The Civil Service Pensioners Alliance, Bournemouth and District Group
My first talk in May was back here in Bournemouth, a presentation about Patrick Campbell for the Bournemouth and District Group of the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance, who meet at St Michael's Church Hall. My last booking for them had been in March 2006 and they were a very good audience on both occasions. Afterwards I had enquiries about speaking to other organisations, including one some distance away which I would be delighted to do
Public Speaking Tip #478: You might be surprised at how far some audience members will travel to an event. A successful presentation may lead to enquiries about speaking in other areas.
Among the audience was Jim Kerr AKA comedy writer Frank E Tennis. It was good to finally meet him after being aware of his name and work for so many years. My best wishes to him.
Surrey County Council Staff Retirement Association AGM, Woking
My next booking was in Woking for a group of retired Surrey County Council staff following their AGM at the town's Trinity Methodist Church. I was met at the station by two members who acted as human sat-navs to walk me to the venue (something of a first!)
The group very kindly treated me to lunch and then I waited for their AGM to finish. In the end it ran for longer than expected and I adjusted the duration of My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer to allow for this.
Public Speaking Tip #479: Any presentation following a business meeting may have to be shortened if the items on the organisation's agenda involve more discussion than anticipated. This is especially likely to happen when it's an annual meeting.
The talk went really well and I was asked for my details to pass on to half a dozen further groups despite there only being around 35 in the audience for this talk!
Public Speaking Tip #480: A successful presentation for a small audience may still produce a surprisingly high number of enquiries about speaking to other organisations.
This continues what I am now calling the 'Staines snowball', a large number of ongoing speaking engagements, all from recommendations, that started with my talk for Staines and District Probus Club in July 2010! This Woking booking soon led to two further talks.
Newspaper interviews as a source of quotations for speeches
On the way to my next booking, I picked up a copy of the free paper Metro on the train. It's a good source of quirky news stories for topical gags but I often read the features as well. This edition had an excellent interview with the actor Eddie Marsan and as I read it, I was struck by how many of his answers would make great contemporary quotations to include in various types of speech (always crediting the source, of course).
Since last year I have opened the talk My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer with a quote from an interview Griff Rhys Jones gave about...comedy writing. It fits perfectly but sometimes I find quotes from interviewees from seemingly unrelated fields who have said something that is still very apt for one of my presentations.
Public Speaking Tip #481: Speakers often use sayings from books of quotations, motivational speakers (frequently over-used!) or other obvious sources. Don't overlook the contemporary, including newspaper interviews. Fewer audience members will be familiar with them and an unexpected source adds further interest.
This demonstrates what I said in my December 2011 post?about reading widely and quoting from a broad range of sources.
Marlow and District U3A, Buckinghamshire
I was reading the interview mentioned above during a journey on a boiling hot day to give an afternoon talk on My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer to?Marlow and District U3A. After changing trains at Reading I found myself on a delightful single-track rural route to this most attractive town. One of the stations I passed through was at Bourne End, a place which was for many years home to the subject of one of my other talks, Patrick Campbell. I was able to mention this during my extremely well received presentation. People are always asking me who my humour heroes are and I so I was able to list one with a very local connection. (Of course, it also acted as a naturally-introduced plug for another of my presentations!)
Public Speaking Tip #482: Tailored local references in presentations can also include somewhere nearby that you passed through on the way, not just the location of the venue itself.
A really super audience in a beautiful area. I was most grateful for the lift from the Liston Hall to the station as I didn't fancy walking back in that heat, especially as my day's work wasn't over...
Coaching for another Mayor-making
The same council that booked me for script-editing and coaching for Mayor-making ceremonies in 2010 and 2011 made it a hat-trick this year! The final session was booked for the evening following my talk in Marlow, with the ceremony due to take place the next day, so I travelled to this particular council's offices after my talk had finished. I got there at the appointed time only to discover that due to some administrative problem there was no room available where we could work so the Mayor-Elect and myself found ourselves in a nearby cafe!
Now I have found cafes to be fantastic places to write in over the years but they are perhaps not the most suitable venues for presentation skills training!?
Fortunately it wasn't too busy and we were able to achieve some further progress through discussion and my passing on advice but obviously these preparations could not involve standing and projecting, especially as the script was a speech intended to be heard for the first time at the council meeting the next day in which the ceremony was included. It was a good job we had worked together on the Mayor's delivery during a long meeting two days earlier which had included a proper rehearsal in the Council Chamber.
Public Speaking Tip #483: Sometimes it may be impossible to find the ideal environment for the most complete last-minute rehearsal for a public speaking event but even if there is no setting where you can 'stand and deliver', you should still practise in whatever way you can, whether it's working on the script, a whispered run-through or just going over the whole speech in your mind.
I attended the ceremony the next day. I have mentioned before that the audiences for these events are never the warmest but the new Mayor didn't appear to be intimidated by them. One of my Twelve Tips for Terrified Speakers is:
"Before you say anything, spend a few seconds looking around at your audience, smiling if possible. This makes you look confident, friendly and unhurried".
That is exactly what the Mayor did, in a way that really impressed me, and the speech was delivered in a clear and personable style.
Public Speaking Tip #484: Pausing to look around at your audience before you speak buys you great credibility in terms of appearing authoritative and unfazed by the occasion.
My best wishes to the new Mayor.
Magna Carta Country Winemakers, Wraysbury
The month ended with a second visit to the Magna Carta Country Winemakers in the Village Halls in Wraysbury, just eight months after my previous booking. Once again I was treated to refreshments before my talk, once again they were a great audience and once again I received a great testimonial:
"Thank you so much for coming to Wraysbury to speak at our meeting yesterday evening. Our members found your talk very interesting and I had lots of very favourable comments during the break.?It was lovely to see you again and I shall definitely be in touch to book you again in the future.?Many thanks Nick".?
And thank you for the hospitality and lift to the station. A really enjoyable public speaking experience to round off the month.
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Confrontation with anyone, let alone our friends, can be difficult. One of the skills we hope to develop is how to speak up for ourselves and advocate for our needs with other people. This doesn?t only mean learning how to ask for what we want, but also learning how to confront others when we feel wronged or in some way upset by them.
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Public release date: 28-Aug-2012
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