Is Speaking Off the Cuff a Good Technique?

Speaking #off-the-cuff can be very rewarding for you and your audience. It demonstrates spontaneity, wisdom and can bring a good sense of interaction with your audience. But it must be relevant to the conversation or topic. There is a great saying in the world of #publicspeaking; “don’t be predictable”. As a comedian, if the audience knows your punchline it is much less effective. Same goes with public speaking. After all, your audience came to learn something new and delivering it makes a much better. But above all, it must be relevant to what your audience is expecting. Even if an audience member asks an unrelated question, is up to you to bring it back, gracefully. However, speaking off the cuff and going off on a tangent are two different things. Understanding the difference takes experience.

So how does one make off-the-cuff speeches effective? Preparation!

• Train your muscles and train your brain to act “off-the-cuff.” Even improv comedians train for unexpected input and respond off-the-cuff. It is one of the hardest types of comedic art, but when it hits, it’s a riot! You can as well. No different than a scrambling quarter back about to be sacked or a golf shot that lands in the rough, one trains to respond appropriately and bring it back to its original course.
  

• Structure – sure it seems like a contradiction, but it is key to developing smooth improvisational speeches. First, if you structure your speeches of what you are going to deliver, you will know when it is out of the planned speech. For topics that are relevant to your topic but not in the structured talk, plan on how you will address them if they come up. Practice a few of them, and it will seem off-the-cuff
  

Enjoy! Coach Pete