Improving Spontaneous Speaking Skills

Introduction

• Target: How to speak better in the moment
• Challenge: Introducing yourself, making small talk
• Goal: Develop techniques for thinking faster and talking smarter

Problem Overview

• Speaking on the spot can be harder than planned speaking
• Examples: making a toast, answering questions, giving feedback
• Origin: Stanford MBA students struggling with impromptu questions
• Methodology: Developed after research into psychology, anthropology, sociology, improvisation, and neuroscience

Workshop Activity: Counting Fs

• Simple activity to illustrate missing small details in communication
• Most common miss: the word 'of'
• Importance: Small details matter in communication

Six-step Methodology for Speaking Spontaneously

1. Managing Anxiety

• Common: 85% of people feel nervous in high-stake situations
• Approach: Manage both symptoms and sources
  • Symptoms: Physical reactions like blushing, sweating, dry mouth, shaking
    • Solution: Deep belly breaths, drinking warm water, holding cold objects
  • Sources: Negative future outcomes causing anxiety
    • Solution: Stay present-oriented, physical activity, playlist, friendly conversation, mental tricks like counting backwards

2. Maximizing Mediocrity

• Problem: Self-judgment reduces cognitive bandwidth for speaking
• Solution: Allow yourself to be mediocre to achieve greatness
  • Focus less on evaluating and more on just speaking

3. Seeing it as an Opportunity, Not a Threat

• Reframe spontaneity as an opportunity
• Tools:
  • Growth Mindset: Carol Dweck’s idea of 'not yet', learned skills,
  • Yes, and: Improvisation rule for building on ideas,
  • Next Play: Focus on the next action instead of previous mistakes,
  • Mistakes: View as 'missed takes' to try again with a better approach

4. Listening Better

• Common issue: Limited listening to just get the gist
• Solution: Deep listening to understand the speaker’s needs
  • Techniques: Bottom-line focus, Pace-Space-Grace from Collins Dobbs
    • Slow down, create space, listen actively
  • Tools: Clarifying questions, paraphrasing
  • Benefit: Enhanced understanding and engagement

5. Structuring Messages

• Importance: Organized communication keeps audience engaged
• Techniques: Logical structure, storytelling format
  • Example: Problem-Solution-Benefit, What-So What-Now What
• Benefits: Helps prioritize and deliver clear messages

6. Focus and Conciseness

• Problems: Overloading with information, rambling
• Solutions: Setting a clear goal (information, emotion, action)
  • Example: Elevator pitch formula → "What if you could…So that…For example…That’s not all"
• Benefit: Precise and clear information delivery

Conclusion

• Practice: Repetition, reflection, and feedback
• Podcast: 'Think Fast, Talk Smart'
• Resources: Book, additional materials via provided QR code