’t anticipate every argument by other debaters, practising debate speeches trains your mind to respond rapidly and effectively.

This skill set is advantageous academically and in personal and professional situations where the ability to think on your feet and communicate persuasively is crucial. 

Here are examples of words and phrases you can use in a debate speech:

State your stand:

• “I firmly assert that…”
• “It is our conviction that…”

Presenting your argument:

• “To support our claim, consider the following key points…”
• “First and foremost, it’s essential to recognise that…”

Refuting counterarguments:

• “While it may be argued that…, it is crucial to note that…”
• “An opposing viewpoint suggests…, yet a closer examination reveals…”

Use persuasive language:

• “Join us in championing…”
• “Together, we can enact positive change by…”

Emphasising impact:

• “The consequences of neglecting this issue are significant, including…”

Special occasion speech is one of the 8 types of speech and includes speeches at weddings, graduation and brithday parties. Source: AFP

5. Special occasion speech

Unlike speeches that follow a set format, special occasion speeches are unique and adapt to the specific context of the event, aiming to communicate a message and capture the audience’s attention. 

Even though they are often short and upbeat, they remain interesting and direct, creating a memorable atmosphere. 

Knowing how to deliver this type of speech is useful for students in a number of situations.

For example, you may be called upon to give a speech to share your experiences and emotions with your graduating class during graduation.

Birthdays are another opportunity for a special occasion speech to express appreciation for the person celebrating and highlight special memories.

Whether introducing a speaker, accepting an award, or contributing to a joyous celebration, mastering the art of special occasion speeches allows you to communicate effectively in many social settings.

An entertaining speech is a speech designed to captivate an audience’s attention and amuse them while delivering a message. Source: AFP

6. Entertaining speech 

Want to bring some laughter and joy into your public speaking? Adding humour and entertainment is the way to go.

It’s all about making your audience laugh and have a good time while still delivering a message.

Often less formal, these are perfect for events like weddings, awards ceremonies, or even school competitions.

Whether you’re at a friend’s birthday party or a school talent show, entertaining speeches allow you to communicate emotions and bring joy through funny stories or amusing anecdotes. 

Examples of entertaining speeches can be found in various settings, from a best man’s speech at a wedding to acceptance speeches at prestigious award ceremonies like the Oscars. 

7. Impromptu speech

Having this skill means you will be able to speak confidently on the spot without prior planning. Imagine situations where you might need to step up unexpectedly, such as when your classmate suddenly falls sick and you have to take over the presenting.

The usefulness of impromptu speeches extends beyond the academic setting. They are applicable in your career as well.

For example, your boss might ask you to share a brief update or opinion on a project during a team meeting.

During a dinner party, you may also be asked to give an impromptu toast. A good one can leave a positive and lasting impression on those around you.

Knowing the right speech to handle a breakup can save you from awkward situations. Source: ETX

8. Breakup speech

While not an essential skill to have, knowing how to ace a breakup speech can save you from an awkward situation and provide you with closure.

It involves communicating the end of a romantic relationship with sensitivity and clarity. 

Breakup speeches are never easy, but knowing how to express your thoughts respectfully can help both parties navigate the situation more smoothly. 

Whether you’re ending a relationship or helping a friend through it, the ability to communicate emotions and reasons effectively is essential.

For example, if you need to end a relationship due to personal growth or changing priorities, articulating these reasons in a breakup speech can help you and your partner move forward.

Similarly, if you’re supporting a friend through a breakup, offering guidance on expressing their feelings respectfully can make the process less painful for everyone involved. 

Here are examples of words and phrases you can use in a breakup speech:

• “I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on our relationship, and it’s important for me to share my feelings.”
• “I want you to know that this decision is not easy for me, and I’ve thought about it deeply.”
• “I’ve now realised that we have different priorities and goals.”
• “It’s essential to me that we part ways amicably and with respect for each other’s feelings.”
• “I appreciate the time we’ve spent together and the memories we’ve created.”
• “I wish you all the best in your future endeavours and hope you find the happiness you deserve.”

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Travis Kelce Reveals Truth Behind White House 'Taser' Remark

During a visit to the White House, Travis Kelce said the Secret Service would stun him if he made a speech—and he wasn't joking.

The Kansas City Chiefs made their trip to the White House on Friday to celebrate winning the Super Bowl and to give President Joe Biden an honorary Chiefs helmet. As he was giving his speech on the White House lawn, President Biden called Chiefs tight end Kelce up to the podium.

"My fellow Americans, it's nice to see you all yet again. I'm not going to lie, President Biden, they told me if I came up here, I'd get tased so I'm going back to my spot alright," Kelce said, referring to the fact that last year he tried—and failed— to make a similar speech .

During Wednesday's episode of Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce's New Heights podcast, the tight end said that while many assumed he was joking, the Secret Service had actually warned him about making a speech.

Newsweek emailed spokespeople for Biden and Travis Kelce for comment Wednesday.

"That's real, the Secret Service that was all over the White House, um, they weren't too happy with me. They weren't too happy with me on my second time visiting," he said.

Travis Kelce went on to explain that the last time he went to the White House he "got s***" for attending with an expired ID so this time, he made sure to take his passport. However, as he walked in he was met with a handful of Secret Service agents.

"When I walked in we had about four or five Secret Service members come up to me and tell me, 'You know if you go up to that podium we are authorized to tase you," he revealed on the podcast.

"How about that," Jason Kelce said in response before later adding: "'We are authorized, we are completely in our rights to tase the s*** out of you.'"

"'It is actually an order for us to tase you,'" Travis Kelce responded. "So that was all that was going through my head. I had no idea that President Biden was going to ask me to come up and let me have my moment. He—I had no idea."

The NFL star said when he did make it to the podium, he "felt a taser aimed at me when I was up there the whole time." He explained that he couldn't get the comments from the Secret Service out of his mind, which is why he didn't want to push it.

In 2023, Patrick Mahomes had to intercept Travis Kelce, his Chiefs teammate, as he tried to make a speech on the White House lawn.

During the Super Bowl champions' trip to meet Biden, Travis Kelce seemingly made a play for the presidential podium, until quarterback Mahomes removed him from the mic.

A video of the moment was posted to X, formerly Twitter , by NFL journalist Ari Meirov. The clip sees Mahomes and Travis Kelce posing with Biden, who is holding up a Kansas City Chiefs jersey with the president's name and the number 46 (he is the 46th U.S. president). After they finished their photo op, Travis Kelce wandered over to the unmanned podium.

"So I've been waiting for this—" Kelce began, only for Mahomes to move him out of the way, preventing his teammate from making an impromptu speech. "I'm sorry. Sorry," Mahomes said as he ushered Travis Kelce away and back to the rest of their teammates.

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Introductory Speech

Introductory speech generator.

It would be considered rude if the speaker of the seminar was not introduced properly to the audience. How else would the crowd know on who this gentleman or lady really is and what his or her background is on that particular subject. By giving an introductory speech of the guest speaker tonight, you are allowing the audience know who he or she is as a person and what he or she has accomplished or achieved in his or her life. You may also see speech examples in pdf

These kinds of speeches are like PRs, they only tell the good parts about you and never the negative or bad parts about you. As the person assigned to give the introductory speech about the person, your only job is to provide basic background information about that person, the speaker will take care of the rest. But giving an introductory speech would be useless if you are afraid of public speaking. It is important that you learn to conquer your fears and rise above the challenge at hand. You may also check out introduction speech examples  to provide you with a better idea on how to write these kinds of speeches.

The job of an introduction speech is to:

• introduce your guest speaker
• create a welcoming, attentive ready-and-motivated-to-listen anticipation in the audience

Just like the appetizer, your job is to entice the crowd and keep them happy before feasting on the main course. Try your best to wow the audience in order for them to get hyped when the main speaker arrives. Although you have your speech laid out for you, try to add some humor and wit and maybe some jokes as an impromptu as a way to break the ice. You may also like presentation speech examples & samples

To prepare your introduction speech you’ll need:

1. the guest speaker’s name.

When you get the full name of the guest speaker, try to make sure that it is correct cause there are times that the spelling might be wrong. After getting their name, ask for the correct pronunciation of the name. Who would like to hear their mispronounced name, right? You may also check out motivational speech examples & samples

2. The guest speaker’s biography

Aside from knowing just the guest speaker’s name, you got to introduce who he really is as a person and why he or she is the right person to talk about this certain topic. State his or her credentials and what he or she has achieved. Let the audience know who they are listening to and why he or she matter. You may also see informative speech examples & samples

3. A surprise

As mentioned before, it is best to keep things in a very light manner. Nothing too serious should even be said when it is just an introductory speech. Add some jokes, laugh a bit, add humor and wit. Whatever you think that will manage to get the audience’s attention, go for it. You may also like speech examples in doc

How to organize your material

• Build excitement or interest by piling one piece of information after another.
• Make the name of the speech and the speaker, the climax and end of your speech.

Let’s pretend, for the sake of showing you how it’s done, that we’ve already gathered up all the material we need to introduce a guest speaker. You may also check out appreciation speech examples & samples

Introduction Speech Example

1. let’s put this speech in context to help you make sense of it.

The setting for this introduction speech is a conference for an organization called “ Women in Leadership” . The audience are primarily women drawn together through an interest in leadership roles. At the end of the speech, the speaker will lead the clapping as the guest takes center stage. You may also see award speech examples

2. Now here’s the speech text

She’s been a stalwart member of “Women in Leadership” for the last fifteen years. Over that time she’s served in every office: secretary, treasurer, chairperson, chief fundraiser, education officer, chief executive officer to name a few and in some roles several times over. You may also like welcome speech examples & samples

Her passionate dedication and commitment to promoting public speaking as an important component of empowerment is simply amazing and inspiring. We estimate that she has personally mentored at least 200 new speakers and has set an extraordinary “yes, you can” philosophy for many more. You may also check out valedictorian speech examples & samples

We see her as capable, confident and fluent – never at a loss for words. But what you probably don’t know is that this woman was once weak, shy, stuttered, broken and damaged. 

How she got from awkward tongue tied silence to an eloquent front line spokesperson is the story she will share with us tonight. Ladies, I give you … Katherine Watson!” You may also see persuasive speech examples & samples

3. Say the speech out loud! Use it as a template!

Try saying it out loud to get the flow of it. If you like it, use it as a model for the introduction speech you need to write.

Tips to make your introduction speech successful

1. consider tone and language use.

How are you going to build up audience interest if you do not seem motivated and interested to talk about him or her in the first place? While drafting your speech, try to consider the use of language. Is it going to be the same as every introductory speech or are you going to try and spice it up a bit? Remember that in this case, the audience matters as well. Learn on who you are talking to and how you make use of language to gauge your audience is up to you. You may also like  speech outline examples & samples

2. Check the length of your speech

Pertinent and pithy – short and sweet is what you want. One to two minutes should be enough. Try it out loud with a timer. Remember that you are simply the appetizer and not the main course. This is not your time, but the time for the guest speaker. You may also check out orientation speech examples & samples

3. Resist exaggerating or “puffing up” the speaker’s achievements

Try not to exaggerate the guest speaker’s achievements. Try no to sugarcoat the truth just to make him or her look good. It should simply be enough so that the audience can get a quick background of the speaker.

4. Always check your facts

Avoid stating on anything that the speaker is not. It will end very badly for you if you do so. If there are some sensitive issues that you know about the speaker, make sure that you ask him or her permission first before stating it out loud for the whole world to hear. You may also see inspirational speech examples

5. Remember you are the support act!

Cover only enough in your introduction to make the coming speech eagerly anticipated. Do not stray into telling the audience what the guest speaker’s speech will cover in detail.

6. Rehearse

Practice makes perfect. Try practicing in front of a mirror or in front of your family and friends so that they can judge you as to see how you are doing. Sometimes, just winging it is not enough. You have to work on it to develop the confidence you need to improve on your delivery and tone more. You can also see self-introductory speech examples to analyze on how this whole different speech is being framed and written.

Usain Bolt Introductory Speech Example

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.

Today, it is both my honor and privilege to be able to introduce you to a role model of the athletic world, a man of distinction – Usain Bolt.

Born on August 21, 1986 in Jamaica, he has distinguished himself as a world class sprinter and he currently holds the Olympic and World Records for the 100 meters in 9.69 seconds and the 200 meters in 19. 30 seconds . Wow. Amazing. I wish I could run that fast. You may also like student council speech examples

What makes his achievements all the more remarkable is the fact that they were all set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He eventually became the first man to win all three events in one of the categories in the Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984 and the first man in history to set world records in all three events at a single Olympics. His name and his achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname “Lightning Bolt”. You may also check out commencement speech examples

I am sure that you all know a great deal about his public sprinting life, but there is more to him than just running.

What you don’t know about the “Lightning Bolt” is that he enjoys dancing and is often characterized as a laid-back and relaxed character . Did you know that before sprinting, his first interested sport was cricket? He said and I quote: “that if he was not a sprinter, he would be a fast bowler instead.” But then, he wouldn’t be known as the “Lightning Bolt”, but something else. You may also see special occasion speech examples & samples

Please give a warm welcome to none other than Usain “Lightning” Bolt to share with you some words of wisdom on not giving up.

Even if you are simply the person assigned to give the introductory speech, you are still required to give it your all and be the best at what you do so that it will leave a good impression to the audience that you have respect for the work that you do and that you take it seriously. You may also like examples of writing a short speech

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Create an Introductory Speech for a new community project.

Write an Introductory Speech for an academic seminar series.

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Watch Tennessee Rep. John Rose give a sober defense of Donald Trump while his son, 6, makes goofy faces behind him

• Kathleen Livingstone , Freelance Reporter
• Published : 16:24 ET, Jun 3 2024
• Updated : 0:59 ET, Jun 4 2024
• Published : Invalid Date,

REPRESENTATIVE John Rose has been overshadowed by his young son, who brought some light-hearted fun to Congress by making silly faces while his father gave a speech.

Rose stood at the House podium on Monday to share his opinion on former president Donald Trump 's conviction on 34 felony counts in his hush money trial last week.

The Tennessee Republican characterized the trial as a political prosecution that was unfair and emphasized the "terrible precedents" set by the ruling.

Rose maintained a somber appearance throughout the speech, alternating between reading and looking at his listeners with seriousness.

But Rose's 6-year-old son Guy did not seem interested in his father's talk — so he made his own entertainment instead.

In a clip captured on CSPAN by Sky News , the child is first seen sitting behind his dad with a wide grin on his face as he oscillates back and forth in his bench seat.

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As the speech goes on, Guy appears to get even more listless.

He begins to widen his eyes and open his mouth in funny shapes and sizes, as if looking in a mirror.

As Rose began saying, “Regardless of one’s opinion of the current Republican nominee, we’d be well served to remember the long and cherished tradition we have in this country of settling our political differences at the ballot box,” Guy stuck out his tongue and shook his head, making himself (and many viewers) grin all the more.

Towards the end of the clip, the adorable boy begins playing with his hands and forming shadow puppets for a few seconds.

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Rose seems blissfully unaware of the game his oldest child is playing behind him.

CONGRESSMAN FOR A WEEK

Guy is reportedly accompanying his father in the Capitol all week to give his wife a break from childcare responsibilities.

The kindergartener is off school for the summer , Rose's office explained in a statement to Newsweek .

"This is his first chance to 'job shadow' his dad as the two spend the week together," Blake Stevens, Rose's press secretary told the weekly journal.

"The Congressman's youngest son, Sam (3), and his wife, Chelsea , are back in Tennessee as she works full-time, so the Congressman is giving a little relief as both boys are home this summer," the statement continued,

ONE THING EVERYONE CAN AGREE ON

Guy's impromptu performance has made him the darling of both Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

This is what I get for telling my son Guy to smile at the camera for his little brother. John Rose

After Rose saw the clip, he shared a copy to his X profile with a caption that said it all.

"This is what I get for telling my son Guy to smile at the camera for his little brother," the GOP member captioned the post .

Hundreds of people liked the adorable video and dozens left comments.

Even Aaron Fritschner, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Representative Don Beyer — a Democrat from Virginia, reposted the funny clip.

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"So sorry I was slow responding to your email, I was tied up watching this over and over again," Fritschner wrote on X.

"One of the more exciting things to happen on C-SPAN," tweeted John Lovett, a DC-based media analyst.

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• Donald Trump

Trump in Arizona: Former president predicts apocalyptic future for America if not elected

Former President Donald Trump predicted an apocalyptic future for America if he isn’t returned to office during a speech that included scorn for President Joe Biden and an impromptu kiss for former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Trump's characteristically meandering comments on Thursday delighted thousands of supporters at his first political rally since his conviction on 34 felony charges in New York last week. It was his first trip to Arizona since October 2022.

Trump’s remarks preceded questions from the crowd at a time when many polls show Trump leading national polls and in Arizona, though the fallout of his conviction is still being gauged.

“Joe Biden is the worst president in history,” Trump said to cheers. “Jimmy Carter is a brilliant president by comparison.”

By turns, Trump bragged of the nation’s border security on his watch and invoked bloodshed involving illegal immigrants on Biden’s. Trump called his New York trial a “rigged” case and said his only crime was winning the 2016 election.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

He promised a wholesale shift of government resources to combating illegal immigration and drug cartels if he returns to office.

“We will put the cartels out of business, and I will make clear to every federal department and agency that we must use any and all resources to stop this invasion of our country, including moving thousands of troops if necessary currently stationed overseas to our own borders,” he said.

“We protect other countries, but we don’t protect our own country.”

Early in Trump’s remarks, the speech took an extended detour when Trump summoned Arpaio to the stage. The two men had an awkward embrace and Trump told the crowd he gave Arpaio a kiss.

During a brief turn at the podium, Arpaio gave an emotional thanks to Trump, who he said showed repeated interest and kindness to his wife.

The two men are linked by their shared interest in a border crackdown and with Trump’s unexpected rise to the White House in 2016. Arpaio was an early vocal supporter of Trump, and Trump gave his first presidential pardon to Arpaio, who was convicted of a misdemeanor for criminal contempt of court for his acknowledged disobedience of a judge's 2011 order that barred his traffic patrols that targeted immigrants.

Ahead of Trump’s town hall event at Dream City Church in north Phoenix, Arizona Democrats countered his visit with a news conference of their own.

Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano cast Trump as “unhinged” and a threat to U.S. democracy.

“We know that Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans see Arizona as a testing ground for election conspiracy theories and denialism,” Bejarano said. “This is ground zero of what has become our entire country’s struggle against misinformation and false claims.”

Biden’s campaign has reminded voters that Turning Point Action, the organization hosting Trump on Thursday, sent seven buses of students to Washington to participate in the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.

None of the Democrats' concerns mattered inside the church, where Trump focused on his core issues of border security and an economy he claimed was better under him.

Trump said the nation has 18 million illegal immigrants, a figure far above the 12 million estimate usually presumed for the country and a condition he fully blames on Biden.

He cast Biden repeatedly as bumbling and demented, falling out of airplanes and helicopters in Trump’s telling.

“Illegal immigration is hurting Blacks and Hispanics more than anyone else,” Trump said. He underscored his improved standing with both demographics as a sign they are abandoning Biden and Democrats.

Kevin Munoz, a Biden campaign spokesperson, shot back that Trump derailed a bipartisan border security bill by encouraging House and Senate Republicans to reject it and deny Biden a political victory.

“Donald Trump is exactly what Americans hate about politicians. He’s the worst of Washington," Munoz said. "He’s in it for himself, not you. He single-handedly killed a bill the American people overwhelmingly supported, and is now crying the system is broken. It’s broken because of you, Don."

Trump didn’t address the hush money payments he paid to a porn star to conceal their sexual relationship ahead of the 2016 election. Instead, he blasted the judge overseeing the case.

“I just went through a rigged trial in New York, with a highly conflicted — and I mean highly conflicted — judge, where there was no crime. It was made up, fabricated stuff,” Trump said.

Trump kicked off his remarks by praising several Arizona congressmen and candidates in turn.

He lauded Republican U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs, Eli Crane, Paul Gosar and Debbie Lesko. He didn’t mention the state’s other two congressional Republicans, Juan Ciscomani and David Schweikert, both of whom could face difficult reelections.

Trump also praised two of his key endorsements: U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake and congressional candidate Abe Hamadeh.

He called Lake “a friend of mine” and a “really incredible woman” amid reports of a cooling of their friendship. While Lake was once rumored to be a possible vice presidential pick, Trump predicted she will be Arizona’s “next senator.”

Hamadeh, he said, is “doing a really terrific job” and repeated the baseless claim that Arizona’s 2022 elections were also “rigged.”

Trump’s visit was a town hall event hosted by Turning Point Action, an Arizona-based group that has promoted his false election claims and is leading a multistate get-out-the-vote effort in the 2024 election.

Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of the Turning Point-affiliated entities, ripped Democrats for prosecuting Trump and likened Democratic rule to the Nazi fascists the U.S. battled on the beaches of Normandy 80 years ago.

Kirk mentioned those who took part in the D-Day invasion in 1944.

“They were fighting against totalitarianism, fighting against a dictatorship,” Kirk said. “But 80 years later, if we are honest with ourselves, that very same totalitarianism is now here in this country.

“The very same dictatorship that our leaders were fighting, our greatest generation was fighting against, are now here in this country.”

Trump’s visit was part of a swing through Arizona, Nevada and California.

Arizona, a swing state in this year’s presidential election, has been roiled by Trump’s charges against the country’s political and legal institutions. 

Trump’s false claims about elections continue to fuel conspiracy theories in Arizona races up and down the ballot. A grand jury has indicted the Republicans who falsely certified that Trump won the 2020 presidential election — an accusation that Arizona Republicans dismiss as politically motivated.

Traveling to Valley: 5 questions (and answers) ahead of former President Donald Trump's Phoenix visit

Turning Point Action is taking the opportunity to mobilize supporters in a state where Republicans’ campaign field presence has lagged behind the Democrats’. 

The organization encouraged attendees to apply for a job with their multistate get-out-the-vote effort and offered an “expedited” interview process on-site at Thursday’s event.