tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post7630450446596767783..comments2024-02-12T17:59:33.534-06:00Comments on RAZORED ZEN: Public Speaking for Writers 101Charles Gramlichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-76669180866125832962007-10-24T21:29:00.000-05:002007-10-24T21:29:00.000-05:00Someone else said it and I think it is very import...Someone else said it and I think it is very important to know your audience. When I teach I need to be very aware of the type of class dynamics I am in front of cause it can make class fun or real painful depending upon personality types. You have to be able to read your audience and speak in a way that will reach them most effectively.<BR/><BR/>Great post can't wait to read more!Ello - Ellen Ohhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18311917335471167591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-6714594470098089052007-10-24T14:56:00.000-05:002007-10-24T14:56:00.000-05:00That all sounds like very sound advice. I have not...That all sounds like very sound advice. I have not done a lot of public speaking but I'd like to think I did a fairly good job when I have stood up and talked. <BR/><BR/>I have read bits of my work at a few functions and I hope the day comes when there is even more intereset for me to do so.Travis Erwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09420879160702098979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-38960228592378317662007-10-24T13:29:00.000-05:002007-10-24T13:29:00.000-05:00Charles, excellent points. I'm in the middle re: p...Charles, excellent points. I'm in the middle re: public speaking. Depends partly on the audience, size, and topic. But I totally agree with your suggestions, especially the time limits and q & a window.<BR/><BR/>I did see Anne Lamott once make fun of G.W. Bush as much to provoke her audience as amuse herself.Erik Donald Francehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02332500850365598564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-62443024462377881422007-10-24T09:42:00.000-05:002007-10-24T09:42:00.000-05:00Thanks everyone for their comments. A few things h...Thanks everyone for their comments. A few things here I'll include as I post more on the topic. Interesting to see that quite a few of you have had pretty good experience at public speaking and even enjoy it.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-22680006673883184892007-10-24T09:31:00.000-05:002007-10-24T09:31:00.000-05:00Hey Charles,All excellent points. I, too, remembe...Hey Charles,<BR/><BR/>All excellent points. I, too, remember my first class which I taught when I was 21 and so shy that I could barely say my name. I got used to it and now teaching class is as natural as breathing. But readings still make me nervous because I'm sharing something that may or may not go over and it's my writing. Usually, I have really generous audiences, but once I read a story with a fairly graphic description of an abortion in it to a stunned, relatively conservative audience (didn't know it at the time but did during the bad wine/cheese portion of the gig) to many shocked expressions. The best story I ever heard about this was a relatively well-known writer was reading what he thought was a comic story and nobody in the whole audience was laughing or paying attention. But he could hear one person laughing so hard he was panting. So he told himself to keep reading for that one person. Turns out that it was a German Shepherd someone had brought for the reading. I love that story -- the things that keep us going!Michelle's Spellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15769666862403600253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-19003542383432370562007-10-24T07:40:00.000-05:002007-10-24T07:40:00.000-05:00good points.Like the mild exaggeration of anecdote...good points.<BR/>Like the mild exaggeration of anecdotes - cause everyone usually understands that's what it is.<BR/>One thing though, I dislike it when a speaker comes out with some tired joke that's been around the circuit ( or the internet) forever.Bernitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05264585685253812090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-58302106914971566062007-10-24T06:50:00.000-05:002007-10-24T06:50:00.000-05:00I wish I could speak in public even 1/8th as well ...I wish I could speak in public even 1/8th as well as you do. You seem like such a natural, I love to watch you do it. I'd be more like Butters from South Park--likely to piss my pants & run off the stage, crying. *L*Lana Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06975996208260144558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-69674516431045750742007-10-24T05:03:00.000-05:002007-10-24T05:03:00.000-05:00I think Orson Wells was a great prevaricator. It p...I think Orson Wells was a great prevaricator. It probably adds to the legend.<BR/><BR/>Writers are usually telling things the way they should have been anyway. Who's to say it's not true in some other universe, some great variation on quantum immortality variation?Sidneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16284680909152676159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-27928672360195661922007-10-24T04:28:00.000-05:002007-10-24T04:28:00.000-05:00I've seen public school teachers with many years o...I've seen public school teachers with many years of experience "freeze up" in a room full of convicts. I would offer my advise to them, but more times than I can count, they'd dismiss me as "not being a real teacher." <BR/><BR/>Problem is, after they've exhausted every damn method they can think of in front of prisoners, they usually end up quitting. <BR/><BR/>It's not only important to know how to speak, but also to know your audience. Same with writing.JR's Thumbprintshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10479324326541901987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-2935975625690325252007-10-23T22:46:00.000-05:002007-10-23T22:46:00.000-05:00I think it would be really interesting to see an a...I think it would be really interesting to see an author speak or read and then open up more of a dialogue with the audience. I have to do presentations frequently and it helps so much if I ask my audience questions or ask for their opinions or ideas instead of just asking if they have any questions. It makes it more relaxing for me and I think for them as well. Often when I go to a reading or a signing, I'm nervous just attending so I never ask questions. I'm sure most of the authors are too and I'm guessing it's the one-way situation that is the norm.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00665632105920753931noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-8591955460843058132007-10-23T22:08:00.000-05:002007-10-23T22:08:00.000-05:00I don't mind giving a talk if I have a specific to...I don't mind giving a talk if I have a specific topic. If I've just written a paper for a class and have to give a presentation on it, or if I'm doing something training-ish (which I've done both in college where I was a TA and for a job where I was doing some training) I'm fine. I know the subject and I can take questions and I can come up with good examples and all -- no problem.<BR/><BR/>It's the sort of general, subjectless talks that terrify me. I chaired an SF convention a couple of times and one of my jobs was to get up and speak at the Meet the Guests reception. More recently I've seen chairmen just stand up, introduce the MC (who's one of the major guests) and sit down, but back when I was doing it, it was custom for the chairman to make a few remarks. O_O I bombed both times, and deservedly so. "Get up and be entertaining" isn't the sort of direction that computes for me. I can get up and be informative, if I have a subject to talk about, but the more "casual" speech eludes me.<BR/><BR/>Angie, hiding under the bed at the very thoughtAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920578701763415331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-13899833904519219142007-10-23T21:53:00.000-05:002007-10-23T21:53:00.000-05:00I love public speaking, and I am good at it. I enj...I love public speaking, and I am good at it. I enjoy talking before a large crowd. I even thought about becoming a trainer or PR consultant at one time.<BR/><BR/>Here's what I enjoy about it: creating an intimacy between presenter and audience. When I speak, I involve them as much as possible, personalizing content, making eye contact, riding the energy sent out by the crowd, sensing its highs and lows and working with it for the living thing it is.Stewart Sternberg (half of L.P. Styles)https://www.blogger.com/profile/00895152179113722902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-55969150899059801372007-10-23T19:53:00.000-05:002007-10-23T19:53:00.000-05:00Make your point, but don't belabor it after it has...Make your point, but don't belabor it after it has been made. <BR/><BR/>When I was finishing up my degree at night school, the one thing my class and I were all guilty of in the beginning was beating that dead horse into a bloody piece of meat. <BR/><BR/>But I got better at summarizing facts, and realizing that I didn't need to list every fact in support of my premise. I learned how to make my point and still be entertaining.Travis Codyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06192526507760146748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-68466748901125829442007-10-23T16:55:00.000-05:002007-10-23T16:55:00.000-05:00The thought of speaking in public makes me terrifi...The thought of speaking in public makes me terrified. I hope I never have to. <BR/><BR/>I like your tips though. They're excellent for *other* people. :-)Chris Eldinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794946908789120139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-74599602916965225352007-10-23T16:23:00.000-05:002007-10-23T16:23:00.000-05:00As far as planning goes, always have more informat...As far as planning goes, always have more information than you can cover. So, if question time is a bust and there's only crickets when you say, "Who has questions?" you can fall back on those bits you didn't get around to covering. It's better standing there grinning while everyone shifts uncomfortably in their seats.<BR/><BR/>Also, with the jokes/tales/quips gone flat--move on as quickly as possible. The longer the silence, the longer the offense has to sink in with everyone else. Humorlessness is like a virus. It'll spread like wildfire. Containment via distraction is the key to survival.AvDBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16574481780173046619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-37787433884025279562007-10-23T16:20:00.000-05:002007-10-23T16:20:00.000-05:00I haven't spoken in public very often. The result...I haven't spoken in public very often. The results have not been very good. I can use these pointers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-70622604102517179932007-10-23T16:16:00.000-05:002007-10-23T16:16:00.000-05:00I took some public speaking classes at Uni -- ah, ...I took some public speaking classes at Uni -- ah, the pain of watching my mumbling played back on videotape... <BR/><BR/>Good points about the jokes and exaggerations. Gotta be careful with the exaggeration though, as not everyone has the same sense of humour. Or a sense of humor at all, but that's another story...<BR/><BR/>I'm a fan of the tall tale myself, but it's been known to backfire.Steve Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17561234111786788616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28221839.post-32305503336903153972007-10-23T14:45:00.000-05:002007-10-23T14:45:00.000-05:00I'm going to have an event about the topic of fami...I'm going to have an event about the topic of family (I've blogged about that in my Gondolatok az erdőben blog.)<BR/><BR/>I'm planning to make it as interactive as it can be.<BR/>Any tips on that?SzélsőFahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11600289147447182465noreply@blogger.com