Romsey U3A

I was up early the next morning as I needed to be in Romsey for a 10am talk about 'The Wits of the Algonquin Round Table' for the town's U3A, a group I had last spoke to nearly five years earlier. It has grown considerably since then, in fact this was the largest audience I'd had for a while: 200!

Public Speaking Tip #32: To a beginner, even an audience of 20 can seem daunting but once you get in the habit of regular public speaking, you will find that numbers don't seem to make a lot of difference to you, in fact, if you are anything like me, you will soon come to regard audiences of less than 60 as small!

This even carries over to speaking on radio where there may be tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of listeners - it can feel no different to speaking to a group of 40 in a hall. This is what regular practice can do for you.

I handed the Speaker Secretary who would be introducing me a card with a few brief details.

Public Speaking Tip #33: If you are asked to provide information for an introduction, I would suggest a piece of card with just a few clear, large lines explaining:

- a little about yourself

- where you have travelled from

- when you last spoke to them and what the subject was (if applicable)

- a very brief description of today's topic.

I had been asked to use a microphone. Normally I try to avoid these if at all possible as I believe more public speaking is ruined by sound equipment than anything else but the Crosfield Hall is a big room and there were a number of people in this large audience who had hearing problems so it was necessary. The mic on this occasion was a good one and there appeared to be no problems for myself or the audience.

Public Speaking Tip #34: After a while, you should be able to project your voice adequately for even very large audiences to hear you perfectly well but there will be occasions when even a tiny group will insist on your using a microphone, probably because some members have hearing aids connected to a Loop system and you should co-operate with this.

Public Speaking Tip #35: Problems you may encounter with microphones include:

- low batteries leading to cordless mics cutting out

- feedback unless you stay rooted to one spot without moving!

- the sound being just too 'tinny'

- echo caused by low ceilings

So there will also be times when, out of equal consideration for your audience, you should just dispense with the damn thing altogether and simply speak LOUDLY!

If you test the microphone before you are introduced, this should give you an idea of any potential problems.

This talk is one that I have not delivered very often so I still rely on bullet-point notes. The classic lines of great wits like Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, George S Kaufman and many others got big laughs from the crowd but it still felt a little less fluent than other presentations which I have delivered hundreds of times.

But there were a gratifying number of questions and I received many compliments afterwards.

Public Speaking Tip #36: I have found that there is no correlation between the number of questions for a speaker and the actual success of their talk (I often have absolute barnstormers followed by no questions whatsoever!) but a good question and answer session can 'rescue' a presentation which you may not feel was your best; this is, after all, the last element that the audience hears and they also have the opportunity to participate.

I was very flattered that a lady came up afterwards and bought a copy of my anecdotes booklet to send to her niece who is about to start studying as an actor at New York's famous Lee Strasbourg Theatre Institute.

One of the 'windfall gains' of travelling around giving all these talks is that I get to meet so many interesting and talented people - and hear what they have to say. Don Grimshaw, the Speaker Secretary of Romsey U3A, does the most stunning calligraphy, in fact his letter confirming the booking was the most ornate I have ever received! It was fascinating to hear him talk about his art and his interest in the Book of Kells.