A Difficult Decision
On 8 July, I did something I hadn't done in eleven years as a speaker: I cancelled a booking through illness. Two days earlier (Friday), I had accepted a short notice booking to give a talk the following Monday. I then came down with a very bad cough. By the Sunday evening, I had to decide whether to cancel. There were a number of factors to consider:1. Although I might feel better by the next day, there was also a strong chance I might be even worse!
2. My talk was for the Dorset Respiratory Group and I really did not want to risk passing on my chest infection to people who had breathing problems anyway. I also thought that listening to an 'entertainment' featuring a lot of coughing might seem like a bit of a 'busman's holiday' for them!
I phoned the Speaker Secretary and explained the problem (although I'm sure he could tell from my voice anyway!) Before calling, I had looked up the contact details of some other speakers I know who can sometimes cover emergency bookings and I passed these on. I think he appreciated this and I hope that I will still get to speak to his group one day.
Public Speaking Tip #6: You can substantially increase the amount of speaking you do by letting organisers know that you may be available at short notice. Even if you occasionally lose a booking through illness or other personal circumstances, you will gain far more by covering other speakers' cancellations.
But be warned: 'short notice' can mean anything from a couple of months to a couple of hours!
Public Speaking Tip #7: Establish a network with other good speakers so that you can cover each others' cancellations, recommend each others' talks generally and perhaps even compare notes about certain audiences!I did feel better the following day but I think I made the right decision as it gave me some rest before I set off to speak to the Farnham NHS Retirement Fellowship on Tuesday 10 July.
