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.
Postscript: Here is a testimonial extract from a super email Charlotte sent afterwards:
"...your speech was received really well. I have many messages from our members to say that they thoroughly enjoyed listening to your talk and that you were one of the best speakers that we have had!"
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"This is an unusual blog; the art of public speaking is crucial to politics and yet there's not much devoted to it specifically. This blog does, with posts combining accounts of the writer's recent engagements with some handy hints. Given some of the turgid speeches we're forced to suffer in the Commons, more MPs could do with reading it". politics.co.uk
"Nick spoke at our joint meeting with Kingston 41 Club. It was a brilliant evening. Nick is an engaging speaker, witty, topical and very interesting. He spoke for three quarters of an hour without notes, a most knowledgeable man. I cannot recommend Nick enough and can assure you that engaging him is a worthwhile endeavour. I wish you a great evening like ours". Manny Martins Vice Chairman of Hamble Valley Stick Club and 41 Club Regional Councillor, Region 24.
"Your speech to our 9 Rotary Clubs in North Surrey was much appreciated by me and I have received lots of feedback which was very positive about you. It was so refreshing to hear someone who has the wit to make us laugh throughout the evening without resort to 'blue' material and swearing. I do hope many others will get the chance to experience your talents". Howard Smith, Assistant Governor Area 1 Rotary District 1140.
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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
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. 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 NSPCCCanford 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 Bournemouth Branch Ladies Day held at 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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