A Good Way to Organize an Impromptu Speech

Orators have been using a standard six-part structure to organize impromptu speeches since the time of Cicero. As a structure, it is effective and versatile. The key to using this structure effectively is awareness of audience and occasion. Begin with ideas or values that you hold in common with your audience before you introduce new or controversial points. The more you demonstrate respect for your audience, the more favorably they will respond to your speech.

Instructions

    • 1

      Capture the goodwill of the audience in the introduction by establishing an appealing ethos or character. A humorous or startling opening gets the attention of a tired or bored audience, but a more direct opening is effective for a shorter, more business-like presentation.

    • 2

      Set out a straightforward account or summary of the facts or subject matter of your speech in the second part of the oration, or the narration.

    • 3

      Specify what you will cover and what you will omit in your speech, and the reasons for doing so, in the division, or third part of the oration.

    • 4

      Prove your main points in the "proof" or "argument," located in the fourth section of your speech.

    • 5

      Refute possible objections after you have proved your main points, in the "refutation," or fifth part of the oration. Don't invent straw man arguments and avoid being unnecessarily derogatory. Demonstrate that you are fair-minded by acknowledging the good points of opposing ideas, even while you disagree with them.

    • 6

      Conclude by calling for your audience to act or think in a certain manner. The conclusion, or peroration, is the best place for emotional appeals.

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