Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog

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Wednesday, January 16

It's me again, doctor

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Wed 16 Jan 2008 01:19 AM GMT

Lilliput WI

I felt better by 8 January when I was due to speak to Lilliput Afternoon Women's Institute but Wilts & Dorset bus drivers were on strike that day so I had to catch a Bournemouth Yellow into Poole and then walk from Longfleet to the Holy Angels Church in Lilliput which took about 45 minutes! By the time I reached the venue, I was very hot and sweaty, coughing and feeling generally rough as I sat through the last 30 minutes of the ladies' business meeting but there is a concept known as 'Dr Theatre' where performers may feel better the moment they get up in front of an audience. It would obviously not apply if a speaker was suffering from the ghastly Norovirus which is sweeping the UK at the moment but as far as colds and the recovery period after the flu are concerned, it obviously works,

Public Speaking Tip #110: Even if you don't feel at your best before a presentation, once you start speaking, you may find that doing so gives you a boost, not least of all because you have something else to focus on. Let 'Dr Theatre' help you - and your audience!

It had been nearly a decade since I last spoke to this WI but it is still very well attended - there were about 55 present - and I managed to get through 'The Power of Humour in Everyday Life' without a further coughing fit or having to cut the talk short. (It is worth pointing out that although I wouldn't normally use a microphone with an audience of this size unless asked, I chose to on this occasion to save my voice).

Public Speaking Tip #111: Although I have often mentioned that microphones can be the source of numerous problems, there are occasions - such as when you are having problems with your voice - that they can be a speaker's friend.

I really was most grateful to Brenda Brewer for the lift back to Westbourne afterwards so I didn't have another long walk!

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Sunday, January 13

I'm on a little list (actually, rather a large one)

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Sun 13 Jan 2008 10:00 PM GMT

A remarkable list of public speaking blogs

Andrew Dlugan has compiled a list of no less than 106 blogs connected with public speaking and presentation skills tips (including, I am very pleased to say, this one).They cover so many styles and aspects of public speaking that there is bound to be something to help you improve your presentations and you can subscribe to all of them in seconds!

Public Speaking Tip #109: The blogosphere has a wide range of constantly updated sites with tips from working speakers. Read at least some of these to add to to the knowledge already available to you from public speaking books/classes/clubs.

I really must recommend one blog in particular, Lisa Braithwaite's excellent Speak Schmeak.

Lisa's views on public speaking echo so many of my own and her (very) regularly updated blog is always a lively, interesting and useful read.

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But I know a man who can...

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Sun 13 Jan 2008 08:42 PM GMT

Cancelling my first booking of the year

It wasn't exactly the best Festive Season I've ever had - I spent nearly a week in bed with the flu! I'd had the persistent cough I've been mentioning since early December but by Christmas, it was even worse and I eventually developed a temperature of 103. Then I passed it on to my partner Val who doesn't normally catch these things. It was the New Year before we eventually opened our Christmas gifts!

My first booking of 2008 was for 3 January but there was no way I was going to be up to it so I had to cancel but I was at least pleased to be able to recommend a replacement, a new-ish speaker who had a coaching session with me last year. He is a wood carver who has some stunning examples of his work as visual aids and, as the talk was for a gardening club, he was perhaps rather more relevant to that audience than I would have been anyway.

Public Speaking Tip #108: I have mentioned before about networking with other speakers so you can recommend each other, cover cancellations, etc. It's even better if you know so many that you can recommend one whose subject matter will be of specific interest to a particular organisation.

He phoned me a few days later to say that it had gone well so it seemed to work out OK for all concerned.

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