Liam Sandford

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Get better at speaking off the cuff

Liam Sandford

Speaking off the cuff is the hardest thing to do, or so it feels. The sheer panic that you have been asked a question that feels out of your reach to answer is enough to throw you off.

I had a coaching client recently pose the question ‘I can speak fine if I have preparation time, but when I don’t I fluster. How do you get better at speaking off the cuff?’ You are not alone in this feeling, and it is not your fault you feel this way.

It goes back to education. School teaches you to find the right answer, and the slightest deviation from that means you are wrong. School does not teach the grey areas, it teaches right and wrong answers and that is why you fear speaking off the cuff. ‘What if I say something wrong?’ ‘What if I don’t know the answer’ — sound familiar? It’s okay not to have all the answers, but lets look at some things you can do in the moment when you are asked to speak off the cuff.

Comfort on all levels

The best chance you have of successfully speaking off the cuff is to be a comfortable speaker with preparation. Have practice using the nano speech, but also with a range of areas. To be a great speaker off the cuff you need range more than you need depth. You could be asked to speak about anything which means you need to be comfortable:

  • Speaking for up to 10 minutes

  • Speaking about different topics

  • Speaking in front of small and large crowds

  • Speaking in different forums — meetings, informal conversations, presentations, speeches etc.

To get comfortable in these areas you need reps. There is no magic secret that gets you good at speaking without actually doing it. But you can create a 4×4 grid and role through one of the four at least once a week. This way you get reps and do it so you are scaling up across all four categories. Then when you are asked to speak off the cuff you are ready and have successful reps previously in those settings and are a comfortable speaker.

Listen

Being asked to speak off the cuff can create a sense of overwhelm. We have all been there — you are asked to deliver a presentation with no notice and your brain fills with fog. Speaking off the cuff feels like the worst thing and your fear of public speaking takes over. All you know is you are going to be speaking in front of people.

You must focus intently. What specifically are you being asked to deliver? What is the audience promise? If you know this you can be more specific and if you have 5 minutes before you have some time to collect your thoughts rather than worrying about the speaking element.

After listening, you should ask. Some briefs can be incredibly unhelpful so clarify how many people will be there, how long you should be speaking for, whether it is part of another meeting or you are the main event etc. The more detail you have the better you will feel. When you don’t have time to prepare, the questions you ask after receiving the brief is your preparation — use it well.

Be engaging with a structure

The worst speakers are those who ramble, make their point, and then tell you in 4 different ways what their point was again. You are automatically better if you stick to a structure and stick to what you need to say.

Open, body, close. It is the simplest form of a structure. Note this should not be an agenda, telling them, then repeating it in a conclusion. This should be opening with why the audience should care about the topic, delivering the message you need to land, and then handing over for their views, comments, or questions. This is the easiest way to play it when speaking off the cuff, without any pressure to tell stories (unless you have an obvious one that comes to mind)

Don’t deviate from the structure, otherwise you become the rambler you are trying to avoid. People love when things finish early — they get some time back from the meeting or they get to go home early. Keeping the structure means you finish on time and you keep the audience happy.

Actionable takeaways

  • Practice every week before you are called on to speak. This will involve getting comfortable speaking for different periods of time, in front of different size audiences, in different forums and about different topics.

  • Listen intently when you are asked to speak off the cuff. Ask questions to further clarify what you need to talk about

  • Use an engaging structure to ensure you don’t ramble. Stay on track and you will finish on time or early which will keep the audience happy

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