Three Legged Cross WI Christmas Meeting

I thought I was doing so well avoiding the cough that most of the country seems to have come down with in recent weeks but it caught up with me a couple of days after my last talk. I expected that I would at least be getting better as my booking to speak to Three Legged Cross Women's Institute last Wednesday approached but the cough hadn't loosened at all. I mentioned in one of the first posts in this blog about cancelling a booking through ill-health earlier in the year but I decided that in the case of this one, I would go ahead with it. The reason was that this was a special meeting: a Christmas party with guests, a meal and then the WI putting on some entertainment of their own as well. My talk, being humorous, was an important part of the schedule and had been advertised for months. I also figured that many of the members would have the bug, or would be getting over it, so I would not be alone!

Public Speaking Tip #97: If you have been booked with a special event in mind, you should do your utmost to honour it unless cancellation really is unavoidable.

My state of health made me a little sluggish, with the result that I narrowly missed the bus i needed so I then had to catch a different one to Ferndown and, from there, take a taxi out to  Three Cross. The cabbie was very charming but unfortunately lacked a) a knowledge of the geography of a village a mere 5 miles from where he is based and b) any comprehension of the English concept of a Village Hall. But we did arrive just in time for the start of the meeting. I had been reading local newspaper items about this WI's meetings for years but this was the first time I had spoken to them. There were 28 there, including guests from a number of other local Institutes.

Sure enough, I was hit by coughing fits almost as soon as my talk started and had to do a fair amount of recapping so I could continue the stories which had been so rudely interrupted - by me! This was a two-lozenge talk (I have never had that before!) but the ladies were very patient and I got through it in the end.

Towards the end, I had mentioned a talk which I had done in Weston-super-Mare nearly a decade earlier and I saw somebody at the back whispering to her neighbour. Afterwards, she came up and said 'I thought I'd seen you somewhere before!' It turned out that she had been there that day.

Public Speaking Tip #98: A successful presentation can be remembered for many years afterwards.

After a nice meal, a number of the members performed a playlet about the meaning of Christmas and another read a humorous, topical poem. There is a tradition of ladies' groups like WIs and TGs putting on performances at this time of year but, remarkably when you consider how long I have been a speaker, I had never seen one before! This one was well thought out, looked well-rehearsed and all the participants threw themselves into it.

Despite the coughs and transport problems, I was very glad I went.

Sarum Probus

Last Friday morning, I travelled up to Salisbury City Hall to speak to Sarum Probus, a booking I got from a recommendation following a talk for a church group in Salisbury back in May. As with my talk on Wednesday, the title was Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer, it was my first time speaking to a particular audience - and my cough was no better!

On the way, I stopped to buy a Daily Telegraph in case there was anything in that morning's edition that I could refer to in my presentation (the Telegraph is virtually the 'house journal' of Probus members, in fact, I can seldom remember hearing any other paper mentioned!)

Public Speaking Tip #99: Linking some part of your content to a current news item gives it more topicality, especially if you have chosen a publication or website which you know to be widely-read amongst your audience.

At least with this one, I was including a recording of a sketch so that at least saved my voice for 3 minutes but once again, it was a two-lozenge job punctuated by coughing fits. Nevertheless, I got through the hour plus questions that they had asked for at this very friendly and responsive Probus.

The Rotary Club of Crowborough

My cough still hadn't improved by yesterday morning but I managed to get through a great deal of writing in the morning and early afternoon, completing a 600-word article for the Radio Magazine as well as putting together original comedy prep material for radio presenters before setting off for an after dinner engagement in East Sussex for Crowborough Rotary Club.

The trains at Bournemouth and Woking were on time but a service being delayed by just 4 minutes at Clapham Junction meant that I missed my connection from East Croydon. Speaker Secretary David Peacock phoned me and with some much-needed alternative suggestions and after yet another change, this time at Oxted, I still managed to get in at Crowborough by 18.30. David's wife Veronica is a newspaper sub-editor and on the way, we traded stories of amusing misprints and ambiguous headlines (this kind of 'found humour' has been a popular item in talks about my work ever since I started giving them and also features in my booklet 'Nick R's in a Twist! )

Public Speaking Tip #100: If you come across an unintentionally humorous item in print, such as a funny misprint or a bizarre story reported by a paper in a strait-laced fashion, or perhaps overhear something funny, make a note of it with a view to including it in a presentation. This type of real-life humour can go down very well with audiences.