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Lesson 21 - Impromptu Speaking, part 2
In our previous article, we looked at basic ways to organize an impromputu
(unprepared) speech. You can quickly organize your thoughts by either a) putting them in chronological (time) order or by b) comparing two
possibilities or by c) thinking of a problem and its solution. Here are more advanced ideas. You will need to practice using these,
but that is why you should join Toastmasters! You not only need practice in applying these approaches, you also need to practice
choosing the best approach to suit your particular message.
One appoach is the Past – Present – Future (PPF) approach. This seems the same as the chronological method, but it is quite
different. The chronological approach can be used in any time frame – all in the past or all in the future, it doesn't matter. But with the
PPF approach, you need to first look at the history of your topic, then describe the current situation, then speculate on the future. This
is much more challenging than simply saying “first... second... third...” but can be quite powerful when used in the right situation, for
example when talking about a company or an organization with a long history and bright future, or when talking about an idea that has been
used at other time in history.
Another excellent advanced approach is the PREP method. PREP stands for Point, Reason, Example, and Point again. This approach
is good when you have one main point you want to emphasize. By giving a reason, you appeal to people's logical left brains. When you give an
example, you appeal to their emotional right brains. And when you repeat the point at the end, you help them remember. You can't use this
approach when you have more than one idea or solution to consider, but when you only have one idea or solution, try it!
When you are talking about something quite unknown or unfamiliar, a good approach to use is the Possibilities (P) approach.
You can start with, “One possibility I can think of is...” and go from there. If, after you describe the first possibility, you think it's
a good one, you can stop there. If you think the first possibility is not the best, you can come up with another idea. Finally, at the end
of the speech, you can tell the audience which possibility you prefer.
So, whether you choose PPF, PREP or just plain P method, you can make your point strongly, even without time to prepare.
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