I wrote a couple of weeks ago about the art of delivering instantaneous speeches. In retrospect, it was occurred to me that perhaps I have a certain amount of discomfort with being constrained by guidelines and having to stick to a “plan”. Granted, one of the first skills I acquired to accompany my instantaneous speeches was the art of instantaneous planning – hence the ability to develop a 5-7 minute speech with a mere 30 minutes (or less) of preparation time. Given the need to deliver on the spot, I will quickly formulate the following in my head:
- Quirky opening
- Related Topic 1
- Related Topic 2
- Related Topic 3
- Some sort of conclusion
The problem with my strategy is that I often start off with a bang and fizzle out at the end because I haven’t put enough thought into wrapping things out.
Despite the fact that I have somewhat of an aversion to planning, it occurs to me that I would be more successful if I did, somewhat – given the opportunity, of course. In other words, having more than a few minutes notice in delivering a presentation, I will try to lay out the above structure and actually jot down a few snappy lines to wrap things up with. Rather than fizzling out in my concluding paragraphs, perhaps I can at least pop like a balloon!
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