Speaking off the cuff: A lesson from Mr. Bean

May 21, 2018

Speaking off the cuff – a nightmare for those who aren’t prepared. Having to give a presentation without much time for preparation can happen anywhere: at work, at conferences, at dinner parties, weddings and all kinds of functions. And while you may want to freeze or flee the scene, you have no choice: the stage is yours. What can you do? Here are a few tips and tricks you can learn from Mr. Bean!

First of all, if you’ve not yet seen Bean: The Movie, go watch it now. What I love most about the Bean movies and TV show is that the humour transcends language. Mr. Bean (played by Rowan Atkinson) barely ever speaks and when he does, he uses the fewest words necessary to further the plot. This makes the movie (and the show) ideal to watch with people who don’t speak the same language.

But how can Mr. Bean teach us anything about speaking off the cuff if he rarely ever talks? In the movie (careful, spoiler ahead), Mr. Bean travels to the US and is mistaken as a leading British expert on Victorian Art. As such, he is expected to give a 20-minute speech to the press about a painting: Whistler’s Mother. A painting he obviously knows nothing about. What follows is a fantastic example of speaking off the cuff and a great source for tips on surviving such a situation with your dignity intact.

Mr. Bean speaking off the cuff

Not too bad, right? Obviously, a real audience would be less forgiving in this particular circumstance. But even then, Mr. Bean did better than most people might expect in his shoes. So what can we learn from it? Here are a few tricks he used that you can apply next time you find yourself speaking off the cuff:

Buy time

Mr. Bean begins his speech by asking a question. And not just any question. In a proper (=prepared) presentation, there are various types of questions you can choose from, each with their own advantages, disadvantages and goals. But when you’re speaking off the cuff and still haven’t come up with what to say, throwing back the question you’re meant to answer is the easiest way of stalling for a few more seconds.

This gives you time to think and plan out your answer. Once you’ve practiced this a few times, you’ll find it much easier to organise the rest of your speech while you’re already speaking. Simply throw the question back at your audience, say a few sentences that don’t require cognitive work on your part and then use that time to think of something more profound to say.

What do I mean with “sentences that don’t require cognitive work”?

This is the next thing Mr. Bean does well in the video:

Start with what the audience already knows

After buying time with the question, Mr. Bean makes a statement about the painting that everyone in the room can observe and agree to: “Well firstly, it’s quite big.”

“But that’s obvious!” – a cynic

Yes, it is. But that’s okay. Every speech and presentation ideally builds on what the audience already knows. And it’s totally legit to identify this common point of knowledge. This brings you and your audience onto the same proverbial page. And when you’re speaking off the cuff, it buys you that valuable time to come up with more in-depth on the topic.

That first statement did something much more though. It’s something that can help too:

Choose a structure (and stick to it)

One of the most challenging things about speaking off the cuff is not knowing where to go. How to put your thoughts into a sensible order. That’s why it can help to force yourself a specific path. There are many to choose from, but Mr. Bean goes for a typical, standard “First, second, third, … “ pattern.

How? By saying “Well firstly”, he begins the pattern and this creates an expectation in his listeners’ minds that a “secondly” will follow soon. While the concept of creating expectations may seem frightening (more so than speaking off the cuff already is), you can see it as a safety rail to hold on to. Because now all you have to do is come up with at least one more factual statement, instead of panicking about the structure of your speech.

Other structures you can choose from (and stick to once you start one):

Past, present, future

Con, pro

Good, better best

Bad, worse, worst

A story

He said, she said, I say

Having these structures in mind is a large part of how you can prepare for unprepared presentations and speeches.

As expected, Mr. Bean delivers a second point to his speech (and also announces that it will be the final point). His second part of the speech contains a fair share of valuable tips (audience engagement, addressing shared values, lifting spirits), but today I want to examine a specific one:

Draw from personal experience

Not knowing what to say about the painting’s cultural, historic or artistic value, Mr. Bean explains what the painting says about the importance of family. Where did Mr. Bean learn that family is important? Well, according to him, “by staying with my best friend, David Langley and his family.”

In case you’ve not watched the movie: David’s family (with whom Mr. Bean is staying) hates Mr. Bean. This, of course, leads to a series of comedic conflicts throughout the movie.

By incorporating your personal experience, you achieve several goals:

You find content more easily (experiences are easier to remember than plain facts/figures) You make yourself relatable to the audience (experiences make you appear more human) You make the speech content more relatable (a message learned by you is a message your audience can learn through their own experience too)

Of course, when you’re drawing from personal experience while speaking off the cuff, you will want to expand on it further than Mr. Bean does in the clip. He’s forgiven though because we (the viewer) know the backstory. Tell your audience what exactly you experienced. Tell them how the experience made you feel.

Final thoughts

Is this impromptu speech perfect? Not by any Beans. There is much room for improvement, mainly in regards to body language and the fact that you should avoid describing someone’s mother as “a hideous old bat who looked like she had a cactus lodged up her backside.” But more about that another time!

Until then, use these lessons when giving your next presentation – whether impromptu or even prepared in advance. And remember: the more you practice, the more fun you’ll have the next time you’re speaking off the cuff!