Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog

Wednesday, March 26

So where do public speakers find their public? (Part 1)

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Wed 26 Mar 2008 01:48 PM GMT

Finding the right audience for your presentation

Not for the first time, a reader has contacted me with a query (and if anyone else wants to use me as a 'public speaking agony uncle' then please feel free to do so. I'll help if I can - but it may sometimes take a while, depending upon my commitments!).

Sarah Rourke, The Audio Pod Artist, is a former BBC journalist and producer and is therefore not nervous about public speaking but wants suggestions for finding the right organisations to speak to in order to promote her podcasting, audio resources production and training business.

First of all, here are the more obvious suggestions. Let's start with business networking clubs. Now Sarah could certainly join some and get to speak at their meetings, ranging from one minute per week to say what sort of business referrals she'd like from other members at some clubs, to a six-minute presentation about her business at others. Some will cost hundreds of pounds a year in membership fees, others just the cost of a meal.

But with her BBC background and type of business, I feel that she really should be the guest speaker at business clubs. Her local library or free business paper should have details of all the business groups in her area and, if it's anything like here in Bournemouth, a very large proportion of these will be solely for businesswomen. It will then be up to her to decide whether she wants to widen her net and obtain details of similar clubs further afield.

Meetings can be at any time from breakfast to evening and from weekly to bi-monthly. Some organisations pay (very well), others may just pay her travel and for the meal but, whatever the arrangement, her presentation will have to be informative and entertaining, not simply a sales pitch, and she will need to take some interesting recordings along with her to play - using her own equipment.

A good organisation for Sarah to contact might be Businesslink. In my area, they run a number of rural business clubs and I have delivered 40-minute presentations as a guest speaker at a couple of these and obtained some coaching and other work as a result but they also run much larger training events in urban districts.

So these are some of the business clubs.There are also the service organisations whose members are business people who raise funds for charity: Rotary and their wives and partners in the Inner Wheel, 41 Clubs (ex-Round Tablers) and their female offshoot Tangent, Lions clubs, etc. They certainly all book - and pay for - speakers but the age range is pretty wide, from 40s to 90s, with many of them obviously being retired and although there are certainly older people who are very enthusiastic users of the internet (sometimes rather patronisingly described by the media as 'silver surfers'), many others have no interest in it at all. The same, I think, applies to BPW (Business and Professional Women UK Ltd) as a market. But perhaps Rotary's 'youth arm' Rotaract (18 upwards) might be a better bet, although these clubs tend to be very small.

Here are some less obvious suggestions. Podcasting is, like blogging, a form of self-publishing - so how about writers' groups? The audio aspect could be of interest to film-making and AV (audio visual) clubs, too (despite so much of my work being in radio, I have spoken to both a film-making and an AV club - and they approached me!) The logical progression from these might be carefully selected arts festivals. And how about contacting libraries where events are often held?

Sarah offers training so she could also consider becoming a lecturer for other educators. This would probably not bring in any extra business for her company but it would give her additional income as a speaker and increase awareness. She could be a guest lecturer on a university media studies course (as I was on the MA in Radio Production at Bournemouth University) or teach adult education classes (although she would be required to study for a basic lifelong learning teacher's qualification if she doesn't already have one).

She could also find out if there are any agencies representing subject-specific speakers for training days who would take her on their books.

Public Speaking Tip #182: Sometimes the market for a particular presentation is wider than you think so don't just look for the obvious speaking opportunities; instead, consider all aspects of your topic and think who else it might possibly appeal to.

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Tuesday, March 25

Even politicians sometimes have their uses...

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Tue 25 Mar 2008 08:38 PM GMT

Political Biographies

Last weekend, the top UK blogger Iain Dale published a list of his Top 75 Political Books.

Political biographies often include a great deal about the preparation, delivery and impact of their subjects' speeches. A favourite audio book which I am just listening to yet again is A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan by Michael Deaver. Throughout the 4 cassettes, there are constant references to Reagan's public speaking.

Oratory obviously also features heavily in political fiction, as viewers of the superb drama The West Wing are aware; some of the most interesting and entertaining characters are the speechwriters.

Public Speaking Tip #181: We may never wish to go into politics but we can still pick up some excellent public speaking pointers from political biographies and fiction (although, admittedly, the two are sometimes difficult to distinguish!)

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An underrated technique for controlling public speaking nerves!

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Tue 25 Mar 2008 07:41 PM GMT

Controlling panic attacks

In a recent interview, Madonna revealed that she still gets panic attacks on stage.

Now, you might be thinking that if a performer with her experience still panics after a quarter of a century of superstardom, then what hope is there for anyone else?

But then we are not performing as part of a multi-million pound tour where we are expected to remember and deliver outstanding songs and dance routines while knowing that every second we are up there, the world's critics are scrutinising us for any sign of weakness as we grow older.

Madonna has her own techniques for dealing with her panic. I am now going to enlarge on one of the suggestions on my Thomas's Twelve Tips for Terrified Speakers web page which can help you if you get really nervous at a speaking engagement. I was delighted when Liz Fuller recently referred to this list - and this tip in particular - in her highly-acclaimed blog for women entrepreneurs, More Than WE Know.

Between the ages of 15 and 23, my life was blighted by severe panic attacks. As this is a blog and not a therapy session, I have no intention of going into the childhood reasons for these, but I developed a full-blown social phobia which severely restricted my educational, social and working lives. Numerous medications were prescribed, conventional and homeopathic, which had little long-term effect (apart from very unpleasant side effects in some cases). And I was less than impressed by the doctor who felt that he would be able to cure my problem over two years of talking it out - despite the fact that he appeared to speak very little English!

Then, at last, I met a therapist who described all these tablets as 'cr*p' and introduced me to an incredibly fast-working and effective technique. Whenever I felt panicky, I was to give my fear a rating on a scale of 0 - 8.

Of course, if you are feeling terribly nervous, you're naturally going to give your fear a 'score' of 8. Well, if it was 8, you would probably be dead while 6 or 7 would mean you would be unconscious! But psychologists say that actually 8 = avoidance: you simply refuse to undertake the activity you are so nervous about. In public speaking terms, it would be the equivalent of running out of the venue during your introduction.

Realistically, a severe panic attack rates a 4. And the wonderful thing is that once you start giving your fear a score, you start to take control over it. You are treating it as something separate from you; you are acting as its critic. And when you start to do this, the score begins to descend: 4 becomes 3, becomes 2.5, becomes 2...I'm not saying that it will necessarily go right down to 0 straight away but the event will certainly become a lot more manageable.

When you get used to doing this, you will find that your starting point for these scores gets lower anyway: 'How nervous am I on a scale of 0 - 8? Well, I'd say 3. Is it really a 3? Well, no, actually it's more like a 2...'

As Liz Fuller points out, 'it helps you move from right brain emotion to left brain logic very quickly'.

It certainly helped me; within weeks, I was starting to do many things which I had totally avoided for years. It changed my life and I will always be grateful to Peter Henderson and his assistant Arthur Poropat.

As far as public speaking is concerned, this technique alone will probably not be enough to help a nervous speaker; you will need to know and rehearse exactly what you are going to say and you may also need some regular practice in the supportive environment of a class, workshop or club or at least in the presence of a coach at a one-on-one session (I certainly had to join a class to overcome my own fears about public speaking, despite my many years of scriptwriting experience). But when used in conjunction with thorough speech preparation and public speaking practice, rating your fear can be invaluable in helping a speaker to overcome any nerves just as they are about to be introduced.

The tricky part is remembering to do it when you have so many other things on your mind!

On 2 January 2003, after 7 years of relatively fearless public speaking, I began to get very nervous on my way to deliver a speech. There was an understandable reason why I felt a certain pressure that day: the speech was a eulogy at my mother's funeral. But then I remembered the technique - and a fear of 3.5 quickly went down to 0 over the course the last couple of miles of the journey and I was able to deliver this most important address in the way that my mother deserved.

In terms of what I consider to be effective tools for speakers, this technique is right up there with Mind Mapping and commonplacing.

It works; remember to try it for yourself if you need to.

Public Speaking Tip #180: If you feel really nervous at a speaking engagement, remembering to give your fear a rating on a scale of 0 - 8 starts to put you in control of it, instead of it controlling you. Your panic will begin to subside.

The more often you do this, the lower your starting score will be.

And after a while, once you are used to feeling more relaxed before speaking engagements, try to make yourself feel more nervous - you will find that you can't! This is when you know that you are really starting to control your nerves.

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Monday, March 24

You're a public speaker? Hang on a minute...

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Mon 24 Mar 2008 01:53 AM GMT

Royal Air Force Yacht Club Ladies' Luncheon, Hamble

On 14 March I spoke to around 50 ladies at the Hamble Royal Air Force Yacht Club in Hampshire.

They were a very good audience and, despite the talk being scheduled for after the (very good) lunch, attentive enough for me to speak for the best part of an hour on My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer (often a presentation following a meal has to be somewhat shorter!)

Afterwards, as always, I chatted to members, gave out my Twelve Tips for Terrified Speakers! leaflets and sold and signed booklets. Even back in the days before I gave people handouts or did any merchandising after my talks, I would still be available to chat with audience members. It is only on the rare occasions that I have to get away quickly to travel on to another engagement miles away that I make a quick exit and even then I cut it fine by spending at least some time with the people who have just given me their attention, laughter and applause.

Years ago, a Women's Institute member told me that she had been to a national event where the speaker was a very famous actress who was there in her capacity as a representative of a campaigning countryside organisation. Despite her decades of stage and TV experience, she had read her entire speech with her face buried in her script. Afterwards, she had rushed off so quickly that they had to persuade her to come back just to receive her vote of thanks! Result: a disappointed audience.

Contrast this with a Rotary club in Hampshire which organises a charity lunch each spring with a celebrity speaker. They sell around 250 tickets and raise thousands. The speakers they book always seem to go well but one they remember as being particularly good value is Christine Hamilton. She and her husband Neil may still be controversial figures to some people but they have worked hard to become successful and popular entertainers. This Rotary club really appreciated the fact that she not only gave a successful speech but had so much time for her audience afterwards instead of rushing to get away.

Public Speaking Tip #179: Unless there is a really pressing reason for you to get away (or you feel your presentation has been a sheer, unmitigated disaster - which it probably hasn't!) you should spend time with your audience afterwards, not just the ones who want to buy something from you or book you for another engagement, but also those who want to chat about your presentation.

You will sometimes even find that what some of them have to tell you - perhaps an anecdote of their own related to your subject matter - will enhance your future talks.

Another reason is that some people may be too shy to ask a question in front of the audience so making yourself available afterwards means that they can talk to you one-on-one.

The Royal Air Force Yacht Club is a very pleasant venue in a lovely setting. My thanks to Charlotte Jarmain (who booked me) for the transport from Southampton Parkway and also for the coffee in the village before the talk.

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Thursday, March 20

A presentation and a pasty - an unbeatable combination!

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Thu 20 Mar 2008 10:56 PM GMT

Bournemouth Cornish Association

My second speaking engagement last Wednesday was a talk, once again My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer, for one of my home town's oldest clubs: Bournemouth Cornish Association (founded 1921).

They were all extremely friendly and I decided to speak from up on the stage in the Charminster Moose Hall. Once again, I was asked to use a microphone. This was a good one, detachable from its stand and not battery operated - for once!

The agenda for their meeting is a little different from other clubs, in that I was asked to do a spot of about 30 minutes and then stop as the food would be ready by then. There would be a raffle after the meal and, if there was time, I could speak for a few minutes more and take the odd question - but they had to be out by ten o'clock!

I have often done 'two-parters', especially at literary festivals, but for those bookings, I have known that there will definitely be a second section of my talk.

In the end, I did about 35 minutes, picking a good cross-section of my usual talk but leaving out its longest anecdote, the story of my appearance on What's My Line? I finished with the usual quotations I end with just in case there wasn't time for a second segment of the talk later.

Public Speaking Tip #177: You may sometimes be asked to deliver a presentation in two parts with a break in-between, perhaps for refreshments. You should try to make both sections as self-contained as possible and try to time the first so that the break is a natural one.

Then we had the food...

It is quite possible that at some time in your life you have eaten an item from a service station, supermarket or baker's which was described as a Cornish pasty. All I can say is that unless the bakery was actually in Cornwall, it probably was nothing like one. The pasties served at this club had been made down in Cornwall and collected especially for this meeting. They were being heated as I spoke, hence the time limit on my talk! No 'pasty' I have eaten anywhere else ever tasted like this! Nothing in a corner shop chill cabinet could ever compare from now on!

There was also a large selection of desserts. I chose rhubarb crumble (I was encouraged to have two helpings and I have to admit that I put up very little resistance!) I'm not sure whether this was a traditional West Country dish - but the clotted cream with it certainly was!

Chatting over tea, I found that I knew a couple of the 41 people there but had never realised that they were from Cornwall. I was told that there are Cornish Associations all over the world, with flourishing branches in countries like the United Stated and Australia.

The raffle came next so I found myself drawing tickets for the second time that day (no problem!) and there was actually time for me to do about another 15 minutes so I decided to do the What's My Line? story as a self-contained anecdote. There is a certain humorous way in which I usually end this tale; I point out the great achievements of all the other contestants who appeared on that same edition of the programme as me and then say, in a rueful, from-the-sublime-to-the-ridiculous manner, '...and I've been booked to speak to - ' and insert the name of the club or venue. It always gets a big laugh but as I was reaching the end of the story, I realised that I could deliver these same words but in a totally different, non-self-effacing, warm style that would convey my gratitude for the super evening I'd had and would also be a great way to finish as I had already used my usual 'closers' during the first part. Sometimes you get an idea of how to adapt existing material seconds before delivering it!

Public Speaking Tip #178: Over time, you will find that ways to improve the section of material you are just about to deliver will suddenly suggest themselves to you. When you have the experience and confidence to deviate from your prepared script a little, you will find that acting on these instincts can make your presentation even more effective.

I took the odd question, had a very interesting chat with a member who speaks on cruise liners (a market which I am very interested in exploring) and was given a lift back by their President.

What with the NSPCC lunch earlier, it really was one of those days when there was nothing in the world that I would rather do than be a public speaker.

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Wednesday, March 19

A charity appeal - and the appeal of repetition in a presentation

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Wed 19 Mar 2008 09:55 PM GMT

NSPCC Bournemouth Branch Ladies Day

Last Wednesday morning, I gave an hour-long talk on My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer as part of the annual NSPCC Bournemouth Branch Ladies Day held at Canford Magna Golf Club, a popular local venue where I had never actually spoken before.

This was a very well-organised and well-attended event with around 110 women there. As well as the guest speaker's talk and the lunch afterwards, there were stalls, raffles and donated artworks to be auctioned.

As far as my talk was concerned, there were one or two challenges. It was a large, wide room and I was asked to use a microphone, a battery-powered, hand-held model. I had to choose a spot to speak from in quite a cramped area, allowing for the fact that the room had a sloping ceiling (low ceilings can cause problems with this type of mic). Another thing I had to bear in mind was the fact that the members of the audience furthest away were on a lower floor level than the ones straight in front me (normally tiered seating goes upwards, not down!)

For the whole of the talk, I was uncertain about whether the mic was working or not - and I had been asked to use it because one or two attendees were hard of hearing. Certainly, if I brought it up very close to my mouth, the volume increased but keeping it there the whole time was hardly practical, especially as I'm fairly mobile when I deliver humour!

But this is where good eye contact while speaking comes in: I was regularly looking towards the far corners and could see that everyone was laughing at the humour. This, along with the fact that no-one was shouting out 'Can't hear you!' meant that I felt able to carry on without feeling the need to break off and ask if the mic was working - despite the fact that it didn't sound as if it was.

Afterwards, I was assured that I had been audible and I even received a compliment about my regular eye contact!

Public Speaking Tip #173: Regularly sweeping the room with your eyes while speaking (the 'lighthouse effect') not only keeps you connected with your audience but also alerts you to any potential problems.

As this was a function in aid of the NSPCC, I had carefully considered whether there was any material which I normally include in this talk which might not be appropriate. In the end, I decided to omit two items: one is a self-effacing anecdote about a rather aggressive Latin teacher I had at school and the other is a piece of 'found humour', an unfortunately worded press item about the infamous John Wayne Bobbitt. In the case of the first, it's about violence towards a pupil, while the second is about a domestic dispute (albeit one between adults). I don't suppose the audience would have turned against me if I'd used either but their inclusion would have made me look a little thoughtless and less professional.

Public Speaking Tip #174: Sometimes tailoring a presentation to a particular audience can be as much about the material you decide to leave out as the content you include.

The speech I really must write about, though, is the one which followed mine, from Eleanor Pack, the NSPCC's Community Appeals Manager for Dorset, South Wiltshire and the New Forest.

She began, as speakers often do if they are scheduled after a humorous talk, by saying 'How on earth do I follow that?' Well, in the case of Eleanor and her subject matter, very easily and to great effect.

She spoke for just under 7 minutes without notes or a microphone and began by referring to the smiles and laughter to lead into how the NSPCC is about putting smiles and laughter back into children's lives.

Her speech included a number of statistics but all were necessary and powerful, for example the fact that Childline can only afford to answer half of the 4,000 calls it receives each day. She introduced a new fund-raising scratchcard which produces £30 - the cost of answering just one Childline call.

Repeating words and phrases in groups of three can be very effective in public speaking and Eleanor did this twice. First of all, after giving examples of many other ways in which funds could be raised, she asked the audience if more of them could look to take

"one hour out of your year, one week out of your year, one month out of your year doing something more for children".

Cards were available with details of the charity's work and a space for the name and address of anyone who could help in any way.

Secondly, after thanking everyone, she said that

"When you look into the eyes of children who have heard things they really shouldn't have heard, seen things they really shouldn't have seen or felt things they really shouldn't have felt"

we would understand why she wanted to do as much as she possibly could and raise as much money as she could.

Eleanor then told the audience to put the smiles back on their faces and have a lovely day. She was applauded warmly.

Public Speaking Tip #175: Repetition of words and phrases in threes, especially when you have an important message to get across, will make key points in your presentation more powerful and memorable.

After a very nice lunch, there was the raffle, with a staggering array of donated prizes. The speaker is often asked to draw tickets and announce numbers at engagements. I don't think I've ever called out so many! There was also a separate raffle for an wonderful cake made by Committee member Ginnie Phillips.

Public Speaking Tip #176: A speaking engagement may occasionally involve other duties as well as the talk, such as drawing raffle tickets or judging competitions at Women's Institute meetings. This can be a lot of fun!

Then Suzy, another the Committee, auctioned off two artworks. Despite claiming that she doesn't like public speaking, I thought she was a very good charity auctioneer. This is something I have never been asked to do at an event but watching her made me think it's another aspect of public speaking that I wouldn't mind trying.

All told, it was a very enjoyable day which raised well over £2,000 for the NSPCC.

My thanks to Penny for the lift in and to Suzy for taking me back.

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Monday, March 17

A title, a talk and a toad in the hole!

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Mon 17 Mar 2008 10:51 PM GMT

Another talk for Hythe and District Probus

Repeat bookings can sometimes be for very soon after a speaker's last visit and on 6 March I was back at Hythe Probus near Southampton. My talk just before Christmas had been for the members and their partners but this one was for the men only.

I have slightly altered the title of the talk I delivered. I used to call it The Wits of the Algonquin Round Table but found that some people thought that the 'Round Table' part referred to King Arthur's Knights while others thought it was something to do with the hard-drinking, charity fund-raising group which goes by that name! I have also decided to include Dorothy Parker's name, not only to make this talk more appealing to women's groups but also because, as perhaps the most famous female wit of the 20th century, hers is a name that more people will have heard of so the subject seems less obscure;the title of this presentation is therefore now Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin Wits.

Nevertheless, when Clive Young, the Speaker Secretary, suggested this talk to the Committee at Hythe Probus, I understand that he met with some resistance as some of them had never heard of Mrs Parker! It got booked all the same and the classic one-liners soon had the 25 or so in attendance laughing.

I am happy with this title now as this is a talk which organisations book for a second, third, fourth (or more!) visit from me. They know me by then and are confident that any presentation I give will be humorous. The only people who book it for my first engagement with them tend to be literary and historical societies who are well aware of what it will be about anyway.

Titles require a bit of thought, whatever your topic. Doesn't Why Garden Organically? sound more interesting than just Organic Gardening?

Public Speaking Tip #171: Some organisations may book you on the strength of recommendations but there may be others you might wish to approach directly and the title of your presentation will be at least as much of a selling point as your CV. Give careful thought to whether you need to make it:

humorous
intriguing (but not too obscure!)
challenge a perceived notion
or promise the audience practical advice.

It can be useful to use a subtitle, as I do with I Must Write That Down! (A Commonplace Book).

I added a few new historical facts to this version of the talk. Having now delivered it about half a dozen times, I can see certain points where I can modify my existing script, for example, by changing the order of some items.

This is how I hone a presentation over time. It may be going well at each engagement but, every so often, the script will nag me to make further alterations so that it just keeps improving as the years go on. I am still making occasional small refinements to My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer after 12 years!

Public Speaking Tip #172: With a presentation that you deliver on a regular basis, however long you have been doing it and however successfully, you will still keep spotting opportunities to improve it even further. This also keeps it interesting for you as well as your audience.

The lunch afterwards was unusual. The Dibden Golf Centre has a new chef and instead of telling the Club what the set menu for their meeting will be, he lets them suggest a dish so Joe, the Treasurer, chose toad in the hole! I can honestly say that I have never had this at a Probus before but it was very good and made a real change!

As well as the food, another perk of speaking at lunches and dinners for mature audiences is the fascinating conversation with well-travelled people. On this occasion, this ranged from collective reminiscences about interesting characters members had encountered in the Netherlands, Germany and the Far East to a man Joe had once noticed shouting aggressively at no-one in particular on a crowded train in this country. He turned out to be the comedy actor Derek Deadman rehearsing a part to himself (oh, to be that uninhibited!)

Clive and Joe gave me a lift back to the station afterwards. As I have now spoken at this Club three times in under two years, it may be a while before they book me again - but you never know in this game.

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Sunday, March 16

Speaking to church groups, a £5 overpayment and early retirement!

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Sun 16 Mar 2008 05:04 PM GMT

All Saints Church Mudeford Women's Fellowship

On 4 March I spoke for the third time to the Women's Fellowship at All Saints Church in Mudeford, just outside Christchurch. There were 26 there (including one gentleman who helps out with transport for their members) and I delivered my new-ish talk I Must Write That Down! (A Commonplace Book) which went well with this friendly bunch.

The last time I had spoken there, I noticed later on that they had slightly overpaid me (£5 over the amount we had agreed). They were appreciative of the fact that I had pointed this out to them and we adjusted my fee this time to allow for this. Clubs and societies mainly derive their income from subscriptions, raffles, etc, and, as new members are not always easy to attract, every penny counts. I always stick to the fees and expenses that I have quoted.

Years ago, a speaker told me that he had just passed an audition for inclusion in a county's WI Speakers List and had submitted details of his fee and petrol costs, charged at so much per mile. He wondered if would be able to get two talks per day in the same town, say afternoon and evening, and then charge the full mileage to both Institutes - even though he would be in the area anyway!

I doubt if he was ever able to pull this off, firstly because bookings rarely fall so conveniently close together in distant towns and secondly, organisations know - and publicise - when they meet and what speakers have been booked; a stunt like that would soon have led to him being struck off their list!

Public Speaking Tip #168: When it comes to fees and expenses, deal honestly with organisations who book you. You may well be found out and harm your reputation if you don't!

Tuesday Link, St George's Methodist Church, Boscombe

I had a second talk at a church that day, this time speaking on My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer for the Tuesday Link Club, who meet fortnightly at St George's Methodist Church in Boscombe (a group very near my home which, nevertheless, I hadn't heard of until they booked me).

There were about 30 there and I was really able to personalise this one by mentioning that the last time I had been in that building was in 1973 when I was a (lip-synching!) member of the Bournemouth School Choir (the rehearsals for this performance feature in one of the anecdotes in my booklet Nick R's in a Twist!) and also when I talked about teaching public speaking, I was able to bring in the fact that I taught adult education classes for seven years at the Bournemouth Centre for Community Arts which is just across the road from them (or will be until its planned demolition). There were also a number of other Bournemouth references along the way and the two long-standing anecdotes which mention the fact that I am a lifelong teetotaller also had particular relevance for a Methodist audience. All told, it was pretty effortless tailoring of material!

Public Speaking Tip #169: Sometimes tailoring speech content involves no extra writing at all, just recognising the opportunities to highlight certain points in your existing material.

Before my (hour-long) talk started, a gentleman apologised for the fact that he would have to leave after thirty minutes, along with a couple of others, because they had music practice.

This often happens; people have other commitments but want to hear as much of a speaker's presentation as possible before they have to leave. They usually slip out with the minimum of disruption. If they are at the back of the room, I just carry on speaking but if they are nearer the front, and therefore a little more noticeable to everyone, then I may give them a smile or nod or even say goodbye in a friendly way, just so my audience knows that I am aware of why they are leaving!

Public Speaking Tip #170: People seldom slip out early during a presentation because they don't like the speaker but for a variety of other reasons, such as family commitments, transport arrangements and, very importantly, getting the refreshments ready for when the speaker finishes! Do not let this put you off and do not make these audience members feel self-conscious.

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Wednesday, March 12

They'll let you know: lessons from public speakers' auditions (part 2)

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Wed 12 Mar 2008 12:48 AM GMT

In my previous post, I wrote about Women's Institutes but in October 2005, the month of my most recent WI Speaker Selection Day (East Sussex Federation), I also took part in two other, very different auditions. The results varied enormously but I gained something from both experiences.

An entertainment agency's showcase audition

There is a highly successful entertainment agent in Devon who I've known for many years. I mentioned to her that I was wondering about the possibility of doing stand-up in some of the hotels in a major national chain she supplies acts for, hotels where the guests belong, almost exclusively, to the age group that I deliver many of my humorous talks to. She told me that she was soon holding one of her regular, Sunday afternoon auditions for cabaret acts in one of her hotels in front of a small audience.

I said that I was used to delivering sober-suited talks so I didn't have any of the sometimes rather loud costumes associated with cabaret acts. She said she'd prefer to see some colour so I went shopping in Westover Road here in Bournemouth, home to a number of expensive clothes stores. I didn't want to spend too much but I was lucky enough to find a designer shirt in bright red which was vastly reduced in price.

The following morning I set off on what was a very long journey for a 10-minute audition: 8am start, train from Bournemouth to Brockenhurst and then a replacement bus to Southampton due to engineering works, train from Southampton to Westbury (where I had a very long wait in the cold), then Westbury to Newton Abbott and Newton Abbott to Torquay, about five and a half hours' travel altogether. I had put together an observational routine based on everyday topics which I felt would be recognised by a mature audience and on the journey, I scoured the Sunday papers for topical stories to joke about.

I got off the train at Torquay and walked around to the hotel (a fair distance when lugging a change of clothes, piles of newspapers, etc). It had started to pour with rain. I was greeted by the agent and noted that the audience was indeed very small, no more than 20. Now that's fine for a talk but not so brilliant for stand-up.

I got changed and was soon introduced as I didn't have too much time to spare due to having an equally long journey back...

And, boy, did I bomb! And it takes you aback when you've had years of good to excellent responses at speaking engagements.There was very little reaction from the tiny audience, a laugh here, a couple elsewhere, but never all of them together - what comics sometimes call 'tumble weed!'

It was obvious within a couple of minutes that I wasn't going to be getting booked for fairly well-paid 45-minute stand-up slots at the local branches of this hotel chain, which was a real pity because one of them is only five minutes' walk around the corner from my home!

It was so frustrating; I can get laughs with (admittedly harder-hitting) observational and topical humour from younger audiences in comedy clubs but there are very few near me and so much of the stand-up circuit, whether in London or outside it, is about doing endless, unpaid open mic spots or earning tiny 'door splits' - and I gave them up years ago to focus on becoming a paid speaker.

And I knew that I could get a great response from older people like these - even in very small groups - with the type of (mainly anecdotal) material that I use in my public speaking but they weren't going for a gentle, mainstream stand-up routine.

With hindsight, I can see what I should have done: I should have made the stand-up much more like my public speaking to mature audiences, in other words, chatty storytelling about my own experiences, instead of trying to deliver this other material in a way that wasn't really 'me'. All those years of experience and I failed to utilise it! I'm not saying I would have gone brilliantly or that this would necessarily have been what the hotels would want to book for 45-minute evening slots for holidaymakers but I think the general response would have been better.

Public Speaking Tip #166: Our public speaking style and experience can be employed in many other areas as well as in giving presentations.

I chatted with the agent afterwards. I was a bit worried because she had booked me to speak about comedy writing at a weekend training seminar for the hotel chain's host-compères a few weeks later and I feared she might cancel because I had damaged my comic credibility but she soon set my mind at rest, saying that this was certainly still on as it was a totally different type of event. She said she thought the material I had used for the showcase would be ideal for after dinner speaking but obviously wasn't for the audience that day.

I walked back to the station in the rain. I caught the train from Torquay to Newton Abbott, another from Newton Abbott to Castle Carey and then - and don't ask me how on earth I managed to do this at such a small station - I got onto a standing-room-only train going in totally the wrong direction! Another change and back, then another train to Salisbury, Salisbury to Southampton, replacement bus to Bournemouth.

So what did I gain from this (apart from the nice red shirt you can see in a photo on this blog and at some of my less formal engagements)?

In a word: focus. I realised what my strengths are.

(Postscript: I did travel down to Torquay again a couple of months after this to speak at the hotel group's host-compère training weekend. They were an absolutely super, highly talented bunch and it all went very well. See? Playing to my strengths!)

Audition for Blah di Blah: Dorset's festival of words and voices

The following Saturday morning, I set off down to Weymouth College to audition to speak at the third Blah di Blah: Dorset's festival of words and voices.

The previous festival in 2004 had been a huge success, affecting a fifth of Dorset's population (around 120,000 people), whether they actually attended events or simply read the short literary extracts which the organisers had placed in public places like cafes all over the county.

In the event, there were very few of us auditioning in front of the audience of 25, who included organisers, librarians and fellow writers and performers. I did about 15 minutes which went extremely well.

Now, I must confess that I had been slightly irritated at having to audition; after all, other festivals much further afield had booked me solely on the strength of a mailshot which included my credits and testimonials and yet here I was being expected to prove myself in order to be booked to speak at a festival in my own home county.

(Not only that, I even had to prepare a packed lunch because Weymouth College is a bit of a trek from the town centre and its cafes!)

All I can say is that I'm really glad I did it. Besides the very good audience response and the chance to put myself and my CV in front of literary event organisers from all over the county (and I made sure every one of them took away a copy of the leaflets I'd taken along), here's what else I gained from the day:

Three bookings for the festival to give 30 minute talks and then act as question master for literary quizzes set as part of the BBC RaW project;

One of these events was in Bridport, a town where I had never spoken before;

Further experience as a quiz master;

As part of the day, we all had a (free) photo shoot with professional photographer Kevin Clifford. These distinctive shots have proved very useful since then for promoting other events where I have been speaking. One even graces (if that's the word!) my regular column in the Radio Magazine;

The press releases which I sent off to promote the events I was involved in resulted in a number of mentions in various local media including nearly a full page (with photograph) in the Dorset Echo;

I got to observe some other local performers;

One of these, the poet Christopher Southgate, gave me a copy of his excellent collection Beyond the Bitter Wind: Poems 1982 - 2000.

After the events, I began looking at how the festival co-ordinator Ros Fry had managed to get so many people involved. This led to me finally getting around to reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, a book which now heavily influences how I market myself - and this blog!;

And, of course, it was great therapy after the debacle of the week before!

Public Speaking Tip #167: Whatever your level of public speaking experience, putting ego aside and taking part in a showcase could pay off in a number of different ways, some of them totally unexpected!

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Saturday, March 1

They'll let you know: lessons from public speakers' auditions (part 1)

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Sat 01 Mar 2008 05:13 AM GMT

Women's Institute Speaker Selection Days

It's around this time of year that forms start arriving through the post inviting me to submit my details to the Yearbooks containing details of speakers circulated to their members by Women's Institute County Federations.

These lists are useful because not only are they sent out to every WI in a county (and my home county of Dorset has around 145 individual branches, while neighbouring Hampshire has 203 - all of them booking up to 11 speakers per year) but some County Federations also ask if you would like to go on a further list (where fees are left negotiable) to be sold to other organisations. In theory, a WI can book any speaker they can like but the Yearbook usually plays a big part in drawing up the programme for the year ahead.

Furthermore, all individual WIs belong to Groups which have two further meetings per year with representatives going along from up to 10 individual Institutes. These obviously pay a little more.

Then, for the more experienced speakers, there are the County events, such as Literary Lunches, Personality Lunches, WI Market Annual Lunches and, the biggest events for WI speakers in any County Federation, the twice-yearly Council Meetings.

Audience numbers for Individual Institutes may vary from 10 to 70, for Groups from 35 to 90, for the Annual Lunches, perhaps 150, and for Council Meetings, anything from 300 to 1,000.

I have experience of all of the above as I am included in a very large number of Yearbooks. Obviously for County Federations further afield, it is only viable for everybody for me to speak to the larger meetings (Groups upwards) but even so, I am still sometimes booked by smaller, individual Institutes further away who are celebrating special events, for example, a lovely Institute in the village of Dorstone in Herefordshire booked me for a lunch marking the 80th year since it was founded.(They even had the Minutes from that very first meeting!)

How did I get on these speakers lists? Through auditions, or Speaker Selection Days, as WIs call them. This sounds daunting but these are not like acting auditions where only one performer gets the part; if there are 8 speakers at a Selection Day and all of them are acceptable, then all 8 go into the Yearbook. And if you have passed one County Federation's audition, there are some (though not all) who accept you onto their lists automatically. But I really recommend doing them because they are great showcases and you are sometimes allowed to watch - and therefore learn from - the other speakers.

I have passed 12 WI speakers' auditions. Only a couple of them, in far-flung counties, failed to bring in any bookings but they were still useful experiences. Some have just brought in the odd booking but others, not always the nearest, have brought in a decent amount of work.

Public Speaking Tip #158: Success at Women's Institute Speaker Selection Days can lead to bookings at WIs, bigger WI meetings, such as Groups, repeat bookings with further talks, inclusion in other counties' Yearbooks plus recommendations for other types of speaking engagements.

There is also the confidence boost - and endorsement generally - of passing this public speaking test.

And the results have come in faster after each audition! The 9th one brought in a call making a Council Meeting booking just a couple of weeks afterwards. The 10th led to an immediate verbal inquiry about a Group meeting which was finalised very shortly after that. After the 11th, I was handed a slip of paper with the date they wanted me for already written on it, while the 12th one resulted in a short-notice booking for a Group meeting two weeks before the actual audition, based on my credentials from other Federations!

These auditions have varied enormously. I was asked to deliver an extract from one of my 45-minute WI talks and these have ranged from 10 minutes to 30. Audience sizes have been anything from 150 to just half a dozen Committee members. The venues have sometimes been halls in remote villages, other times the WI County Headquarters in town centres. And the times have been mornings, afternoons or evenings; every County Federation has their own preferred way of running Speaker Selection Days.

But the audience is always giving feedback about the same aspects of the presentation:

Was the speaker audible?
If so, were they interesting?
And did they hold your attention throughout?
Would you book them for your WI?

There is also the little matter of affordability. At one audition, I had the slightly daunting task of following a brilliantly funny speaker about antiques who had 20 years' experience. Unfortunately, his fees were so high that he could only really be considered for the biggest County events. (Perhaps that's why he was doing it).Your fees (plus travel expenses) have to be realistic for the budgets of the individual WIs or Groups you are targeting. These are then printed in the Yearbooks if you are accepted and are fixed until the next one is published, when you can adjust them, add new talks, etc. There is usually a fee to be included in the Yearbook, generally from £5-£15 pa. For an additional sum, you can buy a copy (useful for seeing what the competition speaks about, how much they charge, etc!)

Public Speaking Tip #159: At Women's Institute Speaker Selection Days, you need to give a carefully-timed extract of an audible, consistently interesting and entertaining talk.

If you have more than one talk, choose just one and concentrate on putting across an excellent shortened version of that - do not try to mix bits of several presentations to advertise your whole range. The audience will be informed about any other titles you offer.

In 1997, I passed 6 WI speakers' auditions. I had already been successful in 3 others before this but I still learned many extremely valuable lessons from watching (or hearing about) some of the other speakers and these should be of interest, whether you wish to speak to WIs or not.

At one audition here in the South, I was given a lift by a member who was still fuming about a speaker she had heard that morning. His presentation was supposed to be about Hollywood in its golden era but had consisted more of salacious stories about the film stars. And he punctuated these with comments like 'But we know differently, don't we, girls?' to the 150 women present!

Public Speaking Tip #160: Do not insult an audience with lowest common denominator material and patronising comments.

An evening audition in front of an audience of about 30 in the HQ of a Federation in the Home Counties produced some fascinating insights, despite all of us only being given 10 minutes of 'stage time'.

There was a couple who gave a talk about shire horses. Now obviously they couldn't bring one of these magnificent beasts up the stairs in WI House so they did the next best thing by dressing in horse traders' gear and speaking in front of a backdrop of horseshoes, etc.

But what struck me most was the effectiveness of their 'double act' presentation. Two speakers, one male, one female, different voices, different styles, different aspects of a topic.

(In later years, when I was teaching my Stage 2 Public Speaking evening classes, I asked my students to prepare and deliver two-handed presentations. Once they agreed on topics, I was amazed at how quickly they were able to put these together and how fluent their delivery was).

Public Speaking Tip #161: A two-handed presentation has numerous advantages for both the speakers and the audience.

For the speakers:

It takes some of the pressure off (provided you are not worrying too much about what the other speaker will be like!);

There is less material for each speaker to learn and work on;

Different areas of a topic can be delegated.

The speakers can work around differing abilities, for example one might be more adept with Powerpoint whereas the other could be better at delivering humour.

The speakers can adopt different 'characters' - ideal for humour.

For the audience:

They hear different voices;

They hear different speaking styles;

They look at different speakers;

The topic is broken up for them.

Just one word of warning: take care that the presentation doesn't sound too scripted!

And the two of you will have to split the fee - but then you're only doing half the work!

There was a chap who spoke in a very relaxed way about wine-making (and I do mean relaxed - not inebriated!) He was in his shirt sleeves and jeans and I was struck by just how appropriate this was for the sometimes messy activity he was describing. I'm sure that if he was asked to speak at a lunch or dinner, he would dress more formally but what he was wearing seemed perfectly OK for this talk, especially as he seemed so at ease.

(The following year, I spoke at my first-ever literary festival, the sadly now defunct Grayshott and Hindhead event. On a sweltering September day, I turned up in a jacket, tie, etc, only to find the other writers wandering around in shirt sleeves. Nowadays, I wear a suit or black tie when I am speaking at formal occasions but for other bookings not involving a meal, I usually dress like a writer giving a talk ie smart casual).

Public Speaking Tip #162: Dress appropriately for your subject and the setting. A formal occasion demands formal wear from everyone but for other talks, whilst a suit might be appropriate if you are speaking about, say, a financial subject, something more casual might look right for a practical subject (especially if it involves messy demonstrations!)

There was a lady who spoke about a very worthy subject: child carers. She described the work of a charity which supported children who look after disabled parents. At one stage she mentioned the jaw-dropping fact that the youngest child carer on their books was only 5 years old - and then immediately went on to speak about some other aspect of the charity. Now, even with only 10 minutes allocated, wasn't a stunning fact like that, a 5 year-old child caring for disabled parents, crying out for a little more detail (which could have been given without disclosing any confidential information)? Wouldn't it have made the whole presentation more effective?

Public Speaking Tip #163: Do not include a bombshell fact and then leave your audience wondering about it. Even if time is extremely limited, include at least the odd extra sentence of explanation if your content really demands it.

She also used slides with lines of text which she simply read out to the audience - who were reading them anyway. It was such a shame to see a speaker who could have raised awareness and perhaps also attracted donations and even volunteers for such a deserving cause failing to seize the opportunity offered by this audition.

It was quite an evening. There was also a woman who spoke about aromatherapy. Of course, there is no shortage of speakers about this particular topic and her opening line did little to set her apart from the competition in a positive way: 'Now, I'm not actually a qualified aromatherapist...'

Public Speaking Tip #164: Do not destroy your credibility before you've even started! You need to state why you are qualified to speak about a particular subject. And if you're not - well, don't until you are!

When she was asked during the questions afterwards how much she would charge for a talk and replied 'Oh, nothing - I'll make it up on the aromatherapy oils I'll be selling', thus implying that she would be delivering a sales pitch, her fate with that Federation was probably sealed!

A couple of months later, at a village hall in the West Country, in front of an audience of around 80, I had a real barnstormer. It's always difficult to follow a humorous speaker who was gone well, especially if yours is a not a humorous presentation. The lady on after me started by saying how nervous she was and how difficult it was to follow me. At times, she walked back and forth across the stage area, not actually looking at the audience. In many ways, she did everything wrong at that audition, but...

She ran a business selling photo albums, mounts for them, etc, and her presentation (in those largely pre-digital days) was about how to display your pictures to maximum effect but apart from referring to her company once at the beginning, which established her expertise, she never again mentioned anything to plug it but gave a clear, informative, useful demonstration.

Afterwards, I was told that she probably would be put on the speakers list because the audience liked her and it was felt that she would get better with practice. I was pleased because I had enjoyed her presentation too.

Public Speaking Tip #165: There are occasions when offering your audience really useful information can make up for some of the shortcomings in the delivery of a presentation.

If you're thinking of auditioning for the WI then I really can recommend it. You may have to wait 6 months or even a year in some counties, but, with some thought and preparation, the results - including the lessons learned - can be well worth the effort and the waiting.

In Part 2, I'll tell you what I gained from some other (non-WI) auditions.

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