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Get better at speaking off the cuff
Speaking off the cuff is the hardest thing to do, or so it feels. The sheer panic that you have been asked a question that feels out of your reach to answer is enough to throw you off.
I had a coaching client recently pose the question ‘I can speak fine if I have preparation time, but when I don’t I fluster. How do you get better at speaking off the cuff?’ You are not alone in this feeling, and it is not your fault you feel this way.
It goes back to education. School teaches you to find the right answer, and the slightest deviation from that means you are wrong. School does not teach the grey areas, it teaches right and wrong answers and that is why you fear speaking off the cuff. ‘What if I say something wrong?’ ‘What if I don’t know the answer’ — sound familiar? It’s okay not to have all the answers, but lets look at some things you can do in the moment when you are asked to speak off the cuff.
Comfort on all levels
The best chance you have of successfully speaking off the cuff is to be a comfortable speaker with preparation. Have practice using the nano speech, but also with a range of areas. To be a great speaker off the cuff you need range more than you need depth. You could be asked to speak about anything which means you need to be comfortable:
