Extempore Speaking instructions.doc

7/14/2019 Extempore Speaking instructions.doc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/extempore-speaking-instructionsdoc 1/6

http://essaybank.ukessays.com/sample-essays/management/business-schools-of-asia-

pacific.phpExtempore SpeakingExtempore Speaking: What is it?

Extempore speaking is the term used for a non-formally prepared speech. Explaining to your parents whyyou arrived home later than your curfew is a form of extempore speaking. When you watch a beauty

pageant on television and the contestants have to draw a question and answer it for the judges, they are

extempore speaking. Every time you speak you are preparing for extempore speaking. You probably preparewithout even knowing it. You have to read to learn new things for this type of speaking. When doing

extempore speaking, you need to use the knowledge that you have and use a strong delivery.

There comes a time in every one’s life when he or she will have to give an impromptu speech. It may be for

anything – a radio interview, a teacher trying to get you to speak up in class, or even in a casual debate. It

happens more often than most people would think. The words we speak are chosen at the point of delivery

and they flow back and forth, with communication being two-way, three-way or four-way. It is all donewithout any preparation.

The key to extempore speaking is that the words spoken are chosen as we speak them, and what is deliveredis a stream of consciousness that is fluent, erudite and articulate, while being unscripted. Effective

extempore speaking always has the purpose of the presentation and the impact on the audience at its heart.

In an extempore/impromptu speaking, it is important to speak to the purpose and to consider carefully whateffect you want to have on your audience, then the notion that it is possible to simply choose the right words

at the point of delivery, without any kind of preparation, is at best naive and at worst disastrous. Even the

few who are capable of it will admit to significant preparation when the stakes are high.

Not only that, you have to consider how long to speak for. Effective speakers, in their preparation, also

consider the audience at all times. They ensure that they speak to the audience they have in front of them,

rather than the audience they would like to have in front of them.

Topics to expect

Generally, the extempore topics are not very tough. The topics range from something very personal likehobbies, academic background, a particular or recent incident, a common saying or proverb or an issue of

current affair. So be prepared to speak on anything and everything.

How to go about it?

While you get the topic, do not rush to start even if you feel that you are well versed with the topic. Take

some time to gather your thoughts according to points. And then start with the first point and carry on with

the flow. Since the duration of your speech will be very less, your time will end before you can actually talk on all the points which you had arranged. So it would be best to prioritize your points and say accordingly.

It should not so happen that you start your introduction to the topic and as soon as you think of coming to

your main points, you are interrupted by the panel informing you that the time is over.

There are also possibilities that you may not be able to come up with enough points and finish in few

seconds only. So even if you don’t have much idea about the topic given to you, or can’t gather much pointin the initial few seconds, while speaking, try to think about other related points.

But make sure that you follow a particular structure of introduction, main body and conclusion otherwise it

will just be a haphazard collection of words. But these should be absolutely crisp and to the point. Don’tdrag one point for long.

http://essaybank.ukessays.com/sample-essays/management/business-schools-of-asia-pacific.php






If you don’t have much to say on your topic or can’t think of many points, then arrange your introductory

points in a manner which will give you a good start. If you can recollect some relevant points during your introduction, you can also say that but keep in mind that you start it in an appropriate manner.

Practice speaking for a minute

Though there can be a varied range of topic and you really cannot presume what your topic can be, but still

you have to practice. The best way to practice for extempore is to practice speaking for a minute or two

every day. Since you can be given any topic, you can start your practice with a simple topic and move on to

a little higher level. For example, let the topic be your favorite color. Then in front of your friends or seniors, speak for a minute. Ask them to keep an eye on the watch so that you don’t exceed the time limit.

Don’t forget to take feedback from your friends or seniors who are judging you. Keep a check on your bodylanguage, diction and speaking. Don’t be too conscious while speaking. Utilize the first few seconds in

collecting your thoughts and get going about it.

In this way, you can choose a topic everyday based on your profile, the subject you studied, your interests,

person who inspire you and anything you can think of which might appear in your extempore.

Here’s some advice on how to give a good impromptu speech:

Know your direction. You’ve got to know how you want to deliver your speech before you actually speak.

Should you go the serious, awe-inspiring route, or the hysterical, laugh-a-minute path? The best way youcan make a decision is to get a quick feel for your audience. What type of people are they? What direction

would they most accept? Your speech will be praised significantly more if you speak in a language that

works with those listening.

Prepare some backup. It isn’t uncommon to forget what you were going to say. What separates a good

speech from a disaster is how well you can catch yourself. It’s good to have a backup plan for the timeswhen your mind suddenly blanks. That way, if you’re caught without something to say, you can maneuver

yourself out of that situation gracefully instead of gibbering and shaking in a nervous sweat. In serious

situations, you can bail yourself out with a polite way of excusing yourself. If you’re going for laughs, it’sokay to be candid about your mental block.

Plot a course. Before you speak, try to make a quick mental outline of what you want to say. Some of the

worst speeches came out of people who didn’t take a moment to organize their thoughts before openingtheir mouths. Your outline doesn’t even have to be in-depth; all you really need is a guide to help keep your

thoughts on track.

Keep it short and sweet. Impromptu speeches aren’t expected to be long, epic narratives. In fact, the more

concise you get the better. A lot of people tend to hide their nerves and their being unprepared by using a lot

of words. The problem is - they tend to miss the point when they do this. Speaking clearly and with as few

words as possible shows confidence in your own opinions and that makes you a much better public speaker than those who just seem to rely on their wide vocabularies.

Watch your words. Lastly, you’ve got to listen to yourself. You do not want to say something you’lleventually regret. Some things might be private matters to others in the audience, or certain words can be

offensive to others. Even the tone in which you speak affects the reception of your speech. Listen to the

words that are coming out of your mouth to make sure you’re saying what you want your audience to hear.

Flow of an Impromptu or Extempore Speech:

Grab a pen and a piece of paper Hijack the topic & make it your own



Jot down interesting or significant points

Feel free to acknowledge that you have not prepared for a speechBegin with your introductory sentence, elaborate it, then start working your way to your ending sentence

As you deliver your speech, concentrate on diction and tone

What if You Draw A Blank?

If you have time before your speech, create an outline of the major themes or points and commit it to

memory with a memorization trick, like an acronym. Don't try to remember the entire speech in detail; just

remember the order of important points.

The Beginning: Ask for Ten Seconds

The start of any presentation is vital, since it is when you establish your credibility with the audience and begin to get into a rapport with them. Any type of opening can be used in any presentation, but you have to

be aware of the context of the presentation (analysis) when thinking about the opening.

Although, the best presenters often break the rules regularly and combine his own analysis with what is

there as written protocol.

The following are explanations of how you can start a speech or presentation.

The Questioning Opening

To be or not to be? Now that’s a good question. Starting with a question and going on to either answer it or give a discourse on the many facets that might go to making an answer, is another technique for opening a

presentation.

Be sure when considering the ‘questioning’ opening that you are not merely doing it to start your speech,

rather you should be trying to get them interested, engaged or inspired by what you are going to say.

The Factual Opening

This technique involves playing it pretty straight, telling in advance what you are going to cover in the

proceeding minutes.

Mahatma Gandhi, on 24 February 1916 in Benares, used a measured, factual opening in one of a series of

speeches that strove for independence for India. A few simple facts, established inside a minute or two and a

devastating final two sentences set out his thesis that there was no salvation for India under the then presentgoverning structure.

This opening is appropriate when you understand that the situation demands you to get to the point quickly,you want your audience to immediately know where you are going, or you want to make sure they get the

structure of your presentation right at the beginning.

It could be useful when you have to speak on a very technical matter and there is a real necessity that theaudience know where you are going and you will then give signposts along the length of your presentation

that refer back to the opening.

The Surprising Opening

Shocking or surprising the audience at the beginning is an excellent way of gaining attention at the start,

though it is obviously a bit riskier than the factual opening.

The surprising opening can be a visual experience, through a picture on a slide, a sensory experience or

simply be spoken by the presenter. It has the effect of juxtaposing what the audience expects with what theyreceive.



An example of a surprising opening would be the speaker saying “I have two passions in my life:communication and making soup!” and then going on to explain the trials and tribulations of soup-making,

recipes included.

This has the effect of engaging those who do make soup, and intriguing those who don’t. The link is made

when they speaker say- ‘it is important to know not only what to put into your soup, but also what to leave

out - just like creating a presentation.’

Be aware of the risk of trying too hard with the surprising opening. Also, putting all your eggs in this one

basket means that if it is unsuccessful you will have work to do in creating rapport.

It is possible to create a surprising opening that has no connection whatever with the topic of the

presentation (it could be about the venue, about yourself or how you got there) but it is better if the

connection is eventually made with the topic at hand, and runs as a theme through the presentation.

The surprising opening may also be a bald, bold and bluntly stated opening statement that gets right to the

point, with no preamble or beating about the bush.

The Reveal OpeningRather than give all the facts in a summary right at the beginning, the reveal opening toys a bit with the

audience and has them guessing what you might be going to talk about, peeling back a few layers about thesubject as you begin.

Stanley Baldwin’s speech on 6 May 1924 in London is a gradual peeling back from beginning to end of what it is like to be English. The final line is “We still have among us the gifts of that great English race.”

Everything leading up to that was a sentimental journey, through an England that never existed outside the

mind of the speaker.

Baldwin speaks of “the anvil of the country smithy, the corncrake on a dewy morning, the sound of the

scythe against the whetstone, and the sight of a plough-team coming over the brow of a hill…” He continuesin that vein, revealing an England that evokes nostalgia as it peels back the layers towards the peroration

that talks of “brethren, justice and humanity” of the English race.

Peppering the first few minutes with clues for the audience can draw them into your talk in a seductive way,and in a completely different way from the factual or surprise opening. You will have to ensure that your

pace of delivery is right. If used effectively you can gradually draw the audience into your way of thinking.

The Oblique Opening

Setting a false trail and having your listeners’ guess where you might be going to say can engage and

captivate an audience, especially if they have turned up expecting something fairly mundane and staid.

A good, and if you like, standard way of creating an oblique opening is to start by telling the audience all of

the things you might have included, but have decided not to include on this occasion.

This can be an interesting and enjoyable journey and allows you to home in on your topic without doing the

obvious of simply starting with what you are going to tell them.

Salman Rushdie spoke in 1991 about the value of his life. The opening takes us up in a hot air balloon that

is careering towards the ground. He then describes a Balloon Debate, a form of entertainment that has

individuals defending the merits of famous people in a balloon to save them from being jettisoned.



He returns to the balloon theme at the end, stating simply that “the balloon is sinking into the abyss”, a

powerful metaphor for his own situation and that of the democratic world.

This is a classic oblique opening, where an audience is expecting, and eventually gets a very serious speech

on a life and death topic but is treated to an entirely different journey at the outset.

Important Topics for extempore speaking

What's your dream job?This is your ideal chance to sell your aptitudes that fit the job description you would be offered after

completing the program. Show an interest in finding new ways of using the skills you will acquire during

the course period and also that you can be put to use in new roles with additional responsibilities.

"My dream job would include the execution of all of the theoretical and practical knowledge I will gain

from the program. Also, all the responsibilities and duties in the position of a manager will be handed over to me in my dream job. I also thrive in a fast-changing environment where there's business growth. Your

plans include attracting international placement during the next year, and this would satisfy one of my

ultimate goals of being involved in an international corporation."

What color is your brain?The point is not to stump you, but to find out what makes you tick. When the standard extempore topics are

presented, people are prepared and it's harder for the recruiter to get to know the real person. The point is tosee how creative you are and how you think. Be sure to explain why you answered the way you did.

"My brain is red because I'm always hot. I'm always on fire with new plans and ideas."

Consider the following scenario: You are placed in a company after completion of your program. One

evening you are working late and are the last person in the office. You answer an urgent telephone call toyour supervisor from a sales rep who's currently meeting with a potential client. The sales rep needs an

answer to a question to close the sale. Tomorrow will be too late. You have the expertise to answer the

question, but it's beyond your normal level of authority. How do you respond?

This response shows that the candidate is confident in his or her ability and can be counted on in an

emergency. Similarly, your answer should indicate that you're not afraid to be the decision maker in a tough

situation, even if the situation's beyond your normal level of authority.

"I'd get all the pertinent information, taking well-documented notes. I'd answer the question based on my

knowledge and the information provided. I'd leave my supervisor a note and fill him or her in on the detailsthe next morning. I'd be sure to explain my decision, as well as the thought process behind it."

Online learning

In today’s world, many adults find themselves unsatisfied with their college and institution and wish for

something more but demands on their time and schedule make this seem impossible. The good news is that

the Internet has many online learning opportunities available that allows one to gain a higher education,learn new skills, and become more marketable. And the great thing about the benefits of online learning and

online education is that one can get an education according to their own schedule and can do it from the

comfort of their own home. In fact, thousands of working professionals have been able to increase their knowledge and jobs skills without ever having to enter a classroom, thanks to online classes.

Your response towards online learning could be favorable or unfavorable, but don’t be indifferent towardsthis topic as this shows that you have no idea about the latest revolutions. Your response could be, “Online



Learning could be considered as learning in the virtual classroom. While there are indeed many solid career

opportunities available today, the market place is extremely competitive, making higher education thatmuch more vital to successfully landing the job of one’s own dreams. But one of the leading concerns for

students, as well as working class, is to consider entering the world of expensive education. Fortunately,

there are plenty of distance learning courses that make it possible for willing students to learn from thecomfort of their own home without having to worry about many other expenses like commutation expenses,

lodging and boarding expenses, etc. Plus, these distance learning programs have been gaining a good degree

of credibility throughout the professional world, so one can be confident of receiving an education that will

be acknowledged by major companies.”

Are MBA Salaries Still on the Rise?

These questions help the panel in understanding ‘what is your actual aim- Knowledge or mere Money?’ If

you crave for mere Money, i.e. you are driven by the high salary hype, you will not be considered a good

candidate as money minded people generally don’t concentrate on effectiveness and quality.

Your response to this question could be, “This depends on the situation of the individual student and other

factor such as, the type of industry they are in, the company for which they are employed, and the prior skills they bring with them into the workforce. Attending an MBA school still has the potential to raise your

value and increase your personal bottom line, but it is not a guarantee. However, the economy has already begun to turn around, and many financial organizations are posting large profits again and have begun to

recruit MBA graduates for a variety of positions. MBA holders work in a variety of positions, includingfinancial controllers, senior financial analysts, project managers, marketing directors, and of course as CFOs

and CEOs. Salaries for these elite positions can be much higher than mid-level jobs.”

How has the Economic downturn changed the Outlook for MBA's?

This topic again will introduce your actual thoughts to the panel. In reality, the economic downturn hasactually changed the outlook for MBA’s. Those who were sheer driven by the money behind MBA degree

have taken a U-Turn and made way for those who are in real wanted to pursue this course for making an

established career.

So your response could be positive like, “It is still as good a time as any to earn an MBA. In fact, as the

economy begins to turn around – and all indications point to that process already beginning – more

opportunities for management specialists will be available. Most companies were forced to decrease their staffs using steps such as early retirement and lay-offs in order to survive the economic downturn. As the

economy begins to swing upward, these companies will be seeking managers that are not only experienced,

but are also knowledgeable about the many legal changes that have been instituted during the crisis. Thismeans if one undergoes earning an MBA today, he or she will likely be taught the legal changes as they are

implemented. The goal of the MBA is to provide the company with the experience and knowledge that will

put oneself in high demand in corporate world. MBA programs around the world are adapting their

curriculums to reflect the changes made in today’s business world. An MBA will strive to provide thecompany with a better understanding of the new economy.”

Documents

Extempore Speaking instructions.doc