Owner: Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog URL:http://www.nickrthomas.co.uk Join Date: Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:45:47 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: The blog of a busy public speaker, speechwriter and presentation skills coach in the United Kingdom. Every post contains at least one useful public speaking tip for my readers. Site statistics:Click here
A presentation and a pasty - an unbeatable combination! 2008-03-20 17:56:39 Bournemouth Cornish AssociationMy second speaking engagement last Wednesday was a talk, once again My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer, for one of my home town's oldest clubs: Bournemouth Cornish Association (founded 1921).They were all extremely friendly and I decided to speak from up on the stage in the Charminster Moose Hall. Once again, I was asked to use a microphone. This was a good one, detachable from its stand and not battery operated - for once!The agenda for their meeting is a little different from other clubs, in that I was asked to do a spot of about 30 minutes and then stop as the food would be ready by then. There would be a raffle after the meal and, if there was time, I could speak for a few minutes more and take the odd question - but they had to be out by ten o'clock!I Read more:presentation
A charity appeal - and the appeal of repetition in a presentation 2008-03-19 16:55:36 NSPCC Bournemouth Branch Ladies DayLast Wednesday morning, I gave an hour-long talk on My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer as part of the annual NSPCC Bournemouth Branch Ladies Day at Canford Magna Golf Club,a popular local venue where I had actually never spoken before.This was a very well-organised and well-attended event with around 110 women there. As well as the guest speaker's talk and the lunch afterwards, there were stalls, raffles and donated artworks to be auctioned.As far as my talk was concerned, there were one or two challenges. It was a large, wide room and I was asked to use a microphone, a battery-powered, hand-held model. I had to choose a spot to speak from in quite a cramped area, allowing for the fact that the room had a sloping ceiling (low ceilings can cause problems Read more:presentation
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You're a public speaker? Hang on a minute... 2008-03-23 20:53:00 Royal Air Force Yacht Club Ladies' Luncheon, HambleOn 14 March I spoke to around 50 ladies at the Hamble Royal Air Force Yacht Club in Hampshire.They were a very good audience and, despite the talk being scheduled for after the (very good) lunch, attentive enough for me to speak for the best part of an hour on My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer (often a presentation following a meal has to be somewhat shorter!)Afterwards, as always, I chatted to members, gave out my Twelve Tips for Terrified Speakers! leaflets and sold and signed booklets. Even back in the days before I gave people handouts or did any merchandising after my talks, I would still be available to chat with audience members. It is only on the rare occasions that I have to get away quickly to travel on to another engagement m
So where do public speakers find their public? (Part 1) 2008-03-26 08:48:24 Finding the right audience for your presentationNot for the first time, a reader has contacted me with a query (and if anyone else wants to use me as a 'public speaking agony uncle' then please feel free to do so. I'll help if I can - but it may sometimes take a while, depending upon my commitments!).Sarah Rourke, The Audio Pod Artist, is a former BBC journalist and producer who is therefore not nervous about public speaking but wants suggestions for finding the right organisations to speak to in order to promote her podcasting, audio resources production and training business. First of all, here are the more obvious suggestions. Let's start with business networking clubs. Now Sarah could certainly join some and get to speak at their meetings, ranging from one minute per week to say what s Read more:speakers
Even politicians sometimes have their uses... 2008-03-25 15:38:05 Political BiographiesLast weekend, the top UK blogger Iain Dale published a list of his Top 75 Political Books.Political biographies often include a great deal about the preparation, delivery and impact of their subjects' speeches. A favourite audio book which I am just listening to yet again is A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan by Michael Deaver. Throughout the 4 cassettes, there are constant references to Reagan's public speaking.Oratory obviously also features heavily in political fiction, as viewers of the superb drama The West Wing are aware; some of the most interesting and entertaining characters are the speechwriters.Public Speaking Tip #181: We may never wish to go into politics but we can still pick up some excellent public speaking pointers from polit Read more:politicians
An underrated technique for controlling public speaking nerves! 2008-03-25 14:41:52 Controlling panic attacksIn a recent interview, Madonna revealed that she still gets panic attacks on stage.Now, you might be thinking that if even a performer with her experience still panics after a quarter of a century of superstardom, then what hope is there for me?But then we are not performing as part of a multi-million pound tour where we are expected to remember and deliver outstanding songs and dance routines while knowing that every second we are up there, the world's critics are scrutinising us for any sign of weakness as we grow older.Madonna has her own techniques for dealing with her panic. I am now going to enlarge on one of the suggestions on my Thomas's Twelve Tips for Terrified Speakers web page which can help you if you get really nervous at a speaking engagement. I was Read more:nerves
So where do public speakers find their public? (Part 2) 2008-04-06 18:30:51 Cross-promotion between presentationsLast time, I wrote about how a reader of this blog, Sarah Rourke, could promote her podcasting business by speaking to business networking and arts-based events and clubs. Now I'm going to suggest some other speaking engagements which she might also consider.Although Sarah is mainly interested in speaking about podcasting, I notice from her CV that she has worked as a BBC radio journalist and producer. I am going to suggest that she develops another presentation all about her experiences of this, perhaps entitled 'My Life as a Radio Producer', 'A Day in the Life of a BBC Reporter' or even (depending upon which part of the Beeb she worked in) 'Behind the Scenes at BBC Radio'. The talk should be up to 50 minutes long and include interesting/amusing facts Read more:speakers
Audience Appreciation 2008-04-28 02:12:00 My apologies for the lack of blogging recently; I have been pretty busy with talks and speechwriting over the past few weeks so I now have quite a few posts to add, each, as always, containing at least one useful presentation skills tip...New Forest Veterans of NormandyOn 28 March, I spoke on My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer to the Normandy Veterans Association New Forest Branch in Ringwood.There were around 60 there for this morning meeting, including a number of women who, I assumed, were wives, widows or daughters of veterans. Many members travel considerable distances to attend, for example, Mr Ball, their Speaker Secretary, comes in all the way from Yeovil.They were a very good audience and I received a number of compliments afterwards.I mentioned last year that I had collected al Read more:Audience
So where do public speakers find their public? (Part 3) 2008-04-28 00:02:00 Who books speakers
?In my last two posts, I mentioned how Sarah Rourke could use public speaking to promote her podcasting company, not only by addressing business clubs but also by giving a more general presentation about her radio production career to a wider range of organisations.I am now going to list some of the types of groups I speak to on a regular basis (I have a feeling that this will be one of those posts where I keep thinking of further information to add afterwards so it might be worthwhile to revisit it from time to time!) Please note that although I have given links to the national websites of many of these organisations so that you can find out more about them, you should contact individual local branches if you want to be considered as a speaker, not their national HQs.Pro
Lend me your ear (or how I became Disgusting of Tunbridge Wells!) 2008-05-01 15:11:00 Tunbridge Wells
Luncheon ClubMy first speaking engagement last month was on 3 April for a ladies' luncheon club in Tunbridge Wells. I got the 05.20 coach from Bournemouth to Victoria (so much cheaper than the train!) and our very well-spoken driver announced that no-one should drink alcohol, smoke, eat hot food or pee with loo seat down. He then told us to enjoy our trip. That will be difficult, I thought; he's just banned every pleasure known to Man! Seriously, I wouldn't do any of the above but I did marvel at how fresh he made an announcement which he must have made so many times sound.Something else I don't do (well, not very often and certainly not at this time of year) is swimming but, nevertheless, I had managed to develop a condition called Swimmer's Ear which causes muffled hearin
Speak up - you never know who might be listening! 2008-05-03 12:20:47 Milton Green Women's InstituteI mentioned New Milton Community Centre in my last post and I was back there on 7 April when I spoke to Milton Green WI about Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin Wits, a talk which was followed by a good question and answer session about comedy and humour generally. This was the first time I had spoken to them since July 2001 and they told me that in recent times, one of the other afternoon WIs in the town had folded so I was pleased to see that this Institute still met.Afterwards, I was talking to one of their members who turned out to be involved with the National Executive and we had a very useful discussion about possible opportunities for teaching on training courses for WI members. What is interesting about this is that there were only 17 at the meeting and
Humour for Hundreds in Hereford! Part 1: Accommodating a Public Speaker 2008-05-14 15:54:40 Preparing to speak at Herefordshire Federation of Women's Institutes Annual Council MeetingMuch of the week following the New Milton talk was spent in preparation for my next engagement: speaking at the HFWI Annual Council Meeting on 15 April (all of which had to be fitted around my daily scriptwriting for radio presenters, some speechwriting commissions, and dealing with the usual emails, phone c Read more:Humour
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Humour for Hundreds in Hereford! Part 2: Blake, a barnstormer, a Baroness and beverages! 2008-05-27 17:57:00 Speaking at Herefordshire Federation of Women's Institutes Annual Council MeetingI was greeted at the Courtyard, Herefordshire's Centre for the Arts, by Maggie Pridgeon who was my Speaker Hostess for the day. I have mentioned before that at some engagements, the person assigned to look after the speaker sometimes acts more like a guard (usually the males, I have to say!) but Maggie was excellent, Read more:Humour
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Malling it over! 2008-05-29 18:28:00 Kings Hill Active Retirement Association (KINARA)Two days after speaking in Hereford, I was off on my travels again, this time back to Kent. My talk was for the Kings Hill Active Retirement Association (KINARA) which is part of the KentARA.There are more than 80 of these Active Retirement Associations in the county and they all have names made up of their location followed by the letters ARA, for
I am a speechwriter; I am not a mindreader! 2008-06-01 17:23:00 Personalised speechwriting commissions
There was no sitting back and relaxing after the Hereford and Kent talks as I had two speechwriting commissions to complete over the weekend. I am delighted that this website and blog are producing this kind of work and these two speeches, one for a golf captain and one for a Best Man, added a couple more to the list of countries where spe
Good or bad influence? Ability v credibility in public speaking 2008-06-06 13:28:32 The London Book FairAn event which was going on at the same time that I was speaking in Hereford and Kent was the annual London Book Fair. I attended this trade show in 2004 with the intention of joining a screenwriting workshop but actually spent the day attending a number of other events and presentations. I think I may have gained more in the long term and the freebies, such as books, helped to Read more:influence
Presentations are about checklists as well as cheques! 2008-06-06 17:27:40 The Rotary Club of Locks HeathOn 29 April I spoke about My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer to a mixed audience of around 45 at the Rotary Club of Locks Heath who met at the Holiday Inn atTitchfield in Hampshire.There was a little bit of comedy before I even got there. When I met their Speaker Secretary John Hopwood at Swanwick station I intended to greet him with 'Mr Hopwood?' but as I extended Read more:cheques
From Humph: this year's quotation. 2008-06-08 00:31:48 A wonderful final quotation from Humphrey LyttletonOne of the radio programmes which was mentioned in the questions and discussion after my talk at Locks Heath Rotary was I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, a show which had been hosted by the hugely popular jazz musician, radio presenter (and after dinner speaker) Humphrey Lyttleton until his death at the age of 86 a few days earlier.In an article in the
7%-38%-55% and 30 seconds? So what about Boris Johnson then? 2008-06-09 23:31:55 Boris Johnson
's election as Mayor of LondonI was pleased to see Boris Johnson elected as Mayor of London last month. I don't really support any party; look at my profile on Facebook and you'll see that under 'political views' I've just put 'satirical' (and then when you've finished looking, mention that you read this blog and connect with me!) but I was delighted that someone who for so long has c Read more:Boris
Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog News: Part 2 2008-07-02 11:54:38 My Freelance Comedy Writer blog
A few weeks ago, I started an additional blog entitled Freelance Comedy Writer. It's different from this one in that it's not intended to give tips. The posts are also far less frequent but if you have been wondering about my comedy scriptwriting, especially for radio, then you can certainly read about it there. Many of the posts are updated versions of my Radio Mag Read more:Thomas
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Accent the positive! 2008-06-30 18:08:51 Bitterne CAMEO
On 11 June, I had a return booking for a morning talk to the ladies of CAMEO in Bitterne, Southampton, who I last spoke to in February last year. I arrived at the Methodist Church Hall in very good time and 45 members attended the meeting.
I had been asked to use a cordless microphone but when their Chairman was speaking, it starting making a popping sound, not the type you som
Prepare speaker's notes - and keep them 2008-06-30 17:59:57 Make notes, use notes, keep notes
I read recently that the script for a wartime speech by Winston Churchill fetched £140,000 at an auction (although not £140 million as the Daily Mirror headline stated!) Well, I've got quite a few sheets of A4 from my talks if anyone wants to make an offer...
Seriously, it's a good idea to keep the notes from all your past speaking engagements for a number
A speaker's best warm-up act: the business meeting at Bournemouth 2 Probus! 2008-06-29 15:40:44 Bournemouth 2 Probus
22 May found me speaking - once again - to Bournemouth 2 Probus, this time about The One, the Only...Groucho Marx!
They last booked me in October 2005 and I had forgotten just what great fun their business meeting
s are (unlike some other organisations!) A succession of committee members, all of them very good public speakers, gave reports, made announcemen
Historical laughter! 2008-06-29 14:33:06 Tadley and District History Society (TADS)
On 21 May, I spoke about An Attractive Impediment: the Life, Literature and Laughter of Patrick Campbell for the Tadley and District History Society in Hampshire. I was able to discover a little about them from their website.
Public Speaking Tip #218: You can often find out about an organisation that has booked you by looking at their website. S Read more:Historical
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Corps content 2008-06-26 12:37:49 Royal Army Medical Corps
Association, Blandford Camp
On 15 May, I spoke on My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer for the RAMC Association at Blandford Camp in Dorset.
I was picked up from Wimborne Minster by Tony Phillips and after he had checked us in at the gatehouse, it was interesting to see inside the camp. Army bases are not normally noted for being pleasant to look at but
Nick R Thomas - A Public Speaker's Blog News: Part 1 2008-06-20 14:15:26 My relevant You Tube favourites
For a while now, I have been favouriting videos on You Tube, the vast majority of which are relevant to public speaking. These include extracts from speeches, performances by comedians who use language effectively (such as one of my all-time heroes and influences, the late Dennis Wolfberg), film of performers I have written for (Roy Hudd), worked with (Jus Read more:Thomas
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Torytelling 2008-06-20 12:41:45 Bournemouth East Conservative Luncheon
On 9 May, I was a guest speaker at a lunch at the Ocean View Hotel for the Bournemouth East Conservatives who were in a jubilant mood following the previous week's local elections which had seen a new local Conservative councillor elected, massive gains nationally and, of course, Boris Johnson's victory in the London mayoral race.
I have mentioned before
Aisle be there! 2008-06-20 03:03:23 Blackmore Vale Probus
My first speaking engagement last month was about My Life as a Freelance Comedy Writer for the Probus Club of Blackmore Vale in Marnhull, Dorset on 6 May. This involved a very early bus journey to Salisbury and then a train from Salisbury station (where the ticket office was as slow as ever) to Gillingham, from where I was given a lift to Marnhull by Mr Alan Ll
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