At work, at church, at family gatherings -- you never know when you are going to be asked to "say a few words." When it happens, you rarely have more than a few seconds to organize your thoughts.

To make the most of these "impromptu" speaking opportunities, follow one of these content organization methods:

Past, present, future
Examine your opinion or recommendation under the lens of time. For example, if you want to discuss the office policy on smoking, you could compare policies used 20 years ago, the current policy and your future policy recommendations. The linear nature of this organizational structure is easy for people to follow and gives them a historical perspective.

Me, a friend, everyone else
This technique examines how an issue affects you, the speaker; a friend or colleague; and a larger group of people, possibly including the audience. In our smoking policy example, you could first address how the smoking policy has affected you; then you could compare how the policy affects a colleague and the entire office. This format allows your audience to move from a specific example to a much larger context.

Yes/no, and here's why
This technique is especially useful if there are differences in how individual members are affected by the information being presented. It personalizes all sides of the debate. Begin your impromptu speech by firmly stating your recommendation (on the office smoking policy, for example); then follow with your reasons why.