My Public Speaking Year 2011: February - 3 talks, 2 relatives remembered and 1 brief adhered to!

Old Basing U3A, Hampshire

I delivered the talk My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer three times in February. The first of these was for an afternoon meeting for the well-attended Old Basing U3A at the  Elizabeth Hall in Hook.

I got a great response from the 180 present and immediately afterwards was asked if I could speak the following month to retired staff from the pharmaceuticals firm Eli Lilly and Company at their Basingstoke building.

It was a name very familiar to me. My step-grandfather was a pharmacist who worked for them as a sales rep for twenty years until the mid-1960s. When I mentioned his surname to the two ladies, they not only remembered him but one even reeled off his three initials!

I was also immediately rebooked by the U3A for their Christmas meeting.

Joint Rotary Birthday Meeting, Area 1 Rotary International District 1140

Two weeks later I was booked as the guest speaker for a mixed audience at a Rotary Awareness Day for members from the 9 clubs in Area 1 of Rotary District 1140 and their guests. The event was hosted by the Rotary Club of Sutton Nonsuch and held at Chipstead Golf Club. The audience was mixed and I was given a brief to stick to:

"I don't know your work so forgive me if I emphasise that I have experienced some comic speeches where foul language and racist comments and homophobia are a substitute for wit. Nevertheless your audience is not po-faced and would enjoy the sort of double entendre and risque humour that you would find in the content of the shows on the BBC you mention having written for".

This was no problem for me at all, in fact I didn't even have to think much about whether any of my content would offend. I have been writing for radio and speaking for long enough to know what material is suitable for my audiences. Apart from the odd story that I leave out at some engagements in churches because it just doesn't feel right to me, I am confident that my talks will work for many different groups with very little modification. I don't tend to get booked for 'laddish' audiences anyway; the closest I get, I suppose, are 41 Clubs (they'll love that reference, I'm sure!) where the material can be slightly more outrageous but I would still not describe it as blue or politically incorrect.

Ah yes, that term. One of the questions I am nearly always asked after my talks about comedy writing is whether political correctness restricts me, as if I am sitting there itching to script nothing but a load of gags that are racist or whatever! Although there have been times in my life when instructions about what is acceptable language have perplexed me (I particularly remember one list on a handout I received when I was training for a qualification as an adult education tutor which included the word 'manpower') I generally have no problem with avoiding descriptions and humour which may offend certain groups that I do not belong to, especially as the motivation for this is kindness. 

My topical jokes tend to be about the behaviour of public figures. Even so, there was one joke about a famous person which I included in my talks for many years because I felt that it was about an image they had created for themselves rather being generally about the group they belong to but even that has now gone. I have plenty of other material.

I am also not one of those strange people who lumps political correctness together with health and safety laws (many years ago I was upstairs on a bus where a man was moaning about not being able to smoke and somehow linking this to the outcome of the OJ Simpson murder trial! Actually, that might make an anecdote for a talk...)

There is a whole world of ridiculous behaviour and daft events to make jokes and humorous observations about as the above tale demonstrates - but the list of 'taboo' subjects and terms is tiny. If you cannot speak in public without swearing or attacking minorities then I would suggest that a very old-fashioned (dying) form of stand-up comedy might be the only suitable arena for you!

Public Speaking Tip #401: There is no shortage of areas for humour that do not involve swearing, scatology or attacking minorities.

I had looked up the history of Nonsuch so I opened by telling them I had heard that the host club is named after a bunch of old ruins. It got a good laugh and I carried on from there (and no, they didn't find it ageist!)

Public Speaking Tip #402: If you are speaking in a place that you have never visited it can be worthwhile to do a little research about the locality and see if there is anything you can use, either as a humorous introduction or in some other way.

My one-time fellow Week Ending and News Huddlines scriptwriter Iain Pattinson has been doing this for decades with his brilliant short histories for Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.

I think this testimonial might just give you some idea of whether I managed to entertain the audience of 90 while sticking to the guidelines I was sent:

"Your speech to our 9 Rotary Clubs in North Surrey was much appreciated by me and I have received lots of feedback which was very positive about you.

It was so refreshing to hear someone who has the wit to make us laugh throughout the evening without resorting to 'blue' material and swearing. I do hope many others will get the chance to experience your talents". Howard Smith, Assistant Governor Area 1 Rotary District 1140.

A great, unsolicited testimonial to be able to quote on my publicity materials but can you imagine my after dinner speech attracting that sort of praise if I hadn't stuck to the brief?

Public Speaking Tip #403: If an organiser of an event sends you their requirements concerning your content it is because of their desire to make their event a success - not to make life difficult for you! Remember that they know the audience better than you do and co-operate - they will thank you for it!

My thanks to Howard for transport from the station.

Salut Club AGM, Bournemouth

The following evening I spoke to an audience of retired travel industry staff after a fish and chip supper following their AGM in the hall at St Saviours Church, Bournemouth.

As with the Old Basing U3A talk, an enquiry afterwards about the possibility of speaking to another group turned out to be from someone who had known a relative of mine.

A member asked for my details to pass on to a local cricket organisation. My late father Michael Parker Thomas played for a Bournemouth cricket team from the age of 12 until his death at 48 in 1986. He was, at various times, their captain and president. In 1981 he was given eleven months to live but was still playing for them - and playing well - some three years later!

When I mentioned his name to the gentleman he said 'Mike Thomas? No-one could spin a ball like he could!'

(In his teens my father won a national newspaper competition where the prize was coaching from Dennis Compton. Without an injury to his arm which he sustained in a road accident shortly afterwards he might have progressed further in cricket).

Meeting someone who remembered him was a nice end to the evening.

I am neither a pharmacist with the perfect good manners of a bygone age (which would seem strangely out of place nowadays) or a great amateur sportsman but I can at least try and make a memorable impression through my public speaking!

My Public Speaking Year 2011: January - 3 talks and retrieving a speaker's mojo

I'm going to work my way through last year's bookings and public speaking observations on a month-by-month basis.

Here's what happened in January...

Bransgore Probus, Hampshire

My third booking for Bransgore Probus was not for once a Christmas meeting. The club had now moved to the East Close Country House Hotel, a venue where I have spoken to numerous clubs over the years.

Their Vice-President, Dr Chris Manning very kindly drove me from Bournemouth to the venue and back and we discussed his involvement with Christchurch Priory. He told me about the guided tours of this beautiful and historic local landmark. These take place from April each year and are so popular that they have to be booked in advance. Definitely something I would be interested in.

Public Speaking Tip #396: Speaking engagements can themselves be a source of information about where to hear useful talks that you can learn from.

During their business meeting it was interesting to hear a short presentation from a new member and then it was time for my Groucho Marx talk which went well and was followed by an enjoyable lunch.

Friends of the Priory, Christchurch

By a remarkable coincidence, my next talk two days later was an afternoon presentation on The Power of Humour in Everyday Life for around 60 members of the Friends of Christchurch Priory in the town's Priory Hall.

The talk took place on a Thursday. The week had started with many newspapers mentioning 'Blue Monday', supposedly the most depressing day of the year based on a number of factors. I delivered a gag about wanting to cheer myself up by watching TV that night and I then read out a carefully-chosen selection from the schedules: soap operas, a miserable documentary and a crime drama. It got a good laugh.

Public Speaking Tip #397: Although most topical jokes have a reasonable shelf-life, especially where speeches are concerned, there are some that will only work within a very short time-frame so, if you think they're good enough, include them while you can.

In the 1990s I made hundreds of rail journeys from Bournemouth to London to write for BBC Radio comedy and documentary programmes and fringe theatre shows. Then I also became a public speaker and coach and carried on travelling on that line, either to nearby towns or much further afield. There are two points during that journey when I usually look up from whatever I'm reading or writing. The first needs daylight: it's the magnificent view over the River Test between Totton and Redbridge. I notice that many other passengers also take it in. The other is especially enjoyable at night. Just after the train has left Hinton Admiral, Christchurch Priory can be seen across the fields in the distance, lit up. That is the moment when I feel that I'm home.

I mentioned this when I was invited to deliver the 'Ancient Borough' speech by an incoming Mayor of the town years ago and I mentioned it again on this occasion. Who could be a more fitting audience for this observation?

Public Speaking Tip #398: A reference to a local landmark is a nice, tailored touch in a presentation.

A successful talk for an appreciative group.

The Probus Club of Andover

The following Monday I was back in Andover for yet another talk booked on a recommendation after a visit to another local group. The venue was the Masonic Hall where I had spoken to the Lloyds TSB Retired Staff Association two years earlier. Despite some banging noises from work being done on other parts of the premises, my talk after the lunch on My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer was well received. My thanks for the lift from the station.

Working with a disillusioned speaker

As I was preparing to speak to the Friends of Christchurch Priory I opened an email from a speaker I know. It was headed 'Speech help - please...' and it began:

"I have completely lost my confidence in terms of writing/delivering a speech".

This took me aback as this is a brilliant speaker, enthusiastic, hugely personable and with great content. I read on...

They explained that a few weeks earlier they had been booked by an agency to deliver a corporate speech at a major conference and it had not gone well. Just before this, they had already signed up for a couple of further presentations which were, if anything, even more high profile. They had only just received and read the briefing and had just over a week to write and prepare two 45-minute presentations but they could not get over the experience of the previous event:

"...basically it has really affected me...and now I feel totally sick. I am not kidding. Is this the sort of speech you can help me with?

I need really outstanding content...

I feel ill - I want to cancel - really I do...

Can you help please?" 

Of course I could!

I sent a brief email before my own talk:

"Don't cancel!"

It sounded very much to me as if their previous booking had been a case of them simply being the wrong speaker for that event. This can happen from time to time with agents, as I have discovered on the odd occasion among my own corporate speaking engagements. I did not want this speaker to cancel in case this put the agent off approaching them in the future.

The following day (Friday) the speaker rang the organisers of the event to discuss the requirements for the two presentations in more detail and was much happier having decided to go through with the bookings and with a better idea of what was needed. We then began exchanging initial ideas by email, working out an approach and a timetable which included a long meeting the following week. 

On the Tuesday I received an email with a load of ideas that the speaker had put together over 4 hours. They added:

"I am very worried".

I replied:

"Don't be".

Very early on the Wednesday morning I travelled out to meet the speaker, studying the material, reflecting on anything I knew about them and how some of this might usefully add to their content and then making notes en route (and people think using public transport is a disadvantage!)

When I met them they were very organised, surrounded by useful notes. We discussed the bad gig. Although there had been mistakes in the way that they had presented their material, it was, as I had suspected, more a case of them not being the best choice - it certainly didn't sound like a booking that I would have been particularly keen on for myself!

We spent about 5 hours together, going over a huge range of ideas. I left during the afternoon and by the evening they had typed up and emailed the first draft of the first speech that we had worked on but it was only around 60% of the length required and the opening remarks and closer needed work. Emails were exchanged discussing relevant additional content.

The following day (Thursday) I received another version with changes. The speaker asked whether they should attempt to learn their content by heart. I suggested that they should at least have bullet points visible at all times. I began script-editing this speech and, late that night, I emailed my suggestions.

Very early on the Friday morning the speaker replied that it read well. This was now a speech that would fill the allotted time. We then started work on the second presentation which was more of a challenge as it was not supposed to repeat too much of the content of the first. I sent some suggestions on the Saturday and received some new content from the speaker who added:

"Yes, it really is getting there".

I added some further ideas and set off on the Monday morning for my Andover talk. The two speeches were now ready but the speaker had still left plenty of time to add any further changes of their own.

Well, both presentations were resounding successes. I think there are two tips to pass on from this. Firstly...

Public Speaking Tip #399: You will not be the 'right' speaker for every booking you obtain. Do not let a bad gig affect your next engagement; just take something away from it, either in terms of lessons learned or humorous anecdotes - and move on.

And:

Public Speaking Tip #400 (yes 400!): One of the best ways to move on from a bad public speaking experience is to put in a huge amount of work preparing for the next.

Which is just what this speaker did, working for many (often unsocial) hours around professional and home commitments.

After the first triumph they were kind enough to send me a text:

"Thank you for helping me find my mojo again".

My pleasure!

Nick R Thomas ALAM 

Retrieving public speakers' mojos since 1997.

Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog: The Great Catch-Up Part 10

OK, so I have a new blogging platform, a new computer – and dozens of past speaking engagements to tell you about (plus tips to pass on from them, of course)…

Southdowns Valley WI Group, Hampshire

Five months after my talk for the Staunton WI Group, I spoke to another one in the same general area, Southdowns Valley. The topic once again was was My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer. I had been asked by a lady at the earlier talk to use different material in the autumn as she and a couple of others would be attending that meeting as well! This happens from time to time – I even wrote about it in my tongue-in-cheek list here - but there were around 70 others there who were hearing me for the first time and I didn’t see why they should miss out on my most popular content for the sake of a minority, especially as most WI members only tend to belong to one Group.

Public Speaking Tip #390: Where speech content is concerned, you should always consider the majority and give them your best material – even if a few audience members may have heard you before elsewhere.

I discussed this with the organiser in the days before the event and we agreed that I should deliver my usual talk for the sake of the majority. But I did vary the content a little – as I always do – and the talk was a barnstormer. My thanks to the husband of one of the members for the lift in from Cosham and back again afterwards in time to visit the shops in this friendly town.

Andover Talking Newspaper Association AGM

The following day I spoke on the same subject to an audience of around 50 following a buffet lunch at the AGM of the Andover Talking Newspaper Association. I got this booking after my Christmas talk for Andover U3A and I had a tough act to follow: the speaker at the previous year’s event had been Sky News anchor Colin Brazier talking about his recent interview with Colonel Gadaffi.

Public Speaking Tip #391: It always useful to know who the previous speaker was for an organisation, especially for an annual event. It gives you an idea of the interests and concentration levels of the audience and you may just find some common ground to refer to.

There is obviously a world of difference between a serious TV interviewer and a radio gag writer but I was at least able to make some connections when referring to my study of the news for topical material.

The audience consisted of volunteers who work for this very worthwhile organisation and some of its subscribers. The same considerations applied as when I have previously spoken to visually-impaired audiences.

My thanks for the transport from Andover station.

(The events that took place in Libya over the years after his talk will obviously have rendered Colin Brazier’s presentation even more fascinating).

Bournemouth North Probus

One of the earliest posts on this blog in 2007 was about a talk for Bournemouth North Probus. I finished by writing that they were having a recruitment drive.

Towards the end of 2010 they were still looking for new members and had decided to become a mixed club and were holding an open evening. My local paper reported this in a rather sensationalist way and I was booked as the speaker, my third engagement in three days.

There were around 35 in the audience, my subject was The Power of Humour in Everyday Life and I included many anecdotes about funny things that have happened to me at Probus talks and, of course, had a bit of fun with that press item! I finished by saying that mixed Probus clubs are actually not as unusual as some people think (I have certainly blogged about my talks for them a number of times) and that it’s a great organisation, both for speakers and members – from either sex.

Public Speaking Tip #392: It helps to know the purpose of a meeting because the content of your presentation – even a humorous one – could be of some help towards the intended outcome.

The club seems to be going strong.

Sandown Probus, Surrey

My first talk in November 2010 was – at last - a repeat booking for a club that I had wanted to return to since my first booking for them in March 1998: Sandown Probus in Esher.

I always remembered the humour of that meeting, during which one member passed on an observation that I have used – and got huge laughs with – hundreds of times since. It’s also in my booklet ‘Nick R’s in a Twist!’ (The vast majority of my content is original but just occasionally the odd item from outside sources is crying out to be included – especially if very few other people will have heard it). I wanted to return, not least of all to thank them!

Over the years I had mislaid their contact details but when I noticed that they now have a website, I got in touch and was delighted to receive a short-notice booking to speak on The Power of Humour in Everyday Life.

Public Speaking Tip #393: It can sometimes seem impossible to find contact details for organisations you would like to speak to. It may take some time but sooner or later, most of them will acquire a web presence or you will meet someone at another engagement who can put you in touch.

Sandown Probus meetings are still well-attended and very humorous. The speaker only has about 35 minutes after their business has concluded but the response is great. And I was chuffed that they put my Twelve Tips for Terrified Speakers on their site.

My thanks to them, not only for transport from the station but also for the lunch at the nearby Imber Court Sports Club and for this testimonial:

“Nick, many thanks for your great talk, much appreciated by all!”

They immediately booked me to return the following July. (I don’t know, you wait nearly thirteen years for a return visit to a club and then two come along all at once…)

Alum Chine Ladies Circle

The following evening I spoke for the third time since 2001 to the Alum Chine Ladies Circle who meet at Bournemouth’s Riviera Hotel.

This is always a nice group to speak to and my Patrick Campbell talk was well received by the 35 or so attending.

New Forest Past Rotarians and Associates

Over the years that I have been writing this blog I have posted a couple of times about talks for the New Forest Past Rotarians and Associates and I was back speaking to them again in November 2010. The subject was The Power of Humour in Everyday Life, the venue once again the South Lawn Hotel at Milford on Sea and, as always, the audience of around 20 was appreciative and the lunch afterwards very good.

My thanks to Mr Garland who drove me all the way in from Bournemouth – and back again!

CAMEO in Southampton

CAMEO stands for Come And Meet Each Other and there are a number of these groups in Hampshire, such as the club in Bitterne that I blogged about here. This was my second booking for the Southampton branch at the Highfield Church Centre in Southampton. My Patrick Campbell talk went well.

Arun U3A, West Sussex

I only had one booking in December 2010 and that was for Arun U3A at the Woodland Centre, Rustington, West Sussex.

I always include the odd seasonal story when I deliver my Patrick Campbell talk at Christmas but it was made even more topical by the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations announced the day before, in which the film The King’s Speech was heavily featured. Patrick Campbell was a patient at The Harley Street clinic of Lionel Logue, where he worked with a colleague of the famous therapist who was trained to use the same methods. This movie now had a connection with the subject of my talk: a broadcaster who died in 1980!

Public Speaking Tip #394: Major cultural events can turn out to have a link to the subject of your presentation so keep an eye on the news and the arts pages!

A great audience and a good end to what had looked like becoming a disastrous year as far as the number of bookings was concerned, my worst for about a decade. Despite having a website, a decent range of topics, being on various speaker lists, receiving repeat bookings and recommendations, the engagements were tailing off. So from August 2010 onwards I emailed a huge number of organisations, most of which had never heard me before. I finished the year having completed just 41 talks but it would have been even fewer without that marketing, and many more groups booked me for 2011, 2012 and beyond and brought the numbers back up to respectable figures.

Public Speaking Tip #395: However appreciative audiences are and however much marketing you have undertaken, clubs close down, new ones may not be aware of you and new speakers are always coming along to compete for available bookings. Keep an eye on how many bookings you are getting and be especially proactive if the numbers are dropping.

Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog: The Great Catch-Up Part 9

News about this blog

No, this isn't an April Fool's joke that's a week late - I am finally blogging again!

It was purely by chance that I discovered my old blogging platform was planning to delete all their blogs at the end of March so I have now switched to Squarespace. Just one problem: they couldn't import my old Blogware content so I have had to paste in all my entries and web pages since 2007 - over 200 items!

There's still masses of tidying up to do, such as adjusting font sizes and re-inserting internal links, and unfortunately all previous comments have gone. On the plus side, this new platform allows me to do many things that I couldn't before - such as having tags with more than one word in them! It's much faster-loading and neater-looking.

I really must thank my brother Dr Jimmy Blake for all his help with this and also with my recent computer problems - I am very lucky to have someone with his skills in my family. He's also a very busy technology speaker so it's interesting to compare notes from time to time about our rather differing audiences and objectives!

Public Speaking Tip #389: Have you tapped into the wealth of public speaking experience in your own family or among your friends and colleagues? From the pensioners who have spoken at numerous work and family functions during their lifetime to people perhaps currently engaged in some sort of teaching work - they all have some presentations wisdom to pass on.

Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog: The Great Catch-Up Part 8

Kidlington and District Probus President's Night, Oxford

There are some bookings I really look forward to, for example, when it's a favourite type of event in an area where I know from previous experience that the audiences are very responsive and when I find myself being booked by an organiser who knows exactly what their own expectations are - and what the speaker's requirements will be - for the event.

This was the case when I was booked for the Kidlington and District Probus President's Night in Oxford last October: a Probus event with a good-sized (80 - 90), mixed audience in Oxfordshire and arranged by Mr Derek Watson who had read this blog and decided that the talk My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer would be the right fit for this function.

And because he booked me some 20 months in adavance I had a long time to look forward to it!

It was a Friday meeting and I travelled to Oxford by train and then took a taxi to the venue, the Oxford Centre. After the excellent dinner I was introduced and, once again, enjoyed a barnstormer in Oxford, one of those talks where I find myself wondering whether I will have to omit planned material because the laughter has gone on so long.

Speaking of which... I had spent much of the day preparing for this engagement with a rolling TV news channel on in the background and the unavoidable story, one which had been building all week but which came to its conclusion that day, was whether Wayne Rooney would stay with Manchester United. As I thought about my talk for Kidlington Probus that evening I considered introducing a line about how their President Derek would be staying with them despite so many other clubs showing considerable interest in signing him. I'm sure it would have got a laugh but I decided not to go with it. I had plenty of material to include already and I didn't want to overrun.

Public Speaking Tip #388: Sometimes there just isn't room for all of your planned content and a good response, for example, the duration of the laughter at humorous material, may be the reason. You are better off editing-as-you-go and sticking as close as possible to the time limit rather than going on too long and losing the audience and perhaps even causing problems with the scheduling of the remainder of the event.

Testimonial from Mr Watson:

"Thank you for a great evening's entertainment at my Probus President's Night at Oxford.  I have received many congratulations from our members for having selected such an amusing and entertaining speaker who, without exception, left them all with a broad grin upon leaving!  Well done! We all had a superb evening which, in no small part, you contributed to wonderfully.  Many thanks indeed, your praises will be sung in this area for quite some time".

 
This was my second speaking engagement that week. Two days earlier I stepped in to cover a cancellation for Merley Evening Townswomen's Guild where I had previously spoken in June 2009. My topic was Patrick Campbell and once again they were a very good audience. My thanks once again to Mary for the transport back to Bournemouth.