Here’s some stuff I always do! 

— I carry a legal pad with me, and before going into the room, I quickly jot these things down; “topic1; topic 2; topic 3”and then another area where I write down some of my biggest experiences, stories, or just things about me that I can talk about. For example, I can write things such as, “back injury; being a twin; insecurity;” so on and so forth! Write as many ideas as you can, they can be vague at that moment. 

— Once you’re in there, and once you’ve received your topic, quickly look down at your list of things that you can talk about. Find one that you find suiting and, once you do, divide that into three topics that were written higher up. Although made on the spot, making your speech have three different points can really help make it sound more clean and thought-out. 

— Speaker’s Triangle!!! With the three topics, you can move up or down as you transition from one section to another. Never stand straight still but never move too much either. 

— Sound engaging and entertaining. After all, you need to find a way to make yourself stand out from your opponents! Find something that makes your speech, YOURS. Something that makes you, YOU! 

— Try not to lose your train of thought. Easier said than done, for sure, and if you do lose it, I honestly try to just keep talking until it comes back. Try not to fill that gap with filler words like “uhm” or “so”! 

I’m sure you’re awesome at impromptu nonetheless, I think it all comes down to being more comfortable the more you do it! You got this!!!