National Grid UK R.E.A. Southampton Branch
On 17 September, I began a run of four talks on different topics in a three-day period (I had a similar schedule back in January; it's the way the bookings fall sometimes). The first engagement was a return visit to the National Grid UK R.E.A. Southampton Branch (although when I first spoke to them in February 2005 they were simply called Lattice). They had originally booked me for 27 September but rang a few weeks ago to say that their venue, the Southampton Novotel, would not now be able to accommodate them on that day and would I be available on any of three alternative dates?
This does happen from time to time; in the past few years I have had bookings cancelled due to: a member's funeral being scheduled for the same date as the club meeting, a WI inadvertently double-booking speakers and a ladies' group learning that a speaker from Sainsbury's was unexpectedly available, a speaker who would not want a fee and would even bring free goodies for everyone - now how could I compete with that? All of them rebooked me later.
Public Speaking Tip #27: The vast majority of your bookings to speak will go ahead on the agreed date but there are occasions when changes have to be made and you should try to cheerfully accommodate these.
One date the Southampton group offered was the 19th and I was very tempted because I had a morning booking in Romsey that day and an evening one in Basingstoke so I would be passing through Southampton that afternoon anyway and would incur no travel costs. In the end, I think I took the sensible option and chose the 17th, not least of all because I would have been lugging three different sets of props around with me all day.
Public Speaking Tip #28: Although bookings to speak can be clustered together at times - it often seems to be 'famine or feast' - it makes sense to spread them out as much as possible. There's no point in overdoing it if there are other options available.
Despite the change of date and day of the week, about 55 still turned up and enjoyed my Patrick Campbell talk.
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Friday, September 28
There's an old song which says 'Please don't ever change' - but sometimes it's unavoidable!
by
Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)
on Fri 28 Sep 2007 03:34 AM BST
Tuesday, September 25
Now we come to a WI, a PROBUS, a TG, someone AWOL and the occasional BF...
by
Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)
on Tue 25 Sep 2007 09:12 PM BST
Kingscote WI Annual Lunch
On 5 September, I delivered my talk 'The Power of Humour in Everyday Life' at the Annual Lunch of Kingscote WI. Although they are part of the West Sussex Federation, the event was held at a terrific venue in East Sussex, Barnsgate Manor near Uckfield. I was given a lift in from East Grinstead and we travelled through Ashdown Forest, an area which reminded me of the New Forest, except with sheep roaming everywhere instead of ponies. We passed a llama park and there were even some in the grounds at the venue. Llamas aside, there were about 65 audience members including a few men (WI trustees or their husbands) and we enjoyed a very good meal served in a dining room with views of miles of unspoilt countryside. It was a very hot day and the room was sweltering so I asked for as many doors as possible to be opened before my speech. Public Speaking Tip #22: Before you speak, consider the comfort of the audience who will be listening to you. Opening doors/windows on a hot day not only improves the environment for everyone but it also makes it less likely that anyone will fall asleep - always an occupational hazard when you speak after a big lunch, however lively the presentation! The talk was very well received and sales of my anecdote collection 'Nick R's in a Twist!' afterwards were excellent (I don't think I've ever been asked to sign so many copies!) It's days like this that make me glad I became a public speaker. I went to a beautiful part of the country that I'd never visited before, enjoyed an excellent lunch and conversation, got paid to deliver my own material to a highly appreciative, decent-sized audience and then sold a large number of my booklets to these lovely, generous people. Lentune Probus I spoke for the fourth time at Lentune Probus, Lymington on 10 September. My first visit was when I spoke about 'My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer' at their 25th anniversary meeting four years ago. Lentune is a men's Probus but once again this was a mixed meeting with members' partners present, making a total audience of 78. My subject was 'The One, the Only...Groucho!' about Groucho Marx. It's a talk that I've delivered quite a few times now but I'm still reliant on bullet point notes. It's coming along and this audience was very responsive, even laughing loudly at some of the subtler humour from Groucho's life story which others sometimes fail to pick up on. Another factor was the time of day when I spoke: in the morning before lunch. I always say that morning talks get the best response, although there are exceptions (see above re the Kingscote WI lunch!) Public Speaking Tip #23: There are many different times of day when you may be asked to speak. These could be: Early morning (business breakfast clubs) Mid-morning (training days, clubs and societies) After lunch (clubs and societies, functions) Mid-afternoon (training days, clubs and societies) Evening (clubs and societies) After dinner (clubs and societies, functions) This can include weekends. I have found the most responsive audiences usually tend to be at mid-morning events. The trickiest times to speak can be immediately after a lunch or dinner. Not only are some of your audience liable to doze off, it is often the case that slow service means the event is running late so the speaker may be asked to cut up to 50% off their allotted time. Once again, I sold a decent number of my booklets, even though my talk on this occasion was about different subject matter, and enjoyed a good lunch at Elmer's Court, another delightful setting. Redhill Townswomen's Guild The following evening, I spoke to Redhill TG here in Bournemouth. They book me every five years, regular as clockwork! There were about 45 there so I was pleased to see they are still well-attended. They wanted an hour-long talk and my subject on this occasion involved some readings so I had arranged for a high stool to sit on while I delivered these. Public Speaking Tip #24: If you are giving a longer lecture, you could sit down for part of it, perhaps if you are reading a passage. This varies your delivery by adding a bit of 'showmanship', helps your concentration and also gives you a break from standing for long periods. As with previous talks, it all went very well so I guess I'll be seeing them again in 2012! Postscript: Mrs Maton, who has booked me each time I have spoken there, sent a nice, unsolicited testimonial letter: "Thank you, on behalf of Redhill TG, for a most enjoyable and humorous talk on the late Patrick Campbell - it was both entertaining and a good start to Guild activities after the long summer break". The Strange Case of the Disappearing Speaker Secretary! Last November, I spoke at the 1967 Club, a retired businessmen's luncheon in Rickmansworth, Herts, and the following day their Speaker Secretary immediately rebooked me to go back on 12 September this year with another talk. I wrote it in the diary and expected to hear from him nearer the date to arrange a lift in from Chorleywood Station. Well, the call never came and by Sunday 9 September I was becoming a little concerned, after all, I could hardly go all the way up to Chorleywood in the hope that he would automatically be at the station to meet me at 11.30am, the same as last year. What if he had forgotten that I don't drive and was expecting me to make my own way to the venue? I found an old letter from him and dialled his landline: number unobtainable. Then I tried his mobile: also not available. There was an email address so I tried that: no bounceback - but no reply either by the next day. Had he moved, died, been incarcerated? I tried phoning the venue to see if they had any new contact details but the owner wasn't around. On the Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours before they were supposedly expecting me, I rang the venue again and was given a number for another 1967 Club member. He told me that this particular Speaker Secretary had sold up, moved and resigned from the club. No, I wasn't the speaker they were expecting, the booking had never actually been put in, a fact confirmed by the new Speaker Secretary when I spoke to him as well. Both were apologetic but I was just relieved that I wouldn't be letting anyone down by not turning up. A strange business and something that has never happened before in all the time I have been a speaker. Public Speaking Tip #25: Most people who have booked you as a speaker will contact you again in the weeks before you are due just to make sure that the arrangement is still on. If they don't, it is a good idea for you to check with them. It was fortunate that I also had contact details for the venue and I must thank a lady called Kerry at the Bedford Arms in Chenies for looking up the number of another member of this club for me. The Rude Hall I was down in the Food Hall in Beales, a famous Bournemouth department store, on 16 September and a young man was demonstrating the benefits of a kitchen knife. He was standing on a box (a bit like John Major when he campaigned during the 1992 general election, although having seen Mr Major in the flesh, he is tall enough not to need one!), he had a good delivery (possibly a resting actor? They often use their presentation skills in such jobs) and despite it being 3.30pm on a rainy Sunday afternoon, he had attracted a fair number of people to listen to him. He was showing how finely the knife could slice a tomato when a middle-aged man nearby muttered to his wife 'Never made a sandwich in his life!' It was loud enough for me to hear; I hope the speaker didn't. As a speaker, you sometimes just have to ignore a (thankfully tiny) rude minority and get on with it. Public Speaking Tip #26: Every speaker will, from time to time, encounter audience members who are ill-mannered, either through drunkenness or sometimes just downright ignorance. Fortunately their numbers are as insignificant as they are so play to the appreciative majority. Mind you, I can't help thinking it was just a tad foolish to go around insulting a guy who was demonstrating the properties of sharp implements! Monday, September 24
You've all gone very quiet!
by
Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)
on Mon 24 Sep 2007 11:57 PM BST
Quiet months
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