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Monday, February 25
Four speaking engagements, ranging from a festive February to a torchlit TG
North Baddesley Women's Institute Annual Dinner
My February speaking engagements finished with four talks in seven days.
On 15 February, I spoke at the annual dinner of the North Baddesley Women's Institute. This is, in effect, their Christmas dinner but it works out better for them to hold it at this time of year!
When I was sent the menu so I could confirm my choices last month, I discovered that we were having a starter, soup, main course (turkey, cranberry sauce, etc!), a dessert, cheeseboard and coffee and mince pies! I therefore suggested that it might be be an idea to cut the length of the talk from the proposed 40 minutes to 30! The dinner was actually starting at 6.30 so there was little chance of it running late but audiences do not generally want to sit through a long speech after a large meal.
Public Speaking Tip #150: If you are speaking after a dinner consisting of several courses, your speech should not be too long. This is not just because the dinner itself may take a long time but also because audiences may have a limited concentration span after a heavy meal.
Many of the top after dinner speakers actually limit their performances to just 20 minutes - despite the enormous fees they are paid!
Long anecdotes are also best avoided for after dinner speeches unless they are funny all the way through and you are confident of their success. Sometimes speakers break their sensible own rules - with disastrous consequences. One of mine is to be careful what I eat on the night before a speaking engagement but the previous evening, I succumbed to an item heavily reduced by the supermarket due to it being right on its use-by date. The result was that I spent a great deal of Friday afternoon in the bathroom and set off much later than I wanted to. The couple who were meant to be picking me up at Southampton Parkway station did not have a mobile phone and had, quite understandably, left by the time I arrived so I had to get a taxi to the venue (after paying a hefty commission to use the cashpoint at the station!). As with my experience getting to Three Legged Cross before Christmas, I once again found myself being carried by a foreign taxi driver with little knowledge of a place just a few miles away and certainly no understanding of the British concept of a Village Hall.
We found the place in the end and I felt well enough by then to quickly finish my starter ready for the soup (although I did feel sick at the thought that I had saved about £1 on the Butter Naan from Asda only to knock a £13.50 hole in my fee the following night!)
From now on, I stick to my rule!
Public Speaking Tip #151: Do not take any risks with your health before you have a speaking engagement, for example, by eating foods which may upset you.
This extends to the meal itself if you are speaking at a lunch or dinner. Choose plainer dishes from the menu. Do not drink to excess.
But there were no problems with the meal on this occasion. It was served in the Village Hall by an excellent Southampton caterer called Mr Davis, who this WI always use.
There was a lovely moment afterwards when the Acting President asked us to give the catering staff a round of applause. She mentioned that Mr Davis was seldom seen as he was always busy in the kitchen. When she said 'Let's see if we can get Mr Davis to come out, shall we?', it did rather put me in mind of a ventriloquist's act! I was speaking on the Power of Humour in Everyday Life, having delivered My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer at an afternoon meeting for them about a year ago.
There were 40 at the dinner (including husbands) and I was relieved that seats had been arranged at the far end of the hall for the talk rather than my having to speak in the dining area as the tables were very long and some members of the audience would have been a long way away.
There are a few new press cuttings involving unintentional humour that I am trying out at talks. Two relate to a prolonged local court case and include unfortunate innuendo from defence solicitors (so disastrous, in fact, that you would almost think they were acting for theprosecution!) The first is slightly risqué, the second much more so, and I had made up my mind that I would use the first and decide from the reaction to that one whether to risk the second! The first one got a laugh but not so much of one that I was prepared to use the second so I moved on to different material.
Public Speaking Tip #152: Different audiences have different levels of tolerance for risqué material. You should be able to judge from the response to gentler items how far you can go, If in doubt, cut it out!
I finished off my talk with my tale of the great Quantity Surveyors' Dinner Debacle. There
were some questions afterwards and overall it went well but arriving
late at a speaking engagement is never a good thing. My thanks to Avis
and her husband for running me back to the station afterwards and, once
again, my apologies to them for my non-appearance earlier. Remember, if you see a heavily reduced foodstuff and you know you are speaking somewhere the next day: Just Say No! Oliver's Battery Women's Group
There
were no problems last Monday evening when I caught the train in plenty
of time to get to Winchester to speak to the Oliver's Battery Women's
Group. This was another return visit after a very long gap (October
1997 being the last time I spoke to them) so I started off by saying
that recently I was appearing at so many groups after absences of many
years that I was beginning to feel like the Brigadoon of public speakers! It got a laugh.The
Power of Humour in Everyday Life went very well with the 25 or so
ladies there and it was pleasing, once again, to see a group which is
stll going strong after all these years. A number of them bought
booklets and asked me to sign them.
I
have been trying to think if there were any challenges I faced with
this one, any points arising, any tips to pass on. Just this one...
Public Speaking Tip #153:
Many speaking engagements just go well. There are no problems in terms
of the venue or the audience, it's just fun for everybody. Enjoy it!
Dorset Association for the Disabled, Wimborne Branch On Wednesday, I spoke to 55 members and helpers at the Wimborne minster Branch of the Dorset Association for the Disabled, an organisation with 16 branches throughout the county. I was met at the Allendale Centre by Mr John Slow who I had last seen when he booked me to speak to the Methodist Men's Group in Wimborne last year. He is a great character who does a great deal of speaking himself about his career as a solicitor and, well, let's just say he probably never needs to use a microphone! Due to the nature of this group, I gave careful consideration to my material, omitting a few items and re-wording others. Although I don't use many visuals in Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer (certainly no slides, just a few props that I hold up), with hindsight it might have been better not to have referred to these at all as I later discovered that a couple of their members are visually impaired.
Public Speaking Tip #154: When speaking to a group concerned with disabilities, or indeed any audience where you are aware that some members are disabled, consider whether there is anything in your material which: a) Excludes them
or
b) May just seem insensitive. But they were an excellent audience and one member even asked me afterwards if I was the comedy writer who they had heard being interviewed on Radio Solent recently. This is a very worthwhile and well-run club; delivering a humorous talk for them was a real pleasure. Newtown Townswomen's Guild
The following evening, I was back at Newtown TG in Poole, exactly a year after I last spoke to them, this time to deliver my Patrick Campbell talk. From
the moment I arrived at the Alderney Manor Community Centre, I could
tell that something was wrong as a few members were waiting outside
because there was no admittance through the main doors. Apparently the
floor of the room where the TG usually meets had been varnished and it
hadn't dried yet. They had only been told about this at 10am that
morning and were now meeting in some unfamiliar upstairs room but had
to find it first!I said hello to Sandra Yeoman, Dorset Federation of TGs' Secretary, who I have known for many years, and we all set off along the side of the building, led by a pair of friendly youths who tried to give us some directions - which led us into bar! One of the ladies then assumed that a door off the bar led to the stairs before a barman barked (very rudely, I thought) 'You can't go in there!' We then set off in a different direction, up some very steep, narrow stairs and found the tiny room the TG had been allocated. There was no lift so access was either impossible or at least very difficult for any members with disabilities, the result being that some were not attending. Now, I have have spoken in some 'cosy' venues over the years, including the living rooms in people's houses, but seldom anywhere like this. Even though there were now less than 20 attending, it was still incredibly cramped and the Committee members had to compete with my props for table space. This room also had no tea-making facilities for the ladies who have loyally booked this venue every month for years. Public Speaking Tip #155:
Sometimes venues are less than ideal but you just have to do your best.
At least you're probably being paid to be there - by unfortunate
organisations who are also having to pay for a less than adequate venue!
I
positioned myself in a corner and began the talk, which went very well,
considering the conditions, but then these ladies refused to let the inadequacies of the venue get them down. There is a story in the presentation about
an occasion when Patrick Campbell tried to decorate his entire living
room in one day in time for when he had guests coming to dinner that
evening and, of course, I couldn't resist linking this to a Community
Centre which failed to get its floor varnish dry in time for the TG
meeting!
Public Speaking Tip #156:
If you seize an opportunity to link any material in your presentation in
a humorous way to problems with the venue, you are almost guaranteed to
get a big laugh.
I chatted for a while after the talk and then left them to their business meeting. I didn't think anything else could go wrong for them but the following day, Sandra sent me this email:
"Dear Nick,
I
thought you might like to know that our evening went from bad to worse
after you had left. Just as two of the Community Centre members who
were staffing the bar came in to offer us all a drink on the house
because of the inconvenience the lights went out. The one emergency
light came on which was sufficient for the orders to be taken but Jean
had to use a hastily produced torch to read her agenda. We had a
message to say the power would be off for at least another hour so we
carried on the rest of the meeting in the gloom.The power was still off
when we left so negotiating those stairs was a bit tricky for some.
Another Centre member appeared at the bottom of the stairs with a
lantern which did help but the car park was in darkness.
We enjoyed hearing you again and hope it's not too long before we book another visit."
Public Speaking Tip #157: Sometimes the speaker has the easiest part of the meeting!
Sunday, February 24
I'm sure I speak (in public) for the majority
Ignoring the negative minority
I recently met up again with Mel Mellers, a very successful cabaret entertainer who I have known since the mid 90s. Throughout my speaking career, he has been very helpful in giving me advice but nowadays he spends much of his time working on luxury cruise liners so I don't get to see him too often. He told me that on one recent trip he had heard an excellent presentation by Jack Canfield, originator of the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul inspirational books. Canfield had mentioned how, even if we have plenty of approval from people, it's always the discouraging minority who seem to make the most impression on us, even define us, and that we need to stop associating with them!
This got me thinking about how, even if a speaker's presentation is going really well, there can still be the odd person scowling, yawning, looking at their watch or even sleeping and, if you do that proper 'lighthouse effect' thing of sweeping around the room making eye contact with everyone, you can't help noticing them! Now, obviously you can't stop associating with them by having them thrown out (much as you might like to!) but what you can do is spend less time looking at them and more at the encouraging majority. Or you can try to win them over by perhaps stepping up a gear and making the delivery more lively for the scowlers and yawners or introducing some audience participation, such as asking a question to draw in the watch-checkers. As for the odd sleeper, well, I must admit to deriving a certain perverse pleasure from delivering the odd line a little bit LOUDER to wake them if the opportunity presents itself!
But the point is, whether you win them over or not, you must not lose heart and allow yourself to be discouraged by a miserable minority!
Public Speaking Tip #148: If you are making regular eye contact with the whole audience as you speak and notice the odd audience member who appears not to be enjoying your presentation, you must either:
1) Dwell less on them and more on the approving majority from that point on
or
2) Change tack in some small way to try and win them over.
Whichever you choose, do not allow these few silent detractors to become distracters as well!
Over on Speak Schmeak, Lisa Braithwaite has posted an excellent article about the effects that discouraging comments can have on us, from childhood onwards. Over 7 years of teaching public speaking evening classes, I only had a couple of students who I would describe as unpleasant. During my first course as a tutor, there was one man who seemed to be negative and antagonistic towards me throughout the term, probably because I very gently pointed out in feedback after one of his early presentations that he was choosing content which large numbers of people might find offensive. From that point, he had me marked down as an ultra-PC, lefty pinko (nothing could be further from the truth!). He worked in horseracing and at one point I suggested that this would make a very interesting subject for talks, only to be told by him (in front of the class) that people who gave talks about their work (as he knew I did) were just 'playing the Big I-Am!' Well, fortunately I didn't take this on board, and I've been playing the Big I-Am ever since!
(Postscript: When the course finished, he actually had the cheek to get another student to ring and convey his suggestion that we all carry on meeting up regularly as a social group with me giving further tuition - unpaid! I'll leave you to work out for yourselves whether this went ahead...)
Public Speaking Tip #149: There may be occasions, after a presentation for example, when you overhear the odd negative comment from an audience member, usually someone who doesn't know that you are within earshot! It may well be fair comment and therefore useful feedback but if it isn't, then, once again, don't let it get to you but just keep working at continuing to improve and carry on pleasing the majority.
Saturday, February 23
I told them about public speakers' notes (what a card!)
Wessex Women's Network
There are some bookings that a speaker really looks forward to and I was delighted to be asked to speak once again at the Wessex Women's Network in Brockenhurst. My last presentation for them was in October 2004, when The Power of Humour in Business was very well received.
This time the topic was Public Speaking = the Triumph of Technique Over Terror!
So, on Tuesday evening of last week, I made my way from Brockenhurst station to the Cloud Hotel, which is on the outskirts of this New Forest village. The lanes had no pavements in places and were also unlit, convincing me that a larger torch might be an essential for future evening engagements!
Public Speaking Tip #143: When choosing what to take along with you to a speaking engagement, don't just consider items that you will need for the presentation itself but also anything that might be needed for the journey. It all helps to make the occasion run more smoothly.
The format for these meetings has changed since I last spoke there; the events now take place on a Tuesday instead of a Thursday and the presentation is followed by an excellent three-course dinner.
The award-winning hotel is hugely popular and was full, even in February, so the meeting was moved to a cosy room and the numbers limited to 30.
I had to decide where I would speak from without my being virtually on top of the audience or them having to sit awkwardly to see me. In the end, we settled on the end of the room near the doors.
Public Speaking Tip #144: Although there are some settings, particularly large venues where stages or fixed microphones or lecterns are concerned, where the speaker is required to work from a designated part of the room, for other engagements you should choose where you think will the most comfortable for everyone.
For example, if you are speaking at a lunch or dinner, you do not have to speak from your place at the table. Choose a point in the room where you can be seen without being obscured for some by pillars or the audience having to crane their necks. You may have too many props to put down amongst the water glasses, coffee cups and used serviettes. You also may not want the diners either side of you reading your notes!
Just don't situate yourself too far away from the nearest audience members for all intimacy to be lost.
The members of this group are all businesswomen based in the New Forest. Public Speaking is obviously a massive topic but I chose the subject areas which I felt would be of most relevance to them, illustrated in many cases with anecdotes - but short ones because I had so much material to put across while still leaving time for questions.
I made sure everyone had handouts in front of them before my presentation, including my basic Twelve Tips for Terrified Speakers!
For my notes covering this 50-odd minutes of material, I was using a piece of stiff, white A4 card folded in half and then in half again to give 8 small pages, each with single words or phrases as reminders of the various topics (which, after teaching Presentation Skills for so many years, I know well enough not to need more detailed notes). I got this tip years ago from a book by the award-winning after dinner speaker Stuart Turner (it's in my amazon store on this site) and it has stood me in good stead for more than a decade.
Public Speaking Tip #145: If you are giving a longer presentation, perhaps involving more information than you can fit onto a Mind Map, use a sheet of A4 card folded in half twice to form 8 small pages which you should number. There are numerous advantages to this:
1) It is highly portable and can be slipped inside a jacket pocket and carried with you everywhere, making extra revision or last-minute additions very easy.
2) It is difficult to lose your place, unlike with individual cards which can be turned over two at once.
3) If you drop your notes, you only have to pick up one sheet - unlike postcards which can go all over the place!
4) If you are using one hand to hold a microphone or prop, you can turn over the 'pages' using your thumb (this is why stiff card is a better idea for this than flimsy paper).
5) You can devote individual pages to particular topics, thus making your notes even easier to construct and then follow.
I was introduced by Jan Hoy OBE, who I'd last seen when I spoke at Hythe and District Inner Wheel last October, and the talk went very well. There was an interesting question afterwards from a lady who was nervous about using humour in public speaking. I pointed out that humour isn't just telling jokes but can be asides, observations, self-effacing anecdotes and quotations. Then I got one of those realisations of something seemingly obvious that had, nevertheless, not occurred to me before - despite the length of time I'd been doing this. I told her that I thought quotations were, perhaps, the safest form of humour to use because if you choose one from a well-loved public figure, just by mentioning their name, your audience is automatically primed that what follows will be funny. So that gives me...
Public Speaking Tip #146: Of all the types of humour that you could employ in a presentation, quotations could be your best bet (provided you select ones that aren't too over-used!)
Simply mentioning that what follows comes from Groucho Marx or Dorothy Parker almost guarantees a good response before the audience has even heard the saying itself!
The talk seemed to make a great impression at this club which has had some very high-profile speakers over the years. Jan Hoy echoed my belief in the enormous value of Mind Maps for speakers.
There was one very interesting revelation from this presentation: I had pointed out that I am a very shy person and that although I had learned long ago to overcome my fear of public speaking, I still hated parties and also found 'working the room' at networking events extremely difficult. I'm fine to get up in front of a large group of strangers and speak for any length of time after an introduction as a speaker but approaching even tiny groups of people who I don't know seems very difficult to me in other settings. I was amazed how many of these highly successful businesswomen said afterwards that they were exactly the same!
Public Speaking Tip #147: Even the most introverted person can learn to be a successful public speaker - whatever the challenges they face in other areas of their careers/social lives.
The dinner was excellent and before I left, I chatted with Avril Owton, owner of the hotel and founder of the Wessex Women's Network. Hers is a fascinating story: she was a Tiller Girl who married a hotelier. When her husband died without leaving any life or mortgage insurance, she found herself a mother of four children faced with the challenge of running the hotel, something she knew little about. Rather than sell up, she threw herself into this task and the Cloud Hotel is now hugely successful and Avril has won numerous awards, including the Shine Awards Woman of the Year in 2006. She is also the Chair of her local branch of the Institute of Directors and a highly respected and inspirational speaker who has raised many thousands of pounds for Macmillan Cancer Support.She has recently written a book, Delighting Your Customers: Delivering Excellent Customer Service Without Breaking the Bank, and it is selling very well (I own a copy myself!) She passes on valuable insights from running her successful hotel which can be applied to any business.
Thursday, February 21
ANY questions?
Hengistbury Head Townswomen's Guild
On 5 October, I gave my fourth talk to Hengistbury Head Townswomen's Guild here in Bournemouth. The title this time was The Comedy of Life - Part 2 and I was a little concerned about filling the allotted time as they have heard many of my tried and tested anecdotes already in Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer and The Comedy of Life - Part 1 and although it's been years since those two bookings, I make a point of trying avoid repetition of material I have delivered before (although a certain amount is unavoidable due to recapping, etc).
I therefore decided that if I under-ran a bit then after the talk I would invite questions about comedy generally including on TV and radio, not just the humour in everyday life which I was booked to speak about. Sure enough, I was a bit under but doing this led to a lengthy discussion taking in great comics and shows of the past and the generation gap which now exists in humour (like so many of the mature groups I speak to, the 25 or so ladies at this TG are not impressed with the bias towards younger audiences where TV comedy is concerned!) The only problem with questions about this is that sometimes one or two audience members seem to think that I am some sort of BBC representative rather than a self-employed sub contractor who has written freelance radio material for them! Nevertheless, it filled the time and I ended up covering my topic in broader detail for the audience.
Public Speaking Tip #142: You stand more chance of getting questions if you invite your audience to ask about other areas related to your topic, not just the main subject itself. Obviously you need to have the additional knowledge/experience to be able to answer them!
They're a nice bunch at this TG and I was pleased that some of them are, like me, fans of the Radio 4 sitcom character Count Arthur Strong, a washed-up variety star who seems to have a disastrous public speaking engagement or other public performance in every episode. His three series so far have been hilarious and this is a show which seems to appeal to a wide age range. His CDs are in my amazon.co.uk store on this site, along with a range of public speaking guides and other items all related to the content of this blog.
Sunday, February 17
BBC RSVP Part 3: Handling a live radio interview
My live interview on BBC Radio Solent
(This is a long posting but it takes you through every stage of a live, 18-minute radio interview).
The BBC building in Southampton is home to both Radio Solent and BBC TV South but it's a bit of a 'ghost town' on Sundays when only one radio studio is working, with a team consisting of the presenter, the production staff and a newsreader and traffic reporter. I had a brief chat with Lewis (the producer) about radio and comedy courses at universities (he had noticed that in the past I have been a guest lecturer on the MA course in Radio Production at Bournemouth Uni). He got me a coffee from the machine and led me in to the studios where Alina Jenkins waved to me from her booth as she introduced Honky Tonk Women by the Rolling Stones. Our interview was due to start after that record finished. I chatted with Alina and she warned me that the plastic headphones were a bit of a loose fit (she wasn't joking!), Lewis adjusted the mic to the right level and I laid out my notes for the topical material.
One thing I made sure I had with me was a bottle of water. I have often watched DJs I write material for on their stations' webcams and they always have a bottle on the desk (well, I assume it's water!) It's the same as making sure you have a glass of water at any other speaking engagement.
Public Speaking Tip #135: Have some water with you if you are giving a radio interview, whether at the radio studio, face to face with a roving reporter or by telephone. You don't want to have voice problems with any audience, let alone one of that size!
The record faded out and Alina introduced the topic: do you have what it takes to become a comedian? She introduced me to her listeners and asked if my work meant I was used to late nights. I told her that I was often on last trains getting at Bournemouth station after 2am if I'd been speaking miles away somewhere and then had to be up to write gags the next morning but I was careful not to mention about writing for radio other than the BBC - no station wants to promote their competition, even if it's in another part of the country!
Public Speaking Tip #136: When giving a media interview, try to use some discretion when it comes to mentioning competing radio or TV stations you may have had dealings with in the past.
Alina then asked me whether comedy is something that comes naturally and if there is an art to it - questions rather trickier than the ones I usually get at speaking engagements! There was a bit of a pause ('dead air' as it's known in the trade) and I answered by telling her that I believe everyone has a sense of humour and that if someone appears not to have one, it's simply that their idea of what's funny may not tally in with yours. As an example, I told her about the comedy classes I have taught with a mix of people of all ages and how some would be good at all of it, the joke and sketch writing, the observational humour, the articles, etc, while others seemed to have little inclination for these but then when we came to study parody songs, they would reveal themselves to be really talented at comic verse. I rounded off by saying that yes, I believed everyone has some sort of comic talent which can be further developed with guidance.
Alina said she didn't know there were courses in comedy. I replied that they are springing up all over the place! She asked about the sort of people who enrolled. I explained that they ranged from very young students, fans of modern comedy, through to people in their 60s with more traditional tastes and that, as a tutor, I had to find some middle ground where they could all learn something.
She then asked what would be included in Lesson One of a comedy writing course. I told her that this was about defining audiences so I would give students a list of radio stations and TV channels (once again, I was careful not to mention names!) and live performance settings and ask what would make those people laugh and what sort of material should be avoided. (This is certainly a good exercise when considering any material - whether humorous or not - in speech preparation).
Public Speaking Tip #137: If you are preparing material for a speaking engagement - especially humour - ask yourself:
a) What sort of content will this audience expect to hear?
b) (Perhaps even more importantly!) what material should I avoid at all costs?
I then went on to explain that rather than throw comedy writing students in at the deep end by trying to get them to devise original gags straight away, we would go through a logical progression, starting with making use of their own humorous experiences in anecdotes and the unintentionally funny things they have spotted in print ('found humour'). I then included a couple of popular examples of this from my speaking (word perfect, as one would hope after all these years of delivering them!) Then I said how the students would progress to observations and only then to gag-writing.
Alina's next question was about how I got started so I said about how I always enjoyed jokes and comedy programmes as a schoolboy and how in my mock English O-level I had written a humorous essay but been told by the teacher who marked it not to risk writing humour - advice which I have since ignored (just in case you're reading this, Mr Mahoney who taught at Bournemouth School in 1976!) I explained about winning my first Punch caption competition in 1982, how this hobby built up throughout the 80s and how I won nine runner-up prizes of brightly-coloured sweatshirts from a TV station's caption contest before deciding that money might be more useful and starting to write for BBC Radio Light Entertainment!
The next question was about what it's like to do stand-up comedy and what drives anyone to do it. I replied that I thought all comedy writers are frustrated performers - even shy people like myself. I listed the people I met at BBC Radio who were already comedy performers before they started writing for others on radio (Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, Harry Hill, Al Murray, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring) and said how, after going up to the Beeb for a while, I had psyched myself up to do a 10-minute open spot at the Comedy Cafe, had died completely and didn't do it again until five years later, by which time I had been on a public speaking course, and this time got laughs, and how I did it for a year for the experience, parallel with my first speaking engagements, before deciding that I preferred public speaking but that I will still (very occasionally) do stand-up.
I added that people's perception is that heckling is the comic's biggest fear but really 'dying a death' is worse!
This led Alina into mentioning about how quick-witted comics need to be and how they need to have improvisational skills. She mentioned Whose Line is it Anyway? and the intelligence and grasp of current events of performers. I replied that Paul Merton's background in improv is what makes him so sharp on Have I Got News for You? I mentioned that improv performers also have a very wide knowledge of movie genres, etc, to draw on.
The first segment of the interview had been exactly 7 minutes 30 seconds and then there was a break for Trouble by Coldplay. During this record, Lewis said how well he thought it was going. One interesting thing which happened was that Alina asked if I could remove my leather jacket for the rest of the interview as it was creaking a little each time I moved, not loud enough to be broadcast but audible in her earphones! This was something I hadn't even considered when deciding what to wear but it was a useful lesson for future interviews so...
Public Speaking Tip #138: If you are giving a radio interview, consider whether anything you are wearing could add distracting noise, such as creaking leather or perhaps rattling beads!
When the record had finished, Alina recapped about who I was and how we had been talking about taking current events and turning them into jokes. Lewis had told her that I had prepared some topical material so this led her nicely into asking if there were any stories in the news which I had any gags about.
I went into the five one-liners I had prepared. The first was about the record-breaking sum paid for a personalised number plate, a story which Alina recognised so she joined in with the explanation of it, and I delivered the punchline linked to the local motorway, the M27. Then a gag about the title of the next James Bond film, one concerning a survey about mobile phone use (which involved a bit of 'acting' as the punchline had to be shouted), a line about tractor thieves and finally the gag about HMS Illustrious - the story which had been on the news at the beginning of the hour. Almost word-perfect, although there was a bit of 'er'-ing, and Alina was an excellent audience, considering there was only one of her!
I then explained the 'formula' for using associations to devise gags like these. Alina remarked that it was about connecting with the audience to find things they recognise so this led me neatly into the writer Basil Boothroyd's definition of observational humour as 'recognition humour; pointing out a truth that everyone knows but nobody has realised yet'. I said that for this, you have to simplify then exaggerate and then went into the observational items I had prepared. I mentioned the Ros Taylor interview Alina had done earlier on the show and delivered my material about TV shows with helpline numbers at the end. Staying with the topic of TV, I mentioned that Alina had played the Grange Hill theme and I did some observations about those horrible drinking fountains that school playgrounds used to have. Still with television, some material about the incredible mortality rate in such a tiny place in the series Midsomer Murders. Then I talked about unintentionally amusing signs in supermarkets (I mentioned that there was a large store just near the studios but was careful not to mention Asda by name - no advertising on the BBC!) and then the meaningless things people say. Finally, still with language, an observation about changing job titles. With hindsight, I would re-word a couple of these items but overall, it made a nice, chatty piece with Alina's input (and, in one case, an excellent observation from her which I wish I had made myself!)
I had noticed that Alina was getting a message in her headphones whenever a break was coming up and the way these items were broken up made it easy for her to stop me at any point. After the last observation, she linked to Louise with the traffic report which started with, surprise, surprise, the M27, so it was all dovetailing quite nicely.
The length of this section of our interview had been nearly 4 minutes and 30 seconds.
Public Speaking Tip #139: If a radio interview is being broadcast live, watch for signals from the interviewer for when a break is coming up - that way you can cut an answer short yourself and avoid being interrupted.
Alina put on Reach Out (I'll Be There) by the Four Tops and, while this was playing, asked me if there was a record I'd like to choose for the end of the interview. I mentioned 10cc and chose Rubber Bullets from the list on the computer. Then it was back to the interview.
Alina asked whether analysing humour took the fun out of it. I replied that really it's more instinct than analysis with me, giving as an example my previous speaking engagement with the lovely audience at Harman's Cross and I said how, a split second before telling a few of the stories I had been using for so many years, I had decided to experiment with some the emphasis/timing and the success of this had given me more options for the future.
This led Alina to ask if comedy is all down to timing as she had a joke about a penguin she was going to tell (Lewis had warned me about this!). I said that it can be about material and timing but some material can be put across in different ways and still be funny.
She then referred to my mentioning being shy and said how a lot of comedians are very different from their on-screen personae, for example, the late Ronnie Barker who came across as very measured in interviews. I replied that some comedians are quiet off-stage and some are the opposite, and gave as an example Roy Hudd who I was lucky enough to write for over twelve years - with Roy, what you see is what you get! I added that all performers and writers seek approval from different groups of strangers over and over again (let's add speakers to that list, shall we?) and that whether extrovert or shy, they get something back from the audience.
Now, when you give a presentation or media interview, you are not there to give a sales pitch but to inform, entertain, motivate or whatever but obviously you hope there will be some point where you can naturally introduce a plug for something you do. This came with the next question. Alina asked whether people who come to me for material want just a little elaboration on ideas they have already written or whether they say 'I need help!' - in other words, they want everything written from scratch by me.
I said that my work varies from writing for radio and cabaret comics on cruise liners to 'people who want a wedding speech written' (ie I am available to write this or any other kind of speech!) and I added that some people just want material edited/gagging up and others want the whole piece written.
Public Speaking Tip #140: As with any other speaking engagement, introduce 'advertising' naturally and sparingly when giving a media interview. Any opportunity to briefly plug something is a bonus by-product - not the sole purpose of the interview! Listeners/viewers, presenters and those who book interviewees on to programmes (and may wish to do so again) will not appreciate a blatant sales pitch!
Then came the question which I had been expecting: what makes me laugh? I listed a few: The Marx Brothers, Jack Benny, Blaster Bates, Jack Dee... Alina is a fan of his stand-up and I mentioned that he's moved into acting in Lead Balloon. Alina observed that many comedians do this (she mentioned Ronnie Barker again, this time his appearance in the 2002 BBC drama about Churchill, The Gathering Storm) and I explained that few big-name comics can remain on TV nowadays just by doing comedy but have to move into other areas and how many are even reviving their careers by appearing in soaps - although I was careful to point out that Roy Hudd was at the top of his game when he chose to appear in Coronation Street!
This led Alina to mention about performers involved in different areas within comedy, such as Rowan Atkinson whose work has varied from the verbal humour of Blackadder to the dialogue-free physical comedy of Mr Bean. I said that the first time I ever saw Mr Bean, I knew he'd make a fortune from it because that sort of visual comedy with no language barrier could be sold all around the world.
Just before we finished the interview, Alina told her penguin joke. It was a variation on one I'd heard before but I'm a good listener where gags are concerned thanks to many years of practice from people coming up after my talks!
Finally, she asked if there was a record which held memories for me so I explained about seeing 10cc perform Rubber Bullets on Top of the Pops when I was 12 and what a big impression the lyric sheet of their first album had made on me with its wordplay and topical satire. Alina put the record on (the unedited version with the rude last bit left in!), thanked me and said she'd be giving out details of this website afterwards - which she duly did. This third and final segment of our interview had been just over 6 minutes.
I thanked Alina, had a chat with Lewis who arranged to send me a recording of the interview, and stepped out into the sunshine. I made a long phone call to Val, who had been listening at home. I felt that I had been speaking too fast at times but she said it had come across well - authoritatively, in fact!
As I was free for the rest of the day in Southampton, I decided to 'walk the walls' of the Historic Old Town. If you're ever in the area with an hour or two to spare, then I can really recommend this fascinating experience. The high point for me was discovering St Michael's church. Built in 1070, (it is actually the oldest building in Southampton), it was the only place of worship to survive the heavy bombing Southampton city centre suffered during the Second World War. It's in good condition and still very much in use, as Fr Steve's lively newsletter on the wall outside confirms. It was both pleasing and moving to see that public speaking is still taking place in this resilient venue nearly 1,000 years after it was built.
I listened to the interview a couple of times in the days afterwards using the BBC's 'Listen Again' feature and I wasn't speaking too fast after all. At first, I thought I sounded a bit reserved by my standards but this is because I am so used to delivering comedy at speaking engagements as more of an 'act' - doing this on radio would have been totally over the top.
Considering how long it has been since I last gave an interview, I am pleased with it. I am certainly glad that I did so much preparation - my previous interviews have generally been about public speaking but comedy is a much, much broader subject
Public Speaking Tip #141: One of the trickiest questions any subject-specific speaker can be asked is 'Can you give me an example?' Knowledge of your subject and careful preparation can turn this into an opportunity to shine - especially if you can give the examples without having to be asked!
Lewis sent me a CD of the recording but I can't post it here for you to listen to due to the BBC's policy and I have no problem with this; after all, the TV appearance which led to my becoming a speaker was due to my connection with BBC radio comedy and the writing credits I gained at the BBC still lead to me getting booked for speaking engagements - including radio interviews - all these years later so I owe them a great deal!
Sunday, February 10
BBC RSVP Part 2: Preparing for a live radio interview - it's like enjoyable revision!
Preparing for my latest interview on BBC Radio Solent
Having agreed to go on Radio Solent, the first thing I did was find out about the presenter who would be interviewing me as I hadn't been a very regular listener to the station recently.
This is so much easier nowadays than when I did my first 'radios' as so many stations have 'Listen Again' facilities on their websites as well as short biographies of their broadcasters.
Alina Jenkins has her own website and I noted from it that she has appeared as an actress in series such as Preston Front and Red Dwarf so she has experience of comedy - the subject of our discussion.
And can you imagine giving presentations using highly sophisticated visual aids to an audience of hundreds of thousands of people five days a week for four years? Alina did this as a weather presenter on BBC TV's South Today so she certainly has wide experience of public speaking!
Public Speaking Tip #129: If you know who will be interviewing you on radio or TV, try and find out a little about them, for example, from a website.
What is their background? Is there any connection with your subject?
Try to get to hear/see what they are like as interviewers so you can get an idea of their style.
Another thing I decided to do was get a haircut! Now you may be thinking 'What, for radio?' Well, yes. I needed one and I wanted to feel comfortable even if Solent's audience couldn't see me. It's a bit like people standing up to make important phone calls; the person on the other end of the line isn't aware of this but it makes the caller feel more at ease.
Public Speaking Tip #130:You need to feel comfortable about how you look for a speaking engagement - even if it's on the radio!
I had agreed to perform a short topical monologue on the show so I researched the news stories as I do every day anyway when I write jokes for commercial radio presenters in other parts of the country. I looked back over the past few days and chose four stories and gags about them which I thought would fit the audience for Alina's Sunday morning show. Nothing political or politically incorrect and nothing too obscure. I was able to tailor the punchline of one gag to be about the M27, a motorway in the local area. I hoped to be able to add something from the Sunday morning's news.
I planned to speak about observational humour as well and I chose examples from my JOCK BOOK collections and some 'works in progress': observations about schooldays, popular TV programmes and the strange things people say or put on labels!
Preparing for a media interview can be like revising for an exam but I don't mean the type that you dreaded at school or college but rather the kind where the subject was one which you were passionate and knowledgeable about. There were certain questions and topics which were bound to come up - your 'bankers' - and you thought you'd be fine with them butyou knew that if you could also handle the less predictable ones, then it could even be an experience to look forward to.
Public Speaking Tip #131: 'Revise' for a radio or TV interview as you would for an exam in a subject which are really keen on.
I have become very used to handling questions at my speaking engagements over 12 years but radio interviewers tend to ask slightly more challenging ones (when I did the Wave 105 interview, the opening question was 'So, Nick, what makes you think you're qualified to help people with their wedding speeches?' I kept calm and briefly replied that my CV included years of radio comedy and speechwriting, teaching adult education classes in public speaking and being a speaker myself and that I didn't know anyone else with a CV combining those three. It actually turned out to be a very good interview).
To prepare myself for technical questions about comedy, I went back over the handouts I have given to students at comedy writing workshops, etc. I also had a brief look at books on the subject by other comedy writers.
Public Speaking Tip #132: Be prepared for media interviewers asking more difficult questions than audiences at presentations. With a good knowledge of your subject, you should be able to give an answer - even if it sometimes means going off at a slight tangent!
The important thing is not to panic but to give a considered response.Then I went off to get at least some sleep as I had an early start the next day (although by now, it was the next day!).It was tight catching the train for Southampton the following morning (I must thank the South West Trains worker who delayed the closing off the automatic doors for a few seconds so I could get on!) I spent the 40-odd minutes of the journey listening on headphones to the first part of Alina's show while making notes. You would not, of course, normally have notes with you for a radio interview (something else comparable to an exam!) but these were for the topical monologue and observational routines and so acceptable.Alina has a very warm, friendly, relaxed style. In the first part of the programme, she interviewed psychologist Ros Taylor by phone and I realised that I could refer to this when I did my observational material about TV programmes which have numbers for counselling services at the end. She played the theme music from Grange Hill and I saw that this could be a link into my observations about schooldays. I also noticed that guests and callers were being asked to choose a record which brought back memories for them and so I had one in mind in case Alina asked me to do the same. It was also apparent that records were played quite regularly so these broke up any interview segments. Listening to that show before I went on it was enormously valuable.
Public Speaking Tip #133: Try to hear the first part of a show you are appearing on in case there is anything you can bring into your own subject matter.
I got off at Southampton Central Station, still listening to the show, and walked the short distance up to the studios. It was just coming up to 10am and I decided to listen to the news before ringing the buzzer. I was glad I did because it finished with a local item about a Royal Navy ship which had to turn back because of a problem with its refrigeration system. I remembered a story from a couple of days earlier about a woman who was still using a fridge dating back to 1931. Now I could mention this in my topical monologue and add a punchline about her getting an offer for it from HMS Illustrious.
A local gag and so topical that the story about it had just been mentioned on the last news bulletin that morning - just what I had been looking for!
Public Speaking Tip 134: Keep up-to-date with the news before you appear on a programme. Even if you are not there to make topical jokes, there might still be something which you can relate to the subject you are being interviewed about, thus giving it more relevance.
I heard Alina announce that she would shortly be talking to me. I was described as an after dinner speaker and adult education tutor in comedy so this also gave me a further idea of the direction our interview would take.
I rang the buzzer and Lewis, her friendly producer, led me in to the studios.And in the final instalment, I'll tell you how the interview went...
Thursday, February 7
BBC RSVP Part 1: An invitation to give a live radio interview
Live interview on BBC Radio Solent
After posting about speaking to so many clubs and societies in recent months, I can now tell you about a different kind of engagement which I accepted last week: a live interview on a BBC local radio station.
This is an important topic so I am going to write about it in several posts, starting with my previous radio experiences and then how I prepared for this latest interview. Finally, I will tell you how the broadcast went.
Over the years, I have been featured on the radio a number of times:
(1). 1993: 2CR FM. A 15-second sound bite for a minute-long feature about turning a hobby (i.e. writing) into a business. This was years before I enrolled in an evening class in public speaking and even though the piece was pre-recorded, I was still so nervous in those days that my voice was quavering!
(2), (3). 1994: Radio Bedside. I was a guest twice on two-hour shows broadcast live to six hospitals in the Bournemouth area and presented by a local comedian/speaker. In between the records he played, we chatted about comedy and I found these shows easier, perhaps because I knew the presenter a little or maybe just because I assumed that the unseen audience would be fairly small.
After I had completed the evening class in 1995 and passed my LAMDA Bronze Medal with Honours, I made a number of further radio appearances, starting two months later with...
(4). 1996: The (BBC) Radio 2 Arts Programme. This was pre-recorded for national radio at the old Poole Arts Centre (now the Poole Lighthouse) in front of an audience of around 600. I was asked to do a short stand-up spot before being interviewed along with the organiser of the venue's comedy club by George Melly. As I have mentioned before, the fact that I was able to tackle an engagement like this without getting terribly nervous demonstrates just how effective regular practice in a supportive environment such as an adult education class can be.
(5). 1996: BBC Radio Solent. A live interview at the Bournemouth International Centre about speechwriting and political speeches. The venue was being prepared for the Conservative Party Conference the following week and the interviewer and myself had to contend with the sound of hammering nearby!
(6). 1997: BBC Radio Solent. A live interview with my mother and myself at Solent's studios in Southampton to promote a literary event we were putting on in Corfe Castle. We not only answered questions but also gave readings of some of the material we would be performing.
(7). 1999: BBC Radio Solent. A pre-recorded interview by phone from the BBC studio at the Bournemouth International Centre. The topic this time was speechwriting and coaching for speakers at weddings.
(8). 1999: Wave 105. A pre-recorded interview with this very popular commercial station based in Fareham. The subject was wedding speeches again and this telephone interview was recorded using the facilities for the radio production course at Bournemouth University. I was recovering from chickenpox and trying not to wheeze into the microphone. On the day the interview was meant to be broadcast, Sir Christopher Cockerell, inventor of the hovercraft, passed away and, due to his local connection, the whole programme was (quite rightly) devoted to him but a couple of weeks later, I had to phone the presenter and gently remind him that he still hadn't used my interview! When it was finally broadcast, it brought in a decent amount of work.
(9). 2002: BBC Wiltshire Sound. A live interview by phone from the BBC studio at the Bournemouth International Centre to publicise my new leaflet of 'Tips for Terrified Speakers!' but due to some technical difficulties, a planned 10-minute piece ended up being about half that length.
(10). 2003: Vale FM. I gave this pre-recorded interview within a few minutes of stepping off a coach in Mere, Wiltshire, where I was booked to give two talks at their very successful literary festival. The organiser led me to a cafe where a reporter asked us both about the forthcoming events. I remember there being a great deal of background noise from other customers, many with young children, and from the cafe generally.
Numbers (1), (6), (7), (8) and (9) were secured by me through press releases.
(2) and (3) were invitations from a presenter who I already knew.
I was asked to do (4) by the organiser of the comedy club where I had performed on just one occasion.
Number (5) I got on a recommendation from my one-time agent after the BBC phoned him up looking for someone with knowledge of speeches.
(10) was a request from the organiser of the festival where I was speaking.
So, as you can see, these ten radio appearances came about through self-promotion, networking or as a by-product of other speaking engagements. (Nowadays, I have a higher profile thanks to this website and blog and also the fortnightly humorous column I write for the Radio Magazine so this is also likely to lead to invitations from radio programmes).
Public Speaking Tip #124: Once you start conquering your nerves and get used to public speaking on a regular basis, you will discover that there is really very little difference between speaking to a medium-sized audience in a hall and broadcasting to a six-figure listenership on the radio.
Public Speaking Tip #125: You don't have to wait for radio stations to come to you if you feel that you have something to say which will be of interest to their listeners- you can approach them, for example, through a well-written press release.
Your contacts and even your speaking engagements themselves could also lead to occasional radio appearances.
Public Speaking Tip #126: You should seriously consider any opportunity to speak on a radio programme because:
- It is a great challenge for a speaker - especially a live broadcast. Tackling it will give your confidence an enormous boost;
- You can learn a lot from the techniques employed by a good radio presenter;
- It will provide useful experience in getting your message across without the assistance of visual aids, gestures, facial expressions, etc.; your voice has to do the work for you. Of course, you also have to meet the challenge of being unable to see the expressions and body language of your audience;
- It will give you some great practice in impromptu speaking and handling questions as you will not usually be told exactly what the interviewer is likely to ask;
- Your message can reach a much wider audience in minutes, even if you only have a fraction of the time you would normally have at other speaking engagements. Let's say you give presentations for a charity which you are involved with. You can speak about it in hotels, halls, community centres, etc, for 40 minutes to 50 people at a time - or you can discuss it for 10 minutes on a radio programme and perhaps reach 100,000 or more!
- The interview may provide a useful insight, amusing anecdote, etc, which you could use the next time you speak.
- 'As featured on...' lends weight to your CV/publicity materials or to introductions at your next speaking engagements.
The message asking if I was available to go on the Sunday morning show on BBC Radio Solent to talk about comedy was left on the Thursday afternoon that I was delivering the Harman's Cross Village Club talk. By radio standards, this was giving me quite a long time to prepare!
Public Speaking Tip #127: Radio stations tend to ask for interviews at pretty short notice. If the subject matter is something in the news, this can be less than 24 hours as they try to beat other local media in covering it.
As soon as I had finished at Harman's Cross, I left a message for Lewis, the producer from Radio Solent, to say that I would be available.He returned my call the following afternoon and it was agreed that I would travel to the BBC studios in Southampton for a live interview about comedy and some of the 'rules' associated with it, timing, after dinner speaking, etc, with Alina Jenkins who was standing in for the usual presenter of the Sunday morning show, comedian Mike Osman.I suggested including a short, non-controversial monologue of topical gags and Lewis thought this was a good idea. He said the interview would start at around 10.10 and finish at 10.35 so I should be at the studios just after 10.
Public Speaking Tip #128: In my experience, there is very little hanging around before a radio interview so you have to turn up prepared to go on air almost immediately!
So, having committed to this particular speaking engagement, I set about preparing for it. I'll tell you exactly how I did that in my next posting...
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