More Public Speaking Tips in the Photos section of this blog
Click on each of the Photos on this site and you will find a short article which includes, like all my blog posts, a useful Public Speaking Tip.
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"This is an unusual blog; the art of public speaking is crucial to politics and yet there's not much devoted to it specifically. This blog does, with posts combining accounts of the writer's recent engagements with some handy hints. Given some of the turgid speeches we're forced to suffer in the Commons, more MPs could do with reading it". politics.co.uk
"Nick spoke at our joint meeting with Kingston 41 Club. It was a brilliant evening. Nick is an engaging speaker, witty, topical and very interesting. He spoke for three quarters of an hour without notes, a most knowledgeable man. I cannot recommend Nick enough and can assure you that engaging him is a worthwhile endeavour. I wish you a great evening like ours". Manny Martins Vice Chairman of Hamble Valley Stick Club and 41 Club Regional Councillor, Region 24.
"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 resort 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.
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Wednesday, November 14
Now some visual aids
by
Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)
on Wed 14 Nov 2007 08:10 PM GMT
To be a good visiting speaker you need to visit good speakers!
by
Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)
on Wed 14 Nov 2007 01:13 PM GMT
Boscombe and Southbourne Probus
My third booking last week was a talk for Boscombe and Southbourne Probus on Thursday. I have a great fondness for this club because my first talk there ten years ago led to a couple of amusing incidents which have been extremely popular in talks ever since, as well as being published in 'Nick R's in a Twist!' In fact, it was also at that engagement that someone first suggested that I should publish a collection of my stories. This was my fourth visit and I was pleased to see that a successful recruiting campaign was paying off for them so there were 45 present for my talk about Groucho Marx. It went very well and there was a good question and answer session afterwards - always a bonus! Among the members was Mr Tom Hall, Honorary Secretary of the Southbourne Literary Society where I will be delivering another brand new talk, 'I Must Write That Down: A Commonplace Book', on 21 November. It's always a double bill there, a literary speaker usually followed by a slide show, and I was pleased to learn that my talk will be followed by a presentation from Eric Watson, not only because his subject 'The History of the Bournemouth Fire Brigade' will be of great interest to me, but also because he has an excellent reputation but I have never actually heard him speak (like me, most of his engagements are for meetings of clubs and societies which are not open to non-members). I mentioned in an earlier post about the benefits of repeated listening to recordings by well-known speakers. It is also, of course, hugely informative to actually attend talks and lectures; we can all watch interviewees on TV chat shows or hear extracts from speeches on the news but nothing beats being there in person for an entire live, unedited presentation. As a child, I can't claim that the guests at school speech days paricularly inspired me but when I was eleven, my family took me to a conservation rally at a Purbeck beauty spot where the broadcaster Kenneth Allsopp held an audience spellbound in an open-air setting on a hot summer afternoon. There is a picture of the event in the book Tyneham by Rodney Legg (Dorset Publishing Company, 2002). When I became a speaker, I sought out (and still do!) events featuring great speakers. There was an evening of polished anecdotes from broadcaster David Jacobs at Winchester's Tower Arts Centre, a superb show from that great raconteur Victor Spinetti at the Nuffield in Southampton and I got to hear the great Blaster Bates at Yeovil's Octagon Theatre. He was in his mid-70s but still performed for over two hours (I missed the last train and had to pay for a taxi back to Bournemouth but it was worth it - Blaster was special!) Then there is the legendary Roy Hudd, whose Radio 2 programme I wrote for over a 12-year period. In 2005, he brought his one-man show to the Pier Theatre here in Bournemouth (in the Photos section of this site, you can see a picture of him with my partner Val and myself later that evening). I have heard some great talks by well-known authors, such as Simon Brett and Kevin Goldstein-Jackson at Poole Writers' Circle. At a literary lunch in Kent, I shared a bill with Antonia Barber, writer of the very popular children's book 'The Mousehole Cat'. Bookshops often stage events featuring famous writers. Sadly, my local branch of Borders seldom seems to hold these now, but over the years, I have heard impressive speakers like Michael Winner, who spoke for an hour without notes while a member of staff held a microphone in front of his face because they didn't have a stand! The financial guru Alvin Hall answered questions from a huge crowd and veteran comedy actor Graham Stark spoke about the book he'd written about his friend Peter Sellers (or he did until, unbelievably, his talk was cut short by staff keen to put on a film quiz; apparently they thought people would rather answer questions about movies than listen to someone who'd appeared in many of the most successful!) I noted how entrepreneur Howard Hodgson still turned up to speak there in September 2000, despite the difficulties and tiny audience caused by that month's petrol blockades. Another talk I enjoyed at Borders was by self-help author Tim Laurence. I made sure I was present when travel writer and broadcaster Rory MacLean entertained the Friends of Wimborne Library with very funny readings from his latest book and I have heard some excellent speakers at Society of Authors lunches, such as Dorchester Library's wonderfully humorous manager, and the caretaker of Thomas Hardy's home Max Gate, who, as part of a guided tour, delivered a terrific reading of the poem 'When I Set Out for Lyonesse' as we stood in Hardy's garden. Southbourne Literary Society itself is open for anyone to attend and I have often been along to meetings where I was not the booked speaker, often taking along students from my public speaking classes. I went to author and Professor of Radio at Bournemouth University Sean Street's talk about the Dimmock poets and that same evening, Mr Hall himself spoke fascinatingly about his memories from 60 years (yes, 60!) involvement with the Society. And just last year, I spent an enjoyable Friday evening at a church in Branksome where three speakers, all retired from long careers in television or the theatre locally, reminisced about their work. None seemed to be particularly experienced at delivering anecdotes in this type of setting but they all managed to entertain a surprisingly large audience while helping to raise funds for the church. The point is that listening to all these speakers over the years, whether they were well-known or not, was fascinating and made an impression; however experienced I become, I continue to watch out for opportunities to hear others' presentations. Public Speaking Tip #70: Take every opportunity to listen to - and learn from - other speakers. Friday, November 9
Question 1: If I'm not happy with my presentation, can I take it back?
by
Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)
on Fri 09 Nov 2007 05:17 PM GMT
Last Tuesday, I delivered two talks: a brand new quiz for Bournemouth Central Probus followed by Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer for a large group of retired Marks and Spencer staff in Southampton.
Bournemouth Central Probus Club On Tuesday 6 November, I was the speaker at the Bournemouth Central Probus Club. This was my fourth visit, but the first time I had ever been booked for one of their Coffee Mornings. It was also the 'première' of my new Great Comedy Quiz. I was sorry to learn that the Speaker Secretary who had booked me, Frank Marsh, had passed away. You meet some memorable characters at speaking engagements and he was someone I had enjoyed speaking to at previous bookings. There were about 45 people at the Belvedere Hotel (including members' wives) and I think they were used to talks rather than quizzes at this type of meeting but fortunately this new title combines both as I deliver anecdotes about the comics or shows revealed to be the correct answers (it makes it seem less like an exam!) As well as preparing the material, I had also taken paper and even spare pens for the contestants. Most played in pairs and there were a lot of laughs, one of the best being an ad lib from one lady when I asked for the name of the Marx Brother who didn't appear in their movies. I said 'You're coming up with all manner of names with an 'o' on the end aren't you?' and she suggested 'Dunno!' Brilliant! Public Speaking tip #68: Audience participation can be great fun, especially quizzes, provided the questions are not too hard - or too easy. The interaction often provides a great deal of humour over and above the speaker/quizmaster's prepared material and helps to make the occasion even more memorable. When the quiz section had ended, I told some of the stories I hadn't used in my previous talks for them and got a barnstorming reception, ending with the quotation I mentioned in my last posting - only this time I remembered it without any problems! After a chat with another of this club's members who I always enjoy meeting, a retired detective, I made my way to the station to travel to Southampton for the other talk that day. The announcements on the Virgin train were a lot more cheerful this time, in fact, rather giggly, but that was much preferable to my previous journey. Southampton Forever Friends There were about 80 at this club, mostly women, and they were all waiting patiently for me when I finally found a way into the building!. The talk went brilliantly and as I was signing off and giving my booklet a last mention, I told them that it included a story I hadn't had time to include in the talk, an anecdote about what happened to me once when I was speaking at a nearby hotel (now demolished). The audience were disappointed at the thought of not hearing it so, despite having already filled the allotted time, I was allowed to add this tale and it went extremely well, in fact, I can't ever remember getting such prolonged applause. Booklet sales were excellent afterwards and I think they will be booking me to speak again in this very pleasant venue (the Masonic Hall). Oh yes, and I got that quotation right again! Public Speaking Tip #69: You should stick to your allotted time but you will often find when your presentation goes really well, especially if it's humorous, that organisers and audiences are happy for you to do a few minutes more. It's best to ask if this is ok once you have spoken for the agreed time. |
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