Crack the impromptu speaking code!

Today I had the great honor of facilitating the most stressful and fun speeches of our academic semester. For the “Sell the Thing” speech our Kelley School of Business students have a pre-assigned  audience. Where things get tricky is when they have to pull a random household item from a bag and sell it to that specific audience. Hand wipes to Mark Cuban; check. A cassette tape to Kim Kardashian; check. Post it notes to LeBron James; check again.  With minimal preparation they have to think of what the item purpose is, why it should matter to them and how they can get it.  The pace is fast, the preparation is minimal and the humor levels run high. What they don’t realize is that they’re training in ‘professional territory’ where speaking with conviction, wit and focus separates the good from the great! Put yourself in impromptu speaking situations and get used to focusing on the what, why and how for your audience. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and you will crack the impromptu speaking code!