Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog

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Thursday, February 26

Public speaking: most I win...

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Thu 26 Feb 2009 09:15 PM GMT

Brendoncare Juniper Jumpers Club, Dorset

My first talk this month that wasn't postponed due to bad weather was on the 10th for the Juniper Jumpers Club, which, like the Alpha Club in Highcliffe where I spoke last month, is run by the Brendoncare Foundation.

My subject was The Power of Humour in Everyday Life and it felt a little strange to be delivering this one again after a gap of nearly three months!

Regular readers will know that I don't just blog about my successful speaking engagements - I also include the (thankfully rare) ones which don't go quite so well. I have to say that this one fell into the latter category!

There were around 45 members and helpers at Bure House in Jumpers, Christchurch. I had positioned myself perhaps too far back from the audience so a little intimacy was lost but I was getting over a cold and some of them were very elderly so I thought it wisest, especially when it was interrupted by a bad cough. Even without this, though, the humour wasn't getting its usual response and I thought it best not to do quite the full hour I had been asked for.

I don't believe any speaker has a 100% strike rate where successful talks are concerned - you just have to try and do your best. Although this wasn't my most sparkling performance (codeine often makes me a bit sluggish) I was left feeling that perhaps I wasn't the best choice of speaker for this group anyway.

Public Speaking Tip #288: Every speaker has bad gigs. Extract any lessons to be learned from them - and move on.

One enjoyable aspect of the afternoon was chatting afterwards to Mr Eric Johnson, a musician and singer of traditional folk songs, who entertains at local retirement clubs. He said he remembered hearing me speak at Southbourne Literary Society many years ago. My earlier talks there were in January 2002 and, before that, January 1996; both of those had gone well so I was very flattered - and I needed to be on this particular afternoon!

It's great when people can still remember a speech or presentation that has been well-received. When I spoke at Stour Valley Probus last September, a gentleman told me afterwards that he belonged to Wimborne Minster Cine and Video Club where members were apparently still talking about the barnstorming talk I gave in November 2005.

Public Speaking Tip #289: Deliver a good presentation and audiences will remember it for years afterwards. (Of course, the same can apply to the less successful ones...!)

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Tuesday, February 10

Baftas and a baffler

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Tue 10 Feb 2009 12:36 AM GMT

Bafta speeches on BBC1

Yesterday's Times had a very interesting review - with transcripts - of three of Sunday night's BAFTA acceptance speeches as they were shown on BBC1. (the BBC1 coverage featured quickly-edited highlights of the event which had only just finished).The reviewer is Philip Collins, former speechwriter for Tony Blair. I agree with him, especially about the quality of Danny Boyle's speech, from its humorous opening to the highly effective use of a quotation at the end.

Terry Gilliam's speech was a puzzle. I pretty much telegraphed his prop gag with the huge sheet of paper and that the 'little people' he referred to would be the Time Bandits actors. It proved to be a damp squib ending which was a shame. But if it's any consolation, maybe not all viewers noticed because they were still too busy wondering why so many items were shown twice in his clips compilation (you'd think he had also directed Groundhog Day!) Was this because Gilliam's speech was censored and underran so the TV editors had to make the clips reel last longer so the programme filled the hour? Baffling!

Much has been written about Mickey Rourke's speech, quite a bit of which of which had to be bleeped out. So was part of Mick Jagger's but I thought he was rather impressive. He was smiling, relaxed and unhurried, he timed and delivered his gags well and got good laughs.

And although he has starred in films, he's done a lot less spoken word performance than Kate Winslet or Mickey Rourke...

Public Speaking Tip #287: Even a very short speech can be a profound/humorous triumph or a waffling disaster. Awards ceremonies often give us the opportunity to study both!

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Thursday, February 5

Don't become an institutionalised public speaker!

by Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking) on Thu 05 Feb 2009 08:26 PM GMT

Speaking classes/clubs vs. the 'real thing'?

This is a continuation of my previous post about challenging yourself and it might be controversial for some but it's an opinion which I have been meaning to publish here for some time.

Throughout the years when I was teaching adult education classes in public speaking, there was one question which students would often ask as a twelve-week course drew to a close: 'Is there a Stage 2?'

My reply was always the same, that 'Stage 2' was going out and speaking to as many different audiences in as many different venues as possible, far away from what had now become the relative comfort zone of the class.

In later years, I did introduce a Stage 2, concentrating on more challenging forms of public speaking, and when that ended students would ask 'Is there a Stage 3?'. Once again, I would tell them 'Yes, go out into the wide world and do it!'

I often hear about former students of mine who have become regular speakers, in fact, the current issue of a local newspaper in my area has a report about a recent talk given by one of them, describing her audience's reaction as 'amazed and delighted'. I have read many similar complimentary press pieces about her speaking engagements. I once read about another of my former students receiving a standing ovation from one club. It's gratifying to know that I helped them and many others along the way.

But sometimes I will bump into the odd student who completed a course and showed great improvement but did nothing with this new skill afterwards. Such a shame; such a waste.

Halfway between these two groups are what I would call 'institutionalised speakers'. They belong to a speakers' club and have done for years - but this is the vast majority of the speaking they do.

The problem as I see it is that when you join a speaking class or club, you are probably very nervous about even speaking to a small audience. Everyone else there may be a stranger and your presentations, however short, are real challenges for you. Then, as the weeks and months go on, through regular practice at getting up in front of that audience, you become more confident. Besides, after a while, you know everyone and you have heard them speak enough times to recognise that at least some of them are not perfect speakers. From now on, it is any newcomers who are at a disadvantage - not you. Yes, over time, you have developed into a more confident speaker...

But now what?

You have been getting used to giving short speeches to the same size of audience, who you know anyway, in the same venue at the same time of day on the same day of the week and with the same group of people running the event. You may have the opportunity through a class to gain LAMDA or New Era speaking qualifications while a club may offer you the chance to visit other clubs, enter regional or national contests or gain their own certification. Take them if you wish to develop.

But if you really want to progress, then I would suggest that you might like to consider speaking to as many different types and sizes of audience in different venues in different regions for different lengths of time and at different times - or with at least some of these variations.

Variety leads to versatility.

When I was in a class, I took the optional LAMDA Bronze Medal and then launched myself into as many talks, stand-up gigs and radio appearances as I could get or was asked to do once I had started circulating my details. I spoke paid and unpaid, I did two minutes here, an hour there, for audiences ranging from less than 20 to 600 (and many thousands for the media appearances).

Three months after the course finished, after an extra coaching session from my tutor, I passed the LAMDA Silver Medal and we did the same three months after that with the Gold. In the September, I took her speaking course again - but this was only to prepare me for passing the much harder Associate Diploma. I missed two lessons - to go off and complete paid speaking engagements elsewhere (different audiences, etc, etc). Over the twelve months of 1996, on top of the classes and exams, I got up in front of other audiences nearly 50 times. It paid off. I soon felt able to tackle most types of engagement, started passing auditions, getting very good testimonials and recommendations. Oh, and more regular payment as well!

So am I saying that you should leave your branch of Toastmasters International or the Association of Speakers Clubs? Of course not! A couple of my friends from the UK public speaking blogosphere are still very enthusiastic members as well as completing a wide range of other presentations (and I'm sure Jeremy and Jason may want to comment about this!) What I am saying is that if you do most of your speaking within a club or simply regard the last lesson of a course as your final challenge then you are missing many further opportunities to develop as a speaker. Diminishing returns may even set in!

Public Speaking Tip #286: A public speaking course or club is just the first step to becoming a really accomplished speaker. You need to be looking for outside challenges as well.

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