You  will  be  surprised  how  much  this  approach  will  do for  your  self-confidence. Impromptu speeches are not completely without preparation. When you are in a situation where you might be called on to speak, it is a good idea to think over  what  you  might  say  if  you  were  called  on. Nevertheless, even when you have not done this, you always have a minute or so between the moment you learn you are to be called on and the time you have to start talking. Use this time to pin down the major points to  get  across.  Why  are  you  talking?  What  is  the objective you want to accomplish? If you could say one sentence, what would it be? Try to form a mental outline of four or five points supporting your main theme, plus an opening sentence. If you have time, decide exactly where you want to end. If you do this, you will make the best of the most difficult of  all  speaking  situations. MEMORIZATION Memorizing a talk word for word is at the opposite extreme of the impromptu method. Some speakers can use this method effectively, but too often it results in a stilted,  inflexible  presentation,  simply  because  the speaker is more concerned with his material than he is with  his  audience. Unless you are an experienced actor, memorization is absolutely the worst way to present a speech. When you memorize, usually you are committing  words and sentences to memory rather than a sequence of ideas. The result is scanned routine that would not sell vacuum cleaners, much less the Navy. It is an expressionless, boring presentation that leaves your audience in doubt as to your sincerity and even your knowledge of the subject. Another major weakness of this approach is the fact that if you forget a word or a sentence, you may omit important  portions  of  your  talk  without  knowing  it,  or even  worse,  find  that  you  do  not  know  where  you  are, what you have said, or what comes next. In recovering you may omit or even repeat parts of the talk. MANUSCRIPT A great many Navy speakers read speeches that have been written out word for word. This manuscript method is almost as inflexible as memorization. Again, it sets up a barrier between the speaker and his audience because the speaker must pay close attention to what he is  reading  and  cannot  react  to  the  responses  of  the audience.  Occasionally,  talks  are  read  effectively  when the  speaker  is  particularly  gifted  and  practiced  at reading, but for the most part, the manuscript method should be left to special circumstances, such as the following: l l l When  the  verbatim  text  has  been  or  will  be released to the news media and it is probable that the speaker will be quoted extensively. When the subject matter involves security or policy  considerations  so  sensitive  that  the  exact wording  is  essential. When  the  talk  is  being  broadcast  and  timing  is critical. A speaker must have a lot of experience and usually a bit of training to read a speech effectively, since a speech is read effectively only when it sounds as though it were not being read. This method is not recommended for your own use; and if you are called onto help any officer  or  petty  officer  prepare  a  speech,  you  should  do what you can to discourage him from reading from a completely  prepared  text. EXTEMPORANEOUS The extemporaneous method is usually used by most  good  speakers.  To  a  speechwriting  newcomer, “extemporaneous”    sounds   synonymous   with “impromptu” or “extempore,” but in the language of public speakers, it means something quite different. The delivery seems to be off the cuff, while actually the material has been well prepared and rehearsed. An extemporaneous  delivery  is  a  happy  medium  between the  overly  casual  impromptu  and  the  stiff  memorization or  manuscript.  The  talk  is  very  carefully  planned  and outlined in detail. Sometimes a complete draft of it is written out, but this draft is only used in rehearsal. The talk  is  delivered  from  an  outline  with  the  speaker memorizing the sequences on the outline, but never the exact  wording. What   makes   the   extemporaneous   method   so effective  is  that  it  borrows  the  good  qualities  from  the other three methods of speaking without incorporating their bad qualities. A thorough and careful use of the extemporaneous method results in a talk as polished as a memorized one, and certainly more vigorous, flexible and  spontaneous. There are other advantages of the extemporaneous method. With an outline, you can adapt your talk to the situation,  spending  more  time  than  originally  planned 6-5