In the classroom, my junior college business speech students had one fear that surpassed all their other fears – The Impromptu Speech. I even stopped putting this speech on the syllabus because the absences for that day rose by 50%. Everything about this speech frightened them, and for my first semester in the classroom, I was unable to get them over the fear. It was a shame, too, because the impromptu is perhaps the most powerful of all the speech forms. It requires quick thinking, being able to answer on your feet, persuasive techniques, careful word choice, and promotes confidence. It is a small speech packed with soft skills from which all students will benefit.
During the
next semester, I was in my office for a student conference with a “ghost” – a
student who disappears after the first month of a semester and reappears at the
end of a semester in an effort to scare away a failing grade. For every reason I gave him for his grade, he
matched me with his own counterpoint. He
told me why he deserved a second chance, made his three points, and then
restated his plea for leniency. Had he
bothered to show up for class, he would have recognized that he was giving an
impromptu speech….without fear.
Our fears of
public speaking are definitely valid.
It’s in our biological nature to be uncomfortable when people are
staring at us. It feels threatening,
even like an attack sometimes. We are
also rightfully uncomfortable with the idea of failing, of being rejected by
our audience, and fearing the unknown.
What was different between my office and the class? Why was this student giving such a good
speech? He didn’t have the fear. (Well, in his case, the fear of failing may
have overridden his fear of the speech itself.)
I realized I had to find a way to remove the fear from the speech, to
separate them so that they were not associated.
The speech was not the enemy, the fear was.
I began
slowly introducing my students to the impromptu speech format: state your position, give three supporting
points, and restate your position. I
would take a topic from the textbook, split the class in half, require each
side to either submit three pro or three con points, then present to the other
group. I had them give me their three
reasons for convincing parents to pay for their college. The next week, I asked them for three reasons
why I should delay the midterm. Then, I moved on to “would you rather” topics…” Would you rather have a noisy neighbor or a nosey neighbor?” We always used the same format of an
impromptu speech. They enjoyed this so
much that they would remind me that it was time for our “would you rather”
topic. Once they stopped associating the
creative process with the fear of producing a speech, the result was enthusiasm
and confidence.
On Impromptu
day, there was the initial wailing and teeth gnashing until I reminded them
that they’d been preparing for this speech for weeks. “All you are stressing about is the fear. Don’t
fear the fear.” And their confidence
went through the room. So did their
grades.For more information on how to incorporate impromptu speeches in your CTE classroom, try the following links:
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