Effective Speaking in Spontaneous Situations

Introduction

• Importance of engaging the audience.
• This will be an interactive workshop with activities and practice.
• Key focus: becoming effective communicators by actually communicating.

Spontaneous Speaking vs. Prepared Speaking

• Focus on spontaneous speaking, not planned speaking (e.g., keynotes, formal toasts).
• Addresses situations such as cold calls, surprise toasts, and Q&A sessions.

Anxiety Management

• Prevalence: 85% of people are nervous about public speaking.
• Approach: Manage, don’t overcome anxiety.
• **Techniques: **
  • Greeting Anxiety: Acknowledge anxiety as normal to stop it from escalating.
  • Reframing Speaking as a Conversation: Use questions and conversational language to make it dialogic.
  • Becoming Present-Oriented: Use physical activities, music, or mental exercises to stay in the moment.

Steps to Effective Spontaneous Speaking

1. Get Out of Your Own Way

• Activity: Shout the wrong name game to bypass the brain’s planning.
• Maxim: Dare to Be Dull - Lower the pressure of perfection.

2. Reframe as Opportunity

• Activity: Imaginary gift exchange game to see interactions as fun opportunities.
• Maxim: Yes, and... - Embrace opportunities and expand on them without defensiveness.

3. Slow Down and Listen

• Activity: Spell what you say to force attentive listening.
• Maxim: Don't Just Do Something, Stand There - Focus on truly understanding before responding.

4. Use Structures

• Importance of Structure: Increases processing fluency by 40%.
• Structures:
  • Problem-Solution-Benefit: Identify problem, propose solution, highlight benefits.
  • What-So What-Now What: Define what it is, why it matters, next steps.
• Activity: Use one of the structures to sell an imaginary product, like a slinky.

Handling Hostile Situations

• Acknowledge emotions without naming them.
• Reframe the question or challenge to highlight the value or rationale.
• Practice themes and examples for predictable scenarios.

Addressing Remote Audiences

• Engage remote audiences through interaction: questions, polls, collaborative documents.
• Use imaginative exercises to involve them emotionally and cognitively.

Considerations for Multicultural Audiences

• Understand cultural expectations beforehand.
• Adjust language and engagement techniques appropriately.

Using Humor

• Benefits: Creates connection.
• Risks: Cultural differences, potential for falling flat.
• Advice: Use self-deprecating humor; ensure jokes are appropriate and tested.

Q&A Highlights

• Expert Witness Testimony: Focus on key themes and use paraphrasing to clarify and reframe questions.
• Handling Cross-Examination: Paraphrasing as a tool to buy time and ensure understanding.

Conclusion

• Tools and Techniques: Techniques to manage anxiety and become effective spontaneous speakers.
• Practices: Practice skills like getting out of your own way, reframing situations, active listening, and using speech structures.
• Resources: Book “Speaking Up Without Freaking Out” and website “No Freaking Speaking” for further learning.

Final Remarks

• Engage with the Q&A session, emphasizing the spontaneous interaction.