It’s me speaking to the at-risk youth for the Gloves Not Guns program a few months ago. Something very interesting happened during this talk. After arriving at the boxing club, I chatted with the owner for a couple of minutes (the gentleman standing with his arms folded in the background) before entering the gym and talking to a few of the youth.

Some were cold and standoffish; others were warm and friendly.

And this created a problem. I had a speech prepared; however, after talking with these kids, I realized that my prepared presentation lacked the appropriate tone for them—it was too soft. As a result, I felt the style wasn’t the right fit for this group.

So I had to adapt, and fast.

Luckily, inspiration struck me when I heard the owner of the gym speak to the kids right before introducing me. He was brash, firm, and direct with them—and they listened. That’s when I learned the communication style that this group responded to.

I needed to be their “coach” in this speech, not their friend.

So, I scraped my prepared talk (at literally the last minute) and harnessed my impromptu public speaking skills to match the communication style of the gym owner.

And guess what? The kids loved it.

And I learned a valuable lesson about the power of impromptu public speaking. Had I not had the skill to speak off the cuff, I would have gone down in flames during that talk. But because I’ve been practicing a few simple habits, I was able to easily give a high-quality impromptu presentation.

Here are the 3 secrets that allowed me to do it.

1. Journaling

As of this writing, I’ve been journaling daily for over 6 years.

Now, you may ask: “How could writing in a journal every day possibly make me better at impromptu speaking?” Let me answer that question with another question. When you’re writing in a journal, what are you doing?

Answer: You’re letting the words flow out of you unfiltered. Sounds a lot like impromptu speaking, doesn’t it?

I want you to think of journaling as a free expression of your thoughts and feelings. It’s a stream of consciousness. When most novice speakers take the stage, they want everything to be “just right.” The perfect line spoken at the perfect time with the perfect delivery.

But it’s this need for “perfection” that causes them to freeze up in the first place.

Why? Because it’s unnatural. It’s forced. It’s inauthentic. Journaling gives you the freedom to express your genuine thoughts as they come to your consciousness, and this translates (very well) when it comes time to express those thoughts on stage to others.

In short, journaling teaches you to communicate your thoughts and emotions without censoring yourself.

2. Filming Myself

In 2023, I began filming myself speaking impromptu for 3 minutes daily on my iPhone.

I got the idea from Conor Neill, a thought leader and highly sought-after public speaker on leadership. In his popular YouTube video (which has garnered over 20 million views), he mentions the idea of filming yourself speaking for 3 minutes daily to improve your skills.

So, that’s exactly what I did for over a year.

Every day, filmed myself giving short, 3-minute talks (about literally anything) to build my impromptu public speaking skills. I didn’t even do anything with any of those videos. In fact, I deleted most of them after they were recorded.

The point was to simply gain experience and confidence with this skill by practicing it every day. Today, I have no problem giving impromptu talks to audiences—I actually enjoy it.

I find the rush exhilarating! 

3. Reading

You may wonder how reading can improve your impromptu speaking.

First, let’s start with my own experience. I started reading daily in July of 2017. As of this writing, I have literally not missed a single day of reading in over 8 years. And my impromptu speaking skills have benefited drastically as a result.

How, you may ask? Reading exposes you to other people’s words and worlds.

The more you read, the more insights and information you gain. And this gives you an abundance of mental material to work with in your own thought processes. As a result, you become more articulate, well-spoken, and spontaneous as a speaker because of the influx of knowledge you consume via reading.

But reading does more than arm you with vocabulary and knowledge…

Second, let’s see what the expert has to say… Andrew Huberman is an American neuroscientist and associate professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine. And he has his own analysis on how reading contributes to improved speaking skills:

“As you are reading, you are generating very low levels of motor activity in your throat. So, as you read the information, you are also speaking the information.”

The takeaway from that quote?

Reading books can lead to improved impromptu speaking abilities because you are inadvertently practicing your oratory skills.

4. Freestyle Rapping

For the uninitiated, freestyle rapping simply means making raps up on the spot.

You pull inspiration from your environment: the people, the venue, your surroundings, etc. You then take these elements and incorporate them into your rap, creating a fun, unique, and dynamic experience for the audience. Developing this skill was a little change that would have a massive impact on my life.

I committed to practicing every day for at least 1 hour.

After 2 years of this daily habit, things changed in ways I never thought possible. I went from being a no one to building a reputation and getting invited to perform at:

• Lounges and cafes
• Bar and nightclubs
• Birthday parties
• Weddings
• Charity events, etc.

But another skill was quietly being sharpened the more I honed my freestyle rap abilities. You guessed it… It was my impromptu public speaking skills.

I’ll never forget the day I gave my first talk. I was asked to speak on a panel at a Hip Hop convention at the University of Calgary. The words flowed. The delivery was smooth. And I felt completely natural speaking in front of the audience and other panelists (even though I had nothing prepared).

While the previous tips were critical in developing my impromptu speaking skills, it was my ability to freestyle that had the biggest impact—bar none.

What’s Next? Master Your Impromptu Public Speaking

Anyone can master the art of impromptu speaking.

All it takes is desire and consistency. And the tips laid out in this article will get you started. If you simply apply the suggestions (consistently), you’ll find that they will make a massive difference in your ability to articulate your thoughts easily and concisely.

Hope this helps. And remember: Stay Motivated And Disciplined.