Being able to give an off-the-cuff speech takes practice, but it can be made a bit easier if you already have

a few go-
to topics up your sleeve. But what makes an impromptu speech different than a standard speech? For starters,
impromptu speeches usually spring up with little to no preparation time, and they typically only last about five minutes
or so. Typically they’re given at debate competitions or informative events or classes.
When running through an impromptu speech in your head, it’s important to
remember that they usually are made up of three distinct parts: an
introduction, engaging and informative body, and a conclusion. This is
where the practice comes in because being able to deliver an effective
impromptu speech takes a certain degree of oration expertise and
organization. That being said, the more you give impromptu speeches, the
easier they should become.

So how do you decide on a topic? Well, a good place to start is to know

your audience. Are you giving a short talk at a specific event? If so, try
catering your topic around the event. If you’re giving a class on speech
methods, try throwing a few different topics out to the class and go with
whatever one garners the most interest. Maybe you’ve been asked to
speak at a friend’s wedding. If this happens, have a short list of personal
topics and stories about you and your friend ready for when the
microphone is passed to you. It’s also important to choose a topic that is
relevant and that hasn’t already been over done.

When it comes to actually delivering your speech, there are a few things to
remember. As with any speech, you’ll want to make sure to speak fluidly
and with authority. Have a clear topic in mind and stay focused on it. Don’t
get overly wordy or off track. Also, keep the speech short and sweet. As
mentioned before, your speech should have a beginning, middle and an
end. Additionally, keep your speech engaging by crafting a story around
your topic to improve its structure. This will also keep listeners interesting.
Don’t be afraid to add in a bit of humor where appropriate.
IMPROMPTU SPEECH Task Words Verbs and Adjectives
When preparing, it is essential to understand the goals of particular duty phrases and the
subjects they are associated with.

I know you are often put off by the phrased job in a handout, however, they are relatively
easy to understand when studying a school or college public speaking assignment.

It is vital that you are familiar with a wide array of duties in order to convey the message and
/ or instructions that you’re trying to get across.

ANALYSE – Look closely to a subject, an argument, an idea or a topic, determine the

essence of the components in detail and the relation to each other.
E.g. Examine closely a current social event you’ve learned a lot about, or you’ve
enjoyed. Look closely to phishing, the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire
sensitive information on the worldwide net.

ARGUE – Present a systematic case built on reasons and evidence supporting or rejecting
an idea, theory or proposition.
E.g. Reject the attempts of buying off government, state or local officials.

ASSESS – Decide the value, state positive and negative judgments, and conclude. Good
impromptu speech topics can be:
E.g. Decide the value of a BA-degree / Masters-degree. Consider the value of a domestic
companion animal for the elderly. How an insurance company decide the value of a car, and
why that knowledge could be valuable when buying an automobile.

COMPARE – Show and discuss similar and different characteristics or qualities of two
things.
E.g. Discuss the pros and cons of offline and online friendships. Identify the similarities and
differences of the Christian and Islamic religious traditions. Point out the best styles to more
effective public speaking learning.
CONTRAST – Emphasize differences of two things and give evidence to differentiate or
distinguish their significance and consequences.
E.g. Emphasise the differences between verbal and non-verbal communication skills. The
differences of opinion between Democrat and Republican politicians. Emphasise the
differences between Hollywood and Bollywood entertainment movies. Or pick other types
for developing alternative impromptu speech topics for high school
.
CRITICIZE – Give your judgment about merits and faults of an opinion, theory or statement,
and support it with evidence.
E.g. Judge the Academy Award decision for best picture winner Slumdog Millionaire. Judge
the merits and faults of this public speaking impromptu assignment. Judge the practice to
fancy someone else outside your relationship without really acting on it.

DEFINE – To get good impromptu speech topics make clear what the precise meaning of a
word, term, phrase or situation is and why this definition is necessary.
E.g. Give the exact meaning of narcissism. State the precise meaning of a grand jury in a
trial. State the precise meaning of our Constitution, and place it in its historical context.

DESCRIBE – Present a detailed account of the features or characteristics.

E.g. Give the details of your baseball team (or other games). Give the characteristics of
mammals, the mammalian species. Present a detailed account of the features of the Earth
atmosphere.

DISCUSS – Consider all pros and cons, and give a concluding judgment on the value of the
for and against arguments.
E.g. The pros and cons of hitchhiking. The pros and cons of lowering the drinking age to a
younger age. Give the for and against arguments of felon voting.

ENUMERATE – Mention separately steps and stages of good impromptu speech topics one
by one.
E.g. Present the steps to simple life. List the steps and stages to take proper family
photos. List the three steps to overcome a fear of public speaking. Or enumerate the steps
to catching the catches in insurance company documents for households.

EVALUATE – Explain strong and weak aspects or opinions about the usefulness or utility
and formulate a personal judgment.
E.g. The usefulness of diplomas and certifications. The usefulness of old-fashioned printed
newspapers in our modern multimedia era.
EXPLAIN – Show clearly how something happens in detail and the reasons or causes why.
E.g. Why sibling rivalry happens plus how. Make clear how childhood obesity begins and
what the causes are. Why sibling rivalry happens and make clear how it comes more
atrocious sometimes.
ILLUSTRATE – Use examples, diagrams, figures and evidence to make a complex concept
easily understood.
E.g. What is a final salary scheme in calculating retirement pensions? Show how an exotic
drink is prepared out of precise amounts of ingredients. Demonstrate how to set up an
online poll and how to conclude outcomes fairly.

INTERPRET – Bring out the importance, meaning and implications of information data and
state your personal judgment.
E.g. The impact of tourism information on China (or other Asian country) befroe you book
your trip. The importance and implications of good consumer information on food
labels. The value of unbiased reviews and consumer product specifications of
pharmaceuticals and prescription drugs.

JUSTIFY – Defend adequate reasons and grounds for your decisions or conclusions, and
support your chosen good impromptu speech topics by evidence.
E.g. Why President Obama sure is a good Nobel Prize winner – or why isn’t he notat
all. Why the giant bailouts of car manufacturers were needed. Give ground on banking
secrecy in some foreign states.

OUTLINE – Provide the main points and principles in a logical order and name the
relationship between each point.
E.g. The causes and events that lead to the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863. The effects of
global warming on the Arctic ecosystem. The causes and main effects of the growing fast-
food consumption in Asia.

PROVE – Demonstrate the truth or falsity with logical evidence and arguments.
E.g. The truth behind the death of Michael Jackson revealed- and the role of his doctor. The
truth about the damages that could occur of vaccinations for pets. How the cigarette
industry for decades seduced young people to start smoking.

REVIEW – Critically report the main facts, theories, issues of an event,

and explain the importance of off the cuff improvising.
E.g. The likes and dislikes of participating in a Sunday afternoon picnic in the woods or at
the riverside. Deliver a critical report about the most famous and popular restaurant or bar in
town. This statement will generate good impromptu speech topics high school. Make a
report about the best features of your PlayStation or X-box. Or take your favorite video
games to develop impromptu speech topics for high school.

SUMMARIZE – Describe concisely the main points of a good speech topic, without
examples or details.
E.g. The golden rules of a television sitcom comedy scenario. Make a summary of the
primary purposes of a recent police investigation in your local area you read about in the
newspapers. List the primary purposes of copyright and intellectual property laws in our
country.

TRACE – Identify and describe the stages, steps, phases, processes or the historical
events of good impromptu speech topics and start from its origin.
E.g. The effective step by step method to make studying more fun every day again – come
over the humb. The development of pregnancy from the conception to the birth of a child.
Explain the stages in the nine-month schedule of a beginning new human being. The
interesting and amazing process of blood clotting which the body prevents blood loss.