New Forest Past Rotarians and Associates

On 22 August, I delivered a morning talk to the New Forest Past Rotarians and Associates at the East Close Country Hotel, Hinton St Michael, a venue where I have spoken on numerous occasions. As with my previous visit to this particular club in 2005, the audience of just over 20 gave me a very good reception.

One of my fellow diners at the top table afterwards was Mr Redman. We were talking about public speaking in general and he mentioned that he is a preacher. Now, a while back, I was asked to deliver my talk entitled 'Public Speaking = the Triumph of Technique Over Terror!' (the title is a tip in itself so let's call it Tip #17!) to the Wednesday Club in the Church Hall at Colbury, another part of the New Forest. I have to admit that one of the questions afterwards rather threw me; a couple of the ladies wanted to know how to make giving a reading in church easier for the speaker - and the congregation! As I have no experience of this particular type of speaking, I couldn't really help them. No speaker likes being asked a question they can't answer and this had always bugged me since then so I was glad of the opportunity to mention this to somebody like Mr Redman.

Here's what he told me:

Public Speaking Tip #18: When giving a Biblical reading, you should not be afraid to insert an 'and', a comma or a full stop if it makes the passage clearer.

Public Speaking Tip #19: If you are allowed to, use a modern translation, such as the Good News Bible for further clarity - but be aware that some modern versions are better than others!

We both agreed that it is possible to overdo Biblical readings. The maverick Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews (Medway) was once quoted as saying:

'I keep a video of Tony Blair reading from Corinthians at Diana's funeral and threaten to show it to anyone who is impressed by the PM's sincerity'.
 
Ouch!