Extempore - theory and techniques

1. Extempore Speaking: What is it?
Extempore speaking is the term used for a non-formally prepared speech.
Explaining to your parents why you arrived home later than your curfew is a
form of extempore speaking.
When you watch a beauty pageant on television and the contestants have to
draw a question and answer it for the judges, they are extempore speaking.
Every time you speak you are preparing for extempore speaking. You probably
prepare without even knowing it.
You have to read to learn new things for this type of speaking. When doing
extempore speaking, you need to use the knowledge that you have and use a
strong delivery.
There comes a time in every one's life when he or she will have to give an
impromptu speech.
It may be for anything - a radio interview, a teacher trying to get you to speak
up in class, or even in a casual debate. It happens more often than most people
would think.
The words we speak are chosen at the point of delivery and they flow back and
forth, with communication being two-way, three-way or four-way. It is all done
without any preparation.

2. The key to extempore speaking is that the words spoken are chosen as we
speak them, and what is delivered is a stream of consciousness that is fluent,
erudite and articulate, while being unscripted.
Effective extempore speaking always has the purpose of the presentation and
the impact on the audience at its heart.
In an extempore/impromptu speaking, it is important to speak to the purpose
and to consider carefully what effect you want to have on your audience, then
the notion that it is possible to simply choose the right words at the point of
delivery, without any kind of preparation, is at best naive and at worst
disastrous. Even the few who are capable of it will admit to significant
preparation when the stakes are high. Not only that, you have to consider how
long to speak for. Effective speakers, in their preparation, also consider the
audience at all times. They ensure that they speak to the audience they have in
front of them, rather than the audience they would like to have in front of
them.
Some Tips:
Mental Preparation: Know what to speak before delivering speech. Ponder
over the topic for some time and prepare the flow of delivery. Your previous
extempore practice sessions would surely help here. Understanding the
audience, the direction they are most likely to accept , helps in framing the
flow of speech.
Start speaking in an even pace: Do not start really fast, as you are likely to end
up not having anything to speak.

3. Confidence: Confidence along with Knowledge always helps, even in abstract
topics where the candidate is tested on presence of mind, spontaneity and
analytical skills.
Handle Mental blocks smartly: At times, when you get blank about what to
speak, try to maneuver yourself out of the situation gracefully by avoiding
being nervous. Candid smiles also help and for such situations it is better to
have back up plans.
Control on speech: Don't get emotional about the respective topic, avoid
getting too personal on sensitive matters, don't even deviate from the topic
and talk irrelevant. For a satisfactory performance, it is always better to use
your knowledge in an intelligent way with a control on the speech.
Presenting both sides – Incase of controversial topics (e.g; Should republic day
celebrations be redefined?), the candidate may choose to explore both sides, a
stand which becomes difficult to take in case of GDs due to challenges of group
dynamics.
In an extempore, since the candidate is the only person speaking, it becomes
possible for a smart, strategic speaker to discuss both aspects of the
controversial topic.
However, one has to be careful about the time constraints while taking this
stand. Competence, Enthusiasm & Adaptability is the key: Work on your
competence and competitive advantage which may be either excellent
vocabulary, good general knowledge, etc. How well and quickly a candidate
adapts to the situation he/she is put in and with what enthusiasm and energy

4. level does he/she deliver the speech are some of the other desirable
evaluation parameters.
More often than not, you can use the following guideline to talk on an
extempore topic :- If possible define the topic or specific terms of a topic. If any
widely known classifications exist about the subject of the topic, talk about the
classifications. Provide supporting evidence in the form of data (if you know) or
examples. If the topic provides scope for narrating personal experiences, use
the opportunity to do so. Most importantly, time yourself well. If the panel has
given you one minute, try and do one or more of what has been mentioned in
points and complete the extempore logically. It may not be a good idea to be
stopped in the middle of one your sentences.
Examples:- Red or Blue? The colors red and blue remind me of the corporate
cola giants- Coke and Pepsi; where Coke has a dominant splash of red in its
promotional campaigns, while Pepsi connects with its customers through a
brilliance of blue. Taking this corporate warfare ahead is the example of Jet
Airways (blue) and Kingfisher (red), where the latter was a strong competitor to
the long drawn supremacy of Jet Airways in the private aviation sector.