"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.
On 16 July I delivered my talk My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer for around 45 members of Totton South U3A in the town's Masonic Hall. It was a successful talk and was followed by a good question and answer session.
My thanks to Dr John Dracass for the lift from Southampton Central and back to Totton station afterwards.
In Totton, I picked up a copy of a local weekly magazine and noticed that its classified section had a section for Speakers. A few were using this to advertise their titles.
I hope they got some bookings (it certainly doesn't cost a great deal to appear in there) but I am not sure that press ads are generally the most cost-effective way for speakers to get bookings. I have had mixed results over the years.
An ad in the national magazine of one of the women's organisations I speak to brought immediate results with some very enjoyable bookings in far-flung locations but what I found was that, unlike with mail order advertising where the response can grow the more often ad appears and the readers get used to it, diminishing returns immediately set in after this first advert for my speaking services!
Another classified ad in a rather posh national magazine didn't bring any enquiries but a 'windfall gain' was that the telephone conversation when I booked it with their classified advertising department resulted in an amusing anecdote which I incorporated into my talks for several years afterwards!
I advertised myself as a speaker, speechwriter and public speaking trainer in many issues of the national magazine of one of the service organisations I speak to and I doubt if I even broke even.
But, over fifteen years, plenty of bookings have come from auditions, the web and mailshots - which are even more effective when they include genuine, unsolicited testimonials, such as this one from Totton South U3A's website:
"We were pleased to welcome Nick R Thomas who gave us a very
professional and amusing talk about the trials and tribulations he has
experienced while writing for BBC radio and television comedy shows. It
was most interesting to hear about the vagaries of the recording studio
and how comedy writing is used in various shows. He had us all laughing
at his very funny anecdotes and in particular at a sketch he had
written about Boris Yeltsin for the now sadly discontinued 'News
Huddlines'".
Or from this email from Speaker Coordinator Merrilyn Dracass:
"Thank you very much for your most entertaining talk yesterday at the Totton
South U3A. It was interesting to have some behind the scenes
information about programme making on the BBC... Everyone enjoyed your talk and it was good to hear so much laughter in
these rather difficult times".
But a huge number of bookings come from the recommendations and repeat bookings that result from delivering successful presentations.
Public Speaking Tip #338: Whatever means of advertising you use to attract bookings as a public speaker, you will find that the most effective way is to deliver a speech or talk that goes so well that you are booked again by that organisation and recommended to others. This means that you are actually being paid to advertise yourself! Good, isn't it?
I gave an evening talk on 8 July to Mengham Women's Institute on Hayling Island. Although technically in Hampshire, they are actually part of the West Sussex Federation.
I had only been to the island once before and that was later at night so it was fascinating to see the place in daylight. The WI meet in the hall of the South Hayling United Reformed Church in Mengham village.
There were about 35 ladies there and my talk on My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer got a great reception. Over on my other blog Freelance Comedy Writer I have written about the joy of receiving applause for your original humour. Although this article relates to radio, I can tell you that it's the same with public speaking.
Public Speaking Tip #337: Many speakers simply use humour in the form of jokes, observations and anecdotes simply lifted from other sources (and not always credited to them!) These can work but if you can use original humour, it will set you apart and you will experience the pleasure of a great audience response to something funny which none of them have heard before - and you thought of it!
Now this doesn't mean that you suddenly have to become a great comedian or comedy writer but simply that you should look for good observations and brief, amusing personal anecdotes relevant to your content. They won't all be successful; some ideas which seem funny to us just don't work with live audiences or only seem to be amusing to certain groups or may have to be reworded several times before you arrive at the best version so it's best not to try out too many in any one presentation. But original, relevant humour can make most presentations more effective and their message more memorable. Add some apt humorous quotations (citing their sources, of course!) and you will be amazed at how the response can increase your confidence.
I think some measure of the success of my talk to these ladies was the fact that about 50% of them purchased my booklet Nick R's in a Twist! afterwards. It was a very enjoyable evening with this WI and my thanks to one one of their husbands, Peter, for the lift from Havant station and back again and for answering so many of my questions about Hayling Island.
Within a week, this WI had recommended me for a Group meeting in Hampshire so many thanks for that as well!
Regular readers may remember that last year I was plagued with a skin problem (eventually diagnosed as eczema) on my feet. This was only visible to my audience in as much as it meant my having to turn up at a few bookings dressed rather more informally than usual (ie wearing training shoes!)
This summer, just to add a little variety, I have had the problem on the backs of my hands instead - very badly. This affected my public speaking in two ways. Firstly, I had to explain to friendly, hospitable speaker secretaries, club chairmen, etc, why it was probably best for all concerned if I didn't shake hands with them. No problem - they were all very understanding. But, as I am a speaker who gesticulates a lot, there was the little matter of hiding this unsightly distraction from my audiences.
If I kept my hands still while I spoke, they might be even more noticeable, especially if I used the sometimes-recommended 'hands to home' position where you place your hands one on top of the other below your waistline (rather suggestive-looking for male speakers if you ask me!)
So I decided to gesture with my palms upwards - something which I had not done much before because other ways of gesticulating always felt more natural to me. Perhaps I had also resisted it because it reminded of some body language experts' advice on how applicants at job interviews should have a slight smile and sit with their knees apart, their hands resting on them, palms upwards... (I can't help thinking that if I was the interviewer I would immediatelt discount the candidate as being somewhat scary!) And maybe I thought that palms upwards might even look as if the speaker is pleading his honesty with the audience ('this funny story really did happen...')
But I had little choice so I tried it. What amazed me was how easily I adapted to this change and how natural it felt. Remember, I have been a public speaker for fifteen years - and then there is all the gesticulating I do in everyday conversation as well.
Public Speaking Tip #336: Even some of your most ingrained public speaking habits can be easily changed after many years if necessary.
The talk got an excellent response on this extremely hot afternoon and no eyes seemed to be distracted by my hands, either their rash or my new way of gesturing so: job done!
So will I adopt this way of gesturing in all my talks from now on - even when I am not suffering from dermatitis? The jury's still out but I do at least have an extra optionwhich feels natural and that's great (think how many speakers complain about the problem of not knowing what to do with their hands). On the train journey back to Southampton, a Hampshire paramedic, presumably on his way to work, kept staring at my hands (although he didn't offer any medical tips!) Perhaps I needed to keep them palms-upwards at other times, too!
