Westbourne Women's Institute

One of my final talks of the last Millennium was at the Christmas meeting of Westbourne Women's Institute in Bournemouth. On September 3, I finally returned there, this time to speak about the Power of Humour in Everyday Life, and got a great reception from the 45 or so ladies present that morning.

Titles are important where presentations are concerned. This talk started out as Harnessing Life's Humour and then became the Comedy of Life before I decided that there were so many self-effacing anecdotes in it that the Riches of Embarrassment! might be a clever and descriptive name. But the change to the Power of Humour in Everyday Life (or the Power of Humour in Business for corporate/networking  audiences) really seems to have multiplied the bookings.

Public Speaking  Tip #240:  Don't be afraid  to change  the title of a presentation - even a long-established one - if you think it will increase its appeal to bookers and audiences.
 
Chatting afterwards, I was sorry to learn that the Canford Cliffs Daisy Chain group where I spoke last year has now disbanded. I have noticed that when women's groups fold, it is usually because of difficulty in getting volunteers for their committees. Very often the Secretary stands down after a number of years and no-one else wants to take over because they have so many other commitments. Men's organisations, on the other hand, don't seem to suffer from this problem (I guess because men are so competitive that we all want our turn at being President, etc!) but often close if a hotel or restaurant where they meet for lunch closes or the quality declines and no suitable alternative venue can be found.

Public Speaking Tip #241: Whatever the reason for a club or society's demise, the result is always the same: the loss of several potential repeat bookings for a good speaker with a number of different presentations plus any referrals to other groups from those who would have heard you plus any merchandising! As I have said before, you should always be looking for new markets.