Slide Presentation by Eric Watson

I stayed on at Southbourne Literary Society for the second half of last week's programme: a presentation with slides on 'The History of the Bournemouth Fire Brigade' by Mr Eric Watson, one of this area's most respected speakers.

Now, the mere mention of any kind of slide show can produce negative feelings in many people! Perhaps they have found themselves sitting through a neighbour's proud projection of seemingly endless, boring holiday snaps or some dry lecture interrupted by a series of technical hitches with the visual aids. They may even have been subjected to a spectacular but ultimately bafflng modern power point presentation which added nothing to a training day.

All I can say is that Eric Watson's slide shows are extremely well-received, in fact next year will see his 1,000th speaking engagement since 1993!

He started his presentation by donning a fireman's helmet and reciting a humorous poem about what the job was like - a light-hearted introduction to what would, at times, be a very serious subject. He then told the audience that although they may have seen a well-known book by another retired local fireman, he would be showing a different range of pictures. Throughout the talk, he was able to draw upon his own experiences from nearly 30 years spent driving many of the fire appliances featured in the slides and he also mentioned his regular meetings with other, much older, retired firefighters. Therefore, right from his opening remarks, he had authority (although it has to be said that the fact that he is 6 foot 8 added to this!)

Public Speaking Tip #86: You cannot put a decent presentation together from just one book and a bit of extra material from Wikipedia (unless, perhaps, you are the author of the book!) You have to draw your material from a number of sources and viewpoints. Personal working experience connected in some way with your subject gives your talk particular credibility.

When the lights were dimmed, Mr Watson's voice  didn't go down with them but remained perfectly audible. Many speakers using slides speak much too quietly when the room gets darker and they can no longer see the back row of the audience with the result that a presentation full of stunning visuals is constantly interrupted by calls of 'Can't hear you!' Using a projector doesn't mean that you should stop projecting!

Publing Speaking Tip #87: Visual aids are just that - aids for a speaker, not a replacement for him/her. Speak at the same volume when the lights go down for your slide show as you were beforehand.

Remember, also, that even though you cannot see your audience, they can still see you in the half-light so you will still need to pay attention to your stance, etc. Continue to make some eye contact in the direction of your audience - don't just look sideways at the screen.

There was one technical problem when the projector bulb went, but, like the professional he is, our speaker had brought a spare one which he quickly fitted. While doing this, he asked the audience if they had any questions up to that point.

Public Speaking Tip #88: Be prepared for technical hitches, for example, by bringing along any replacement parts you might need. And if your presentation does grind to a temporary halt, try to make good use of the time, for example, by inviting questions from the audience while the problem is fixed; this ensures that they remain involved and interested.

There were some fascinating stories, references to a large number of well-known local buildings (most long demolished) and Mr Watson wasn't shy when it came to mentioning his own feelings about the changes which came about when the Bournemouth Fire Brigade was swallowed up by the Dorset Fire Service as part of the county boundary changes in 1974 - informed opinion from someone with first-hand experience of working under these conditions.

Public Speaking Tip #89: Personal opinions in a presentation carry a great deal more weight if they are supported by lengthy personal experience.

The audience really appreciated the talk. He said it was one that wasn't booked as often as many of his others but his delivery was very polished.

I was delighted to meet - and hear - Mr Watson at last; for many years we have been recommending each other for talks purely on reputation!

It was a very good way to finish yet another enjoyable evening at Southbourne Literary Society.