Have you been put on spot and asked to speak impromptu?
Maybe you're in a job interview and they asked a question you never prepared for or thought about..
Or maybe one minute you're sitting quietly in a meeting and the next minute your boss unexpectedly asks you for an update about the project in front of the entire team
...without having enough time to think, gather, and organize your thoughts.
Personally..
It's been the most difficult aspect of public speaking for me and took me very long time before I was able to speak impromptu.
You see Reader...
Most people struggle even with prepared presentations and talks and if you add an extra layer of difficulty with NOT having enough time to think what to say and not knowing how to say it...
You see how quickly it can become a "nightmare" for someone already struggling with speaking nerves.
This is exactly what happened to me back in 2019 at a social event...
When I was asked a simple question and put on spot during an interview to the media team from our university and it became my worst nightmare.
You get the idea... Why impromptu speaking can be challenging for most.
Having said that...
What if I told you there's a simple hack & frameworks to facing this challenge head on?
Yes, I'm gonna give 2 frameworks to tackle any impromptu speaking situation.
The goal is to help you with organising your response and you know what to say and how to say it without freezing up and rambling on and on without knowing how to end it.
Framework #1: What, So What, Now What
This is specially helpful for situations like giving an update on a project.
Let me break it down for you:
What:
What is the update? Yeah.. it's simple as that.
What is the most important thing you want to include as "the update"?
For example:
"We launched the new "Save for Later" feature on our shopping app."
So What:
Now that you've given the update, why is the update so important?
Why should it matter to your boss, or the team, or the company you work for?
This really is where you spell out the impact of the update that you've given in the previous step.
For example:
"It matters because a lot of users were abandoning their carts. Now, they can come back to saved items, which should increase purchases."
Now What:
Finally, what is the next step?
What is gonna happen next that your boss or team should be aware of.
For example:
"We’ll monitor usage data over the next two weeks and tweak it based on user feedback."
Framework #2: PREP method
This fraework is used to respond to questions that are specific to a topic.
For example, "What's your take on AI generated content?", "What do you think about public speaking training?" etc.
P: Point
You start by making a clear and concise point you want to convey... like a statement.
For example:
"Public speaking is like a muscle that must be trained regularly"
R: Reason
Then you give the reason why the point you're trying to make is important or relevant.
Here you give further evidence in support of your main point. Continuing with the previous example...
"You see... in order to gain physical strength, you need to do exercise at the gym a few times a week. Not just once in a while and expect to see six-packs one day. Similarly, you gotta train public speaking like a physical muscle."
E: Example
here you can give a relatable real-life example or tell a relevant mini story that illustrates and backs up your main point...
"When growing up... I used to not speak in public at all and I always felt tremendous hesitation and resistance whenever I had to speak on my feet. But once I made a habit of speaking publicly every week, impromptu speaking has become lot easier."
P: Point
Here's when you'll conclude by re-emphasizing the main point...
"So... I firmly believe public speaking is a muscle like our physical muscles and must be trained regularly"
There you go, now you have 2 frameworks to guide you what to say and how to say when responding to an impromptu question.
That's a wrap!
-Waqas
P.S.-- Reply "Impromptu" and I will send you a compact PDF guide on these 2 frameworks that you can keep handy for future use.
This week I'm visiting New York City for the first time but it was excruciatingly hot and humid to explore anything. Temp going in tripple digits.
I felt grateful to be living in Colorado ;)
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