IMPROMPTU SPEECH

WHAT IS IMPROMPTU SPEECH?

It is a type of speech in which we organize ideas quickly and speak about a subject without
too much advance time to get prepared.

Activity 1.

Practice giving a short impromptu speech in response to an open-ended (information and wh-
question). Explain your opinion by giving examples and reasons.

1. How are you?

2. What is your favorite city?
3. How do you feel about being a student?
4. Why do students want to study abroad?
5. Where would you like to live in the future?
6. What are some of your future plans and goals?

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Activity 2.

Now practice a short impromptu response to a closed-ended (yes/no) question. Elaborate on your
thoughts by anticipating what the listener might want to know and providing that information.

Example:

Question: Do you go to school?

Answer A: Yes. (This is a simple and short (superficial) response.)

Answer B: Yes, I'm a junior at KTO Karatay University, and I'm majoring in business administration. I
like the facilities at the university a lot, especially the social facilities. English program is challenging,
but the instructors are very helpful. (This is a complete and detailed (elaborate) response.)

Now work with a partner and do the same. First, choose a question and think about it for a minute.
What follow-up information could you provide to make your response more interesting? Then,
answer the question as completely as possible.

1. Do you go to school?
2. Do you like animals?
3. Did you study English before coming here?
4. Do you like watching TV?
5. Do you know how to use computer?
6. Are you a good reader?
7. Have you ever had a part-time job?
8. Are you pessimistic?
9. Are you an addict?
10. Is your family understanding?

*When you give an impromptu speech, you should organize your ideas according to a specific
sequence depending on your topic (order of importance, time sequence, advantage disadvantage
etc.).

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ORGANIZATION OF THE IMPROMPTU SPEECH
1) PREPARE AN ATTENTION-GETTING OPENER: At the beginning of your speech, it is very important
to grab your audience's attention and make them interested in what you have to say. Four different
ways to prepare an interesting, attention-getting introduction are given below:

a) Ask your audience a series of rhetorical questions

What can be every color of the rainbow?
What can be with you as long as you live?
What is the thing you can wear on your arm, your cheek, your leg, or even your back?

b) State a surprising fact:

You can get almost anything you want without cash! And you can begin today!

c) State a well-known quotation:

Neither a borrower nor a lender be, for loan (often) loses both itself and friend.

d) Tell a short story or personal experience:

Last week when I was trying to catch the late night bus, all in a sudden I caught a glimpse of a
young but crippling man. It was clear he was trying to catch the same bus as me. However, it was

2) GIVE IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT YOUR TOPIC

After making an opening, give details about your topic. It can be everything including examples,

3) PREPARE A SUMMARY
Every speech needs a summary of the information presented. The best way to summarize your
information is to remind your audience of what you said by repeating the main points covered in the
body of your speech.
Example:
As you can see/To sum up/As a result/In Conclusion, the Olympic Games are very
important to people all over the world. I hope you learned some interesting information
about:

A. The history of the Olympics

B. The Olympics today

C. The future of the Olympic Games

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OUTLINE OF THE IMPROMPTU SPEECH
When preparing for an impromptu speech, it can be helpful to create an outline for your
ideas. This outline can be a real outline, which you write on paper, or a mental outline, which you
keep in your head. When you create an outline, try to choose an organizational pattern that fits your
topic. When the teacher
topic into several parts. Notice how he used the pattern of related subtopics in the outline that
follows.

TOPIC: Addiction

INTRODUCTION
I. I bet everyone in this room knows an addict! That's right, I said addict. Before
you get angry, please let me explain.

II. When we hear the word addiction, we usually think of harmful substances like
drugs or alcohol. We forget that there are many other kinds of addictions. I'd
now like to remind you of some.
BODY
I. Television addictions
A. Soap operas
B. Detective shows
C. Sports

II. Book addictions

A. Romance novels
B. Mysteries
C. Science fiction

III. Eating addictions

A. Ice cream
B. Chocolate
C. Hamburger

IV. Shopping addictions

A. Clothes
B. CDs
C. Antiques

CONCLUSION

I. As you can see, not all addictions are bad for you. And, much to your surprise, you probably
know someone who is an addict!

II. What kind of addict are you?

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DELIVERING YOUR MESSAGE

Delivery refers to the way you use your eyes, voice, and body to communicate your massage.
Of course, what you say is important, but the way you say it also has a strong effect on your listeners.
Speakers in different cultures follow different customs when speaking to groups; however, you may
find the following guidelines useful:

1. Eye contact
person to person, you can give listeners the feeling that you are talking to them as individuals. You
can also see whether or not people are following your message by watching their faces. With a large
group, you should move your eyes slowly from one section of the room to another as you are
speaking. Be careful not to focus all your attention on only one person- such as the teacher- or on
only a few people. You need to involve all the people in your audience by looking at them directly.

2. Volume: The loudness or softness of your voice is important when speaking to a group. Your voice
should be loud and strong enough to keep the interest of your listeners. Also, by raising or lowering
your voice, you can emphasize certain points of your talk.

3. A natural manner of speaking will help to maintain your li

4. Posture: The way you hold your body conveys a message to your listeners. In general, you can
express confidence by standing up reasonably straight with a relaxed posture.

5. Movement also has an effect on your listeners. For example, when standing in front of a group,
you may want to take a few steps one way or another. However, do not pace back and forth or sway
from side to side while you are talking. These kinds of unnecessary movements can distract listeners
from your message.

6. Gestures can be effective if you feel natural and comfortable using them. You may use gestures to
emphasize a point or to describe something. In general, though, do not distract your listeners from
your message by playing with a pencil, pushing your hair off your face, folding and unfolding your
arms, or doing anything else to draw attention to yourself.

Listeners can play an important role in making a speaker feel comfortable. When someone is
speaking to a group, listeners should show their interest by:

Looking directly at the speaker

Nodding or smiling occasionally

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GETTING PREPARED FOR THE TEST

Exercise: Choose one of the topics below and give a 2 minute presentation by following the steps
as in the following.

1. What is the most fascinating tourist attraction in Turkey? Why?

2. Why do you think Turkey attracts more than 20 million tourists a year?
3. What are the positive aspects of Tourism?
4. What are the negative aspects of Tourism?
5. What is your favorite travelling experience/holiday?
6. What would you like to do in summer?
7. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
8.
9. What are the advantages/disadvantages of being a student at KTO Karatay University?
10. What kinds of problems do you have as a student at KTO Karatay University?
11. As a university student, what is the most important problem of education?
12. What kinds of conflicts do you have with your parents as a teenager?
13. How do you think a teenager can get rid of conflicting his/her parents?
14.
15. Why do people work abroad?
16. What kind of things should be considered while choosing job?
17. What should we do to be fit?
18. How technology affects our lives?
19. Do you want to be famous? Why/Why not?
21. What is the most important invention or discovery for you?
22. What should people do to have a green life?
23. Can you talk about a time when you felt surprised /embarrassed or frightened?
24. Why did you decide to study at KTO Karatay University?

Steps:
1. Determine an organizational pattern for the topic
2. Think of an attention-grabber
3. Think of what the body of your speech will cover
4. Note-down your ideas
5. Think of a possible summary
6. Find an interesting remark to conclude your speech
7. Present your speech in front of the class

make brief notes in the outline below. Follow these steps to complete the outline. Use
your outline as a guide when you present.

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Outline

Introduction:

Body:

Conclusion: