Course: Public Speaking — Fundamentals of Oral Communication (COMM 1) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Marchetti
Module: Week 15 of 16 · Fall 2026 · in-person, two 75-minute sessions + one weekly Speech Workshop
Objective covered: Objective 8 — Deliver with confidence across special-occasion, small-group/team, and impromptu settings, and manage audience questions and answers.

This file holds two pieces: (A) the Module 15 Overview page ("Start Here") and (B) the Module 15 Announcement that drips out when the module opens. Dates below assume a Tuesday/Thursday pattern with Week 15 meeting Tue Dec 8 and Thu Dec 10, a Speech Workshop that same week, and end-of-week work due Sunday Dec 13, 11:59 p.m. Adjust the day-of-week and times to match your section.

(A) Module 15 Overview — Start Here

Welcome to Week 15: Impromptu & Adapting on the Fly / Handling Q&A

This is your home base for the week. Read it first, then work the checklist below from top to bottom. Everything you need is linked inside the module.

You've built a full toolkit over fourteen weeks — you can analyze an audience, craft a thesis, organize an argument, wield the rhetorical appeals, and hold the room through a prepared speech. This week tests a different skill: what do you do when you don't have time to prepare? Impromptu speaking — thinking on your feet, building a response in seconds, landing one clear point even when the prompt surprises you — is the form of public speaking you'll use most in real life. Job interviews, class discussions, Q&A panels, unexpected toasts, sudden presentations to the boss: all impromptu.

The secret isn't talent. It's structure. Speakers who seem effortlessly quick on their feet have a framework running in the background — most often something like PREP (Point → Reason → Example → Point) — so they don't ramble; they land. This week you learn that framework, practice it until it's automatic, and then apply it to the real test: your Impromptu Speech, recorded and PREP-structured, worth 100 points.

The week's big question

"When you can't prepare, can a fast structure save you — and can you stay composed when things go sideways?"

By Friday you'll be able to explain PREP and apply it instantly to an unfamiliar prompt, handle a hostile or unknown Q&A question with a bridge instead of a panic, and recover gracefully when technology fails or you lose your place.

By the end of this week, you can…

Use this as a checklist. If you can do all four out loud, you're ready for the quiz.

• [ ] Define impromptu speaking and distinguish it from extemporaneous delivery — impromptu = no advance prep; extemp = prepared and practiced from a keyword outline.
• [ ] Apply the PREP framework (Point → Reason → Example → Point) to an unfamiliar prompt in under 60 seconds of thinking time.
• [ ] Use Q&A best practices — listen to the whole question, repeat/reframe it, answer concisely, bridge to a main point, say "I don't know" honestly instead of bluffing.
• [ ] Deliver a PREP-structured impromptu speech of 60–90 seconds with one clear point, composure, and strong delivery.

What's due this week, and when

Work these in order — each one gets you ready for the next.

Heads-up on the final: Week 16 is the Final Exam — cumulative across all 8 objectives. There are no new speeches in Week 16. Finish strong here.

Heads-up on the AI tools: same deal as every week — the chatbot helps you rehearse and self-assess, and then you judge its feedback. Impromptu coaching especially brings out the chatbot's tendency toward hollow praise. Catch it.

Late policy reminder: 10% off per day late. If life happens, reach out before the deadline.

How to succeed this week

• Trust the structure, not the inspiration. You don't need a brilliant idea in 60 seconds. You need ONE point, ONE reason, ONE example, and a landing. PREP gives you that every time.
• Practice the draw. The Workshop asks you to draw a prompt cold and structure in 60 seconds. Do it more than once — the second and third draw get much easier.
• Q&A is just impromptu on demand. Every Q&A best practice this week is PREP in disguise: point first, reason briefly, close cleanly. "I don't know" is always better than a bluff.
• Composure is a skill, not a personality. Pausing before you answer isn't weak — it's what smart speakers do. One slow breath, one structure in your head, go.
• You've already done harder things this term. Your persuasive speech, your special-occasion speech — all of that preparation lives in your body now. An impromptu just asks you to use it fast.

One week left after this. Make it count.

(B) Module 15 Announcement

Release setting: post on the module's start day (offset = 0 days), i.e., Mon Dec 7, 2026 — not before. If your platform won't preserve the scheduled date on import, post this as a draft labeled "Release: Mon Dec 7."

Subject: Week 15 — Thinking on Your feet (this one's different)

Hi everyone,

Every speech so far has given you time to prepare. This week, that changes. Week 15 is impromptu speaking — the form you'll actually use most out in the world. Job interviews. Unexpected questions in meetings. A friend asking you to say a few words at a dinner. You get seconds, not days.

Here's the thing: structure is faster than inspiration. Speakers who look effortlessly quick on their feet aren't winging it — they have a framework. This week's framework is called PREP (Point → Reason → Example → Point), and once it's automatic, you can build a decent 60-second response to almost anything. We'll also work on Q&A: how to repeat a question before you answer it, how to bridge to what you actually want to say, and — most important — how to say "I don't know" with confidence instead of bluffing your way into trouble.

Your big deliverable this week is the Impromptu Speech — drawn from a prompt, structured with PREP, recorded in 60–90 seconds, worth 100 points. It's the last speech of the term, and it's the one that shows what you can do without a safety net.

Three things not to miss:
1. Lecture Tutorial 15 — work through PREP and Q&A with one approved chatbot and submit the share link. Due Sun Dec 13.
2. Speech Workshop 15 — the Impromptu Drill: draw a prompt, take 60 seconds, record, self-assess. Also due Sun Dec 13.
3. Assignment 15 — the Impromptu Speech — your final speech of the term. Closed-book, PREP-structured, recorded. Due Sun Dec 13.

One more week after this, and it's the final exam. No new speeches — just a cumulative review. So finish strong right here.

See you Tuesday.

Prof. Marchetti