Tips for Giving Impromptu
Speeches in English
Johanna E. Katchen (柯安娜)
National Tsing Hua University
(國立清華大學外語系)
katchen@mx.nthu.edu.tw
http://mx.nthu.edu.tw/~katchen/
Chien Kung Senior High School
October 26, 2006
What’s the Purpose of
Impromptu Speaking?
• Imagine your are at a formal
reception or even a dinner—or an
international student gathering
• You are introduced to someone you
never met before, someone who
does not speak Chinese
• What do you say?
Chien Kung Senior High School , October 26, 2006
• The other person, using English,
asks you some questions:
• What’s the weather like in Taiwan?
• What do young people do for
entertainment?
• So what do you think about Taiwan
independence?
Chien Kung Senior High School , October 26, 2006
What would you say?
• Nothing. There is no conversation.
• “I don’t know.” If, after the third
question, you still say “I don’t
know”… No conversation. “What a
boring guy!” Or worse “What a
stupid guy!”
• Say what you really think in
Chinese—but in English. Good
approach, but be careful. You might
Chien Kung Senior High School , October 26, 2006
start an argument.
• Say something intelligent and
clever—most native speakers can’t
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
Chien Kung Senior High School , October 26, 2006
1. Preparing Yourself
• The more you can find out about a
situation in advance, the better
prepared you will be
Chien Kung Senior High School , October 26, 2006
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
Chien Kung Senior High School , October 26, 2006
What Should I Wear?
• Young men—at least a button-down
shirt tucked into your trousers
• Young women—skirt and blouse or a
dress
• Find out what other people wore at
the event last year
• Don’t 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
• It’s 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 person’s 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
• Don’t write full sentences if you don’t
have to; KISS Principle—Keep It
Simple, Stupid!
• Use mostly content words—nouns,
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
don’t 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 don’t 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 gestures—in the
same way as when you are having a
conversation in the street
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• Don’t 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 don’t really have to look at them,
but they should think you are
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Gestures
• Don’t worry too much about
gestures. More practice leads to
more confidence leads to more
natural gestures.
• Try to make sure you don’t 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. Don’t
mumble.
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Many native speakers of a
language give poor presentations.
Many nonnative speakers give
excellent presentations.
• You can’t 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!
Chien Kung Senior High School , October 26, 2006