New Forest Past Rotarians and Associates
I gave my third talk to the New Forest Past Rotarians and Associates on
15 September, this time about Groucho Marx. They now meet at the South
Lawn Hotel in Milford-on-Sea and, as I sat outside this venue on a very
warm morning while they had their business meeting (a window nearby was
open so I could hear when I was just about to be introduced), I found
myself covered in insects. This gave me a great opportunity to open
with Groucho's famous line 'Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like
a banana'. Decent laugh, good start.
I then re-used the Fred Allen story which got such a good response from the Probus Club of the New Forest a fortnight earlier. It may have been a last-minute addition which was appropriate to the microphone problem there but I could see that it's good enough to be worked into this presentation anywhere. My content often evolves like this: strong additions to an already well-honed script.
Public Speaking Tip #352: Extra material tailored to a particular audience/speaking situation may turn out to have a shelf-life beyond that engagement and become a permanent part of your script.
I had been asked to speak for an hour and when I looked at my watch as I finished, I saw that my talk had lasted for exactly 60 minutes. You develop this level of timing with experience.
This is a small club (just over 20 present) but, as with my previous bookings for them, they gave this talk a very good reception so I assumed that the time had flown like an arrow for them as well as for Groucho!
The lunch at the hotel afterwards was most enjoyable and I really must thank Mr Cauldwell for door-to-door transport from Bournemouth to the venue and back.
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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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Friday, February 19
Full Marx for this speaker's timing!
by
Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)
on Fri 19 Feb 2010 05:59 PM GMT
Friday, February 12
Can you lose a visual aid but keep your audience's attention?
by
Nick R Thomas A.L.A.M. (Public Speaking)
on Fri 12 Feb 2010 07:39 PM GMT
Bitterne Park Pensioners Club, Southampton
My fellow public speaking blogger Lisa Braithwaite recently posted about a presentation which was very successful despite some major problems with the power supply. Her post reminded me of an evening back in the late 90s when I was booked to speak to a large group of lady diners here in Bournemouth. The hotel suffered a power cut just as the meals were being served (forunately it happened after they had been cooked!) We ate by candlelight and I was quite prepared to deliver my after dinner speech in near-darkness. I wasn't using slides and the lack of a microphone would not have been a problem because I knew the size of the room and where the audience members were sitting so I would be able to project my voice sufficiently. But I would have missed out on making eye contact with them and so it was a good thing that the lights came back on just before I was introduced. However hard we work at preparing and rehearsing our material, we still often rely very heavily on physical objects, be they projectors, microphones or even smaller, non-technical props. As I was setting up ready to deliver the talk My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer for Bitterne Park Pensioners Club in Southampton on 8 September I was unable to find one of my props - an old identity badge. It's a small object but very important for this talk. It sets up a humorous observation relating back to two other props I have shown the audience earlier (any comic knows how effective this 'reincorporation' of previous material can be), it leads into the anecdote about how I came to be known as 'Nickar' Thomas and this then gives me the opportunity to mention my booklet 'Nick R's in a Twist!' This is then followed by a true, very funny story about names. I had two choices: to omit this material altogether or include it and simply describe the prop to the audience. I certainly was not prepared to sacrifice the laughs or the opportunity to naturally introduce my booklet so I took the second option. It worked. The 35-or-so ladies enjoyed my talk and I sold a decent number of books afterwards. As I mentioned last year when I was stranded due to travel problems caused by heavy snow, it can be possible to get through a presentation without all your usual visual aids, etc. But I missed that prop and was really concerned about what might have happened to it. (I found it later and now take a great more care of it!) Public Speaking Tip #351: A unique visual aid lends so much impact to a speaker's presentation. In return, we should really look after these (often irreplaceable) props. |
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