Planned spontaneousness

Have you ever attended any seminars where the speakers are so eloquent and confident in their presentation, they seem to be able to pluck ideas from the sky whenever they need it in their speech?

You will be amazed at how spontaneous they seem to be on stage, as if they are making things up as they go along.

But have you ever considered that perhaps the speaker planned in advance to look and sound spontaneous?

When I attended the NLP training, initially I was very overwhelmed by how spontenously the trainer was able to bring up relevant stories and anecdotes to support his arguments and points. The various jokes, examples and games that he presented seemed to have been thought of at that moment itself when he was presenting the points.

Then, later on, I caught up to his tactics. He was trying to manipulate the psychology of the participants. By presenting himself as someone confident who knows anything and everything from the back of his hand, the participants are more willing to accept his point of view. And he is able to drive through the message that the mind is greater than the body, with his pre-planned set of games, messages and phrases.

To be able to speak spontaneously is a valuable asset especially when it comes to initiating conversations with clients, presenting key points in your business case (in this example, you will come across as someone who is very familiar with your product or service, and hence the best possible person to deal with). In fact, impromptu speaking is given the name of Table Topics in the well-known Toastmasters International club.

By practicing the art of planned spontaneousness, you will need to reach an awareness level of 4 (unconscious competence), where you do not need to search your memory banks for the answers. If someone asks you your name, you do not need to pause and think how to answer; instead, you immediately provide your name.

This is the spontaneous response that should be honed by a presenter or speaker to be able to drive your message through more effectively and convincingly.