Impromptu Speaking (talking without prep)

[Seed]

I've recently become really interested and excited about mastering the art of impromptu speaking.. (speaking in public without previously having a plan or rehearsal of what you want to say)

I am member of Toastmasters and have noticed when I am put on the spot like that. I feel alive and excited, I feel charged. And I love it.

However, as a naturally shy person I still don't have much belief in my speaking ability and do lack that kind of presence and enjoyment of speaking on a consistent, everyday basis. It very much depends on my mood at the time and how confident I am feeling. 

I was wondering whether anyone had any tips that I could use, apart from the obvious. Practicing talking out loud as often as you can.

Thanks in advance :-) 

 

[Sahil Pandit]

@Seed A good technique is feeling the energy in your body and letting it guide you. If you're excited, USE that! If you're nervous, find some techniques on how to cope with that or minimize it. If you're shy, push through and you'll over come it  

[Leo Gura]

The key is to really know your subject matter.

So in fact there is lots of prep, but that prep is years of research behind the scenes until you know the topic like the back of your hand.

[Seed]

But @Leo Gura I am already very good at talking about my subject matter. And even though I would happily talk about said subject all day long. It does leave me a but limited in other topics. And what if I want to get really good at creatively answering questions which lead me into the direction of what I want to talk about in a more humorous and inventive way.

E.g dropping being literal.

I would like to be able to do that more. As that allows my voice to flow more spontaneously and authentically. I literally shock myself with what comes out. And I learn stuff about myself that was buried in by subconcous. I find myself expressing more and feeling more free. I want to get better and more confident with that? Does that make sense?

Is that even a skill?

 

 

[Seed]

@Sahil Pandit Thank you :-) I will practice this! 

[clouffy]

@Leo Gura do you keep a notebook of all the spiritual concepts/ quotes?

[Bastian]

My two cents: honesty is the key. If you have something you don't want to talk about, your verbal and non verbal communication will suffer. Even if what you don't want to talk about is 10 concepts down the line, your mind senses it and starts to control your communication to avoid saying it or to say it in a way that is not 100% honest. If you think about the things you can talk about as nodes in a graph, you can see how a node representing a thing you don't want to talk about affects all the other nodes, especially the ones nearby. 0 things you feel resistance to talk about = amazing impromptu communication. That's my guess at least

[Seed]

@Bastian so you’re saying to just be open to talking about anything? 

[aurum]

@Seed

I did improv comedy for about a year as well as toastmasters. All my YouTube videos are improvised. So here’s my two cents.

My best performances are always, always, always when I really let go.

Especially in something like improv comedy. Toastmasters you can kind of get away with it because it’s okay to just be logical the whole time.

In improv comedy, it has to be funny. If you just stay in your logic mode with some sort of ego agenda, you are fucked. Often with very embarressing results.

Get into the enjoyment of it. Before an improv show, we didn’t sit there reviewing improv comedy theory. We did the opposite.

We clowned. We danced. We sang.

We basically just did everything possible to put ourselves in that positive state where we actually were doing it for the fun of doing it.

Obviously you’re not putting on a comedy show so it’s a little different. But the principles are the same.

Get out of your head, feel good, and let it flow.

[Seed]

@aurum Great advice! Thank you so much... (!)

[aurum]

1 hour ago, Seed said:

@aurum Great advice! Thank you so much... (!)

You’re welcome.