Chien Kung Senior High School

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Tips for Giving Impromptu Speeches in English

• Johanna E. Katchen (???)National Tsing Hua
  University
• (?????????)katchen_at_mx.nthu.edu.tw
• http//mx.nthu.edu.tw/katchen/

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Whats the Purpose of Impromptu Speaking?

• Imagine your are at a formal reception or even a
  dinneror an international student gathering
• You are introduced to someone you never met
  before, someone who does not speak Chinese
• What do you say?

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• The other person, using English, asks you some
  questions
• Whats the weather like in Taiwan?
• What do young people do for entertainment?
• So what do you think about Taiwan independence?

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What would you say?

• Nothing. There is no conversation.
• I dont know. If, after the third question,
  you still say I dont know No conversation.
  What a boring guy! Or worse What a stupid
  guy!
• Say what you really think in Chinesebut in
  English. Good approach, but be careful. You
  might start an argument.

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• Say something intelligent and clevermost native
  speakers cant even do that. Can you do that in
  Chinese?
• What would you expect of yourself in Chinese?

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What will we talk about today?

• Preparing yourself
• Preparing the speech
• Delivering the speech
• Some practice

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1. Preparing Yourself

• The more you can find out about a situation in
  advance, the better prepared you will be

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Observe Others

• Attend speech contests as part of the audience to
  observe and analyze how others give speeches
• Pay attention to the kinds of rules of
  regulations there are these may be different
  depending on the kind of speech contest
• Get used to how long three minutes is

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• Start paying attention to speakers in all sorts
  of situations note their body language, their
  pauses and breathing, their pronunciation, and
  other factors
• Ask yourself what specific features they are
  using to connect with their audience
• Example When do local politicians use Mandarin?
  When do they use Taiwanese?

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Practice, Practice, Practice

• Try giving yourself topics to practice with
• Give yourself 10 minutes to prepare it
• Give your talk to some trusted friends and ask
  them to criticize it
• Record yourself by audio or video and criticize
  it yourself

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• Time your speech when you give it have your
  friends ring a bell or give a signal at 2 minutes
  30 seconds, etc.
• Make your practice situation as authentic as
  possible and practice as often a possible

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What Should I Wear?

• Young menat least a button-down shirt tucked
  into your trousers
• Young womenskirt and blouse or a dress
• Find out what other people wore at the event last
  year
• Dont wear anything too unusual, including in
  your hairstyle
• Look neat and clean

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2. Preparing the Speech

• In a typical speech contest, you are given 10
  minutes to prepare
• Its easier if you are allowed to write down some
  notes to help you sort your ideas

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The Topic You Are Given

• The specific topic you get is pure chance, but
  there are certain kinds of topics usually given,
  and you should include all types in your practice
• Some topics concern issues in the news, either in
  Taiwan or in the world. You can prepare by
  reading one of the local English newspapers.
  What are hot topics these days?

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• Some topics will be about Chinese culture current
  and past, and their relationship. Does blood
  type determine a persons character?
• Some topics will be general, such as My Mother
  or An Embarrassing Experience or What can we
  learn from the past?
• Some topics might be completely crazy, such as
  Can love cure a cold?

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Narrowing the Topic

• Have you ever listened to politicians answering
  questions? Do they always answer every question
  directly?
• Look at the topic you are given and then think of
  what aspect of it you could say something
  intelligent about

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• Focusing on a specific aspect is usually better
  than saying some general things
• Your job in your introduction is to make the
  connection between the topic given and the topic
  you will talk about, to lead the audience from
  the given topic to your aspect of that topic
• Examples

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Pollution in our parks
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Are left-handed people more creative?
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Making Notes

• Remember main points supported by examples or
  details
• Dont write full sentences if you dont have to
  KISS PrincipleKeep It Simple, Stupid!
• Use mostly content wordsnouns, verbs, adjectives

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Structure

• Introduction
• Two or three main points to support your idea if
  your topic requires a narration, then you just
  tell the story
• A short conclusion. Most people dont do this
  part well because they run out of time

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3. Delivering the Speech

• All of us can get nervous in front of a group
  this is normal
• A moderate degree of nervousness helps focus our
  attention on the task so that we can do a better
  job

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Posture

• Usually you dont have a lectern or table to hid
  behind, just a skinny microphone
• Stand up straight but in a comfortable way you
  are not a soldier!
• If you stand comfortably, it will be easier for
  you to make any gesturesin the same way as when
  you are having a conversation in the street

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• Dont slouch like a tired old merchant
• Pay attention to where you put your hands
  comfortably loose at the side is best
• Try to look toward your audience you dont
  really have to look at them, but they should
  think you are

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Gestures

• Dont worry too much about gestures. More
  practice leads to more confidence leads to more
  natural gestures.
• Try to make sure you dont make any strange
  gestures from nervousness
• Using too many gestures makes you look like a bad
  actor

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During the Talk

• Try to remain calm. It will be over after a few
  minutes and you will still be alive. No one will
  throw their lunch box at you.
• The worst they will do is laugh at you.
• If you forget everything and have to sit down,
  they will feel sorry for you. You will be
  embarrassed but still alive.
• Speak clearly and confidently. Dont mumble.

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Many native speakers of a language give poor
presentations.Many nonnative speakers give
excellent presentations.

• You cant improve language skills rapidly, but
  you can improve presentation skills with practice.

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Slides from this presentation will be posted at
http//mx.nthu.edu.tw/katchen

• Thank you!