Imagine this phone call: "Hey Tony, my club is having it's annual banquet and our keynote speaker just broke his leg skiing. Will you please, PLEASE speak for us tonight at 7:00?"
Okay, so you may not get a call like that, but you may be asked by someone to speak to a group with as little as 24 hours to prepare. As an author, it's hard to pass up any opportunity to get some notoriety. But it's also hard for most people to give a speech when they are given plenty of time to prepare, let alone no time, isn't it?
Don't worry. If you find yourself in this situation, here are some tips on how you can put together a speech with little to no warning:
1. Be Clear on What is Expected
When you are asked to give a speech, make sure you understand what the audience is expecting. You will prepare and deliver a report for your co-workers much differently than you will a speech to the local Chamber of Commerce.
2. Hit the Internet
Once you know what you are speaking about, use the Internet to garner ideas or to find material. You can find quick research and/or illustrations easily and quickly on the net. Just remember: a) Don't plagiarize and b) make sure you trust facts you find before quoting them. With little time to prepare, make sure you use extra caution when citing data from the web.
3. Look Into your Life
If you are looking for a motivational or instructional speech, don't forget to look into your life. You have all the research you need to pull together a fast, accurate and inspiring speech. Think about great accomplishments or epiphanies you have experienced and share the journey along the way. The next point will help you craft this into a speech that the audience will eat up.
4. Create a Mini Novel
Rather than deliver a series of facts, tell your audience a story. In fact, model your speech after the construction of a novel. If you are going to relate a great accomplishment, you need to:
- Introduce the Accomplishment- (i.e., I'd like to tell you how I ended up publishing my book and how it almost never happened)
- Discuss the conflicts, struggles and antagonists- (i.e., My newborn baby took more hours than I anticipated, my boss sent me on a a series of trips to Pascagoula, MS, and my brother-in-law kept telling me that I'd never write a book)
- Nail the climax. This is the final battle, the ultimate conflict after fighting through the conflicts above- (i.e., I finally wrote the entire book except for the last chapter. I told my wife I needed one week to complete the book and talked her into getting my brother-in-law to come over and help with the baby and chores...)
- Nail the resolution- (i.e., It was the hardest thing I did, but I finally finshed the book {holding up a copy for effect})
If you use a structure similar to this, it will help you tell your story in a way that invites the audience on the journey with you, rather than relating the dry facts of the publication process.
5. Check Out Current Events
Another great source for a quick-needed inspiration is current events. I would recommend that you stay away from politics, religion and anything that could be construed as politically incorrect.
Those are subjects that you want a lot of time to prepare for before you choose to tackle them. But a story about a German Shepherd who trudged through a blizzard to find help for his master who broke his leg can be a source of ample inspiration, not to mention a great illustration that any audience would love.
6. Know the Answer to this Question
What do I want the audience to take away from this speech- When you create a speech on the fly, you will be tempted to throw together a patch-work of stories and points.
If you don't focus on this question, your speech will come across as disjointed and rough. For example, if I talk about my accomplishment of becoming an author, I may want my audience to take this away: Never let anything stand in the way of your dreams. You can accomplish more than you think you're able to accomplish.
7. Keep Visuals to a Minimum
Normally, I'd recommend using quality visuals, (i.e., PowerPoint), but if you have little notice for your speech and you are struggling to put one together, then visuals can be a distraction, and you may not have the time to really create the quality you want. Focus on the speech, first, and then the visuals if time permits.
8. Try to Work in Three Points
Having a structure for your speech will help your continuity as a speaker. Whether you give a three-pointer or create the "mini novel", the point is to build in some type of structure. It will help keep you focused and not turn into a meandering speaker whose intro and conclusion don't wrap us the speech in a nice, tight package.
9. After the Resolution, Tell the Audience What They Should Take Away From the Speech
Don't assume that your audience will make the same applications to your speech that you want them to make. If you want them to take away certain messages from your speech, tell them what the messages are as you end your speech.
10. Squeeze in Time to Practice
If at all possible, try to practice your speech a time or two. This will help you work out the transition kinks before hand.
Ideally, you could probably put together a better speech with more time, but if you follow these tips, they should help you create a decent speech when given little warning.
(Oh, and don't forget to ask about these details: Length of speech, attire, and directions. Then, have a bio ready to hand to the MC in case it's needed).