Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog

Monday, October 1

The Eyes have it

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Mon 01 Oct 2007 03:37 PM BST

Speechwriting ad in Private Eye

On 18 September I also decided to run another classified ad for my speechwriting in Private Eye. The Eye is the place to advertise such services nowadays but I also wanted somewhere with a very large readership to mention this new public speaking tips blog.

While Private Eye pretty much has the monopoly as far as print advertising for us speechwriters is concerned, there are other national publications which can be extremely useful to speakers in other ways. Obviously the big major political speeches are reproduced in the papers (sometimes in their entirety in the broadsheets) but all national newspapers print stories with snippets from other high-profile speakers. Sometimes a broadsheet Diary column will reproduce a good one-liner from a successful topical after dinner speech by someone like Rory Bremner and you can use this to see what type of material works with certain audiences. You will also get the occasional tabloid story about some celebrity who has supposedly shocked a group with inappropriately risqué material (although the level of outrage is probably highly exaggerated!) and this can be helpful in determining what to avoid (although after a while this becomes a matter of simple common sense).

Public Speaking Tip #30: Keep cuttings of newspaper stories containing extracts from speeches and use these as a guide to what sort of material works - and what definitely doesn't!

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Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Mon 01 Oct 2007 12:18 AM BST

Something to take away from these talks

Tuesday 18 September was pretty busy. In the morning I made some changes to the 'Twelve Tips for Terrified Speakers!' leaflet that I give out free at all my speaking engagements by adding that additional tips can now be found at this website/blog and also updating the details of my speechwriting and presentation skills training services and the ever-growing list of my talks.

This leaflet started out as 'Ten Tips...!' in 2002 but I expanded it when I was booked to give a presentation for the Central Management Unit of the Home Office three years later. I have given out thousands of copies, not just at talks which are specifically about public speaking skills but everywhere I am booked, whatever my subject. Of course, it does contain the aforementioned advertising and contact details as well but the important thing is that it gives people useful free advice - any resulting bookings to write speeches, coach speakers or give further talks are a bonus. It's like distributing a really handy business card, in fact, one unsolicited testimonial from that Home Office training day even stated:

"I also have the feeling that some of your 12 Tips will be useful in scenarios other than public speaking".

This is not the only leaflet I give away, for example, when I deliver my talk about the late Irish humorous writer Patrick Campbell, I also offer a free list of his many books.

It also helps where merchandising is concerned in that a giveaway item brings people along to the table who may then decide to buy a booklet from me as well.

Public Speaking Tip #29: It is a good idea to have something to give away to audience members after you have spoken, for example, a leaflet which is full of useful information but inexpensive for you to produce. This can also contain contact details and advertising for you, such as a list of your talks for anyone who wants to recommend you.

Another advantage is that if you are selling anything, such as a booklet, it brings people up who may look at that as well and possibly buy - just be sure to make it clear which items are freebies and which have to be paid for!

The new copy was then emailed to the ever-helpful Helen at Copy King in Bournemouth and shortly afterwards, I collected the leaflets, along with yet another run of my booklet 'Nick R's in a Twist!' ready to sell at my next engagements.

If you live in the Bournemouth area (or further afield as they take long-distance orders) and you are looking for a copy shop which gives excellent service at a competitive price then I really cannot recommend Copy King in Winton highly enough. Their website can be found in the Favourites list on this site.

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