Calling it back

Fellow speaker,

"Callbacks" are places in your speech where you talk about something that happened earlier in the speech or before the speech. For example, you can mention something funny that happened before you went onstage.

Humoring,

Tim

Why include this?

Fellow speaker,

When writing an introduction always ask yourself, "Why am I including this in the introduction? What will the audience get out of it? What would I lose if I left this out of the introduction?"

Asking questions,

Tim

Intro "gotta haves"

Fellow speaker,

When using an introduction someone else is going to read:

• Get lots of backup copies in case one of the copies is lost or misplaced
• Make the introduction easy to read (use 16 pt. font or larger)
• Tell the person to do the introduction exactly as written with no changes

Introducing,

Tim

Introducing...

Fellow speaker,

Creating an introduction for your speech:

• Increases your believability with the audience
• Personalizes you to the audience
• Helps you calculate how the audience is responding that night

Benefiting,

Tim

I like mike?

Fellow speaker,

To mike or not to mike, that is the question. Whether the audience can hear you without the microphone is the answer. If they can't hear you and you don't use a microphone then you have let the audience down...and maybe cost yourself a job! If you use a microphone and don't test it and there are problems with the audience hearing you then you have let the audience down...and maybe cost yourself a job! Remember both to mike if you need to mike, and to test your microphone before using it.

Bothing,

Tim

When not to mike

Fellow speaker,

If you are speaking to a medium-sized audience, avoid using the microphone (even if you "push your voice" a little) so you make sure you connect to the audience without a microphone "in the way".

Connecting,

Tim

Why the mike?

Fellow speaker,

Some of the reasons why you might want to use a microphone for your next speech are:

• You are doing a long program and don't want to wear out your voice
• You have older people in your audience and want to make sure they hear you
• You have places in your speech where you speak very softly and want to make sure everyone can hear you

Reasonably,

Tim

All you have to do is ask

Fellow speaker,

If you are wondering about whether the people in the back can hear you...go ahead and ask them! A simple, "Can you hear me back there?" comment let's the audience know that you want to communicate as best you can...and the audience can decide whether or not you need to be louder.

Leaving it to the audience,

Tim

Let's back that up!

Fellow speaker,

It happens. You are giving a talk and suddenly the microphone lets out a squeal that almost shatters the chandeliers in the room. When this happens, keep your cool! Stop what you are saying, back up the presentation, and repeat what you said, starting from just before the microphone's "scream".

Backing it up,

Tim

Check it out!

Fellow speaker,

Before using the microphone in front of your audience, talk into the microphone while moving around and "check out" the entire speaking area. Notice any "trouble spots" where the microphone feedsback or the sound is not good. Remember to avoid standing in those spots during your speech.

Avoiding the trouble spots,

Tim

Mix it up!

Fellow speaker,

If there are sound problems when you test the microphone, you might need a mixer. A mixer will allow you to adjust the treble or bass on the microphone.

Mixed,

Tim

Susie sells seashells by the seashore

Fellow speaker,

Once you have the mike, test it out with multiple "s" sounds to make sure the sound is "unhissy". Be careful not to "pop" the "p"s and "b"s.

Practicing,

Tim

Practice makes perfect

Fellow speaker,

When using a mike for the first time, make sure to practice with it a few times so you get used to it.

Getting used to it,

Tim

Lapelling the speech

Fellow speaker,

If you move about in your speech and need to have your hands free you need a lapel mike. If possible, get a separate platform away from the head table. Lapel mikes give a constant sound level but require you to be aware of what you wear...not all clothing goes well with using lapel mikes. The downside is lapel mikes can sometimes pick up clanking sounds from jewelry or noises from clothing rubbing together.

Lapelling,

Tim

Take my hand

Fellow speaker,

You might be using a hand held mike for your speech. If you use a hand held mike, make sure you have room to move around. If you want to be louder, move the mike close to your mouth, if you want to be softer, move the mike farther from your mouth.

Handily,

Tim

Mounted mike

Fellow speaker,

One type of microphone is the lectern-mounted microphone. Usually used for luncheon or after-dinner speakers, often the lectern is positioned in the middle of the head table.

At the head,

Tim

How many to mike?

Fellow speaker,

Before using a microphone, decide whether or not it is necessary. If you are speaking to an audience of 50 people or less, you may not need to use a microphone at all.

Mike-less,

Tim

Wait for it!

Fellow speaker,

If you have a person heckle you, you can let it go. If they heckle you again, that is annoying. And if they heckle you again, the audience begins to get annoyed. So if you wait before reacting to heckling you can get the audience on your side...and against the heckler.

Heckle-free,

Tim

Go away

Fellow speaker,

If you have a heckler and they continue to annoy you, interrupting your speech and not letting you get your points across, and you have offered to meeting with them after the meeting...you can ask the person to leave. If the audience is on your side, you could have one less heckler in your audience...and make it less likely that someone else will take off where the ejected heckler left off.

One less,

Tim

Get a laugh

Fellow speaker,

If you have a heckler in your audience and they aren't nasty, you may be able to joke around with the person. And then get back into your presentation without the heckling.

Back on track,

Tim

Ask around

Fellow speaker,

Before giving your speech, ask around who is most likely to be a heckler during your speech or who have heckled past performers. Contact these "would be hecklers" before the speech and get them involved in the presentation.

Preventing problems,

Tim

Make words not war

Fellow speaker,

If someone starts to give you trouble while you are giving your speech, they probably just want attention. One way to get rid of the problem is to give the person the attention they want. Make them a "scribe" in charge of taking notes on the entire presentation. That way they feel important and they also have to pay close attention to what you are saying.

Writing it down,

Tim

Call the police!

Fellow speaker,

If you get most of the audience on your side, they can help to "police" the other people in the audience who are trying to disturb your speech and keep those people under control.  So if a person starts to heckle, an audience member might say to them, "Hey, shut up!  I'm trying to listen here!"

Policing,

Tim

Keep cool!

Fellow speaker,

When that one person is acting really annoying during your speech...keep your cool! Attacking the person or saying something nasty will only get the annoying persion the "sympathy vote" of the audience. The audience will start defending the nasty person and hate you, the speaker.

Keeping cool,

Tim

Table Talk

Fellow speaker,

In order to get more interconnection with and between your audience, pull the tables in the room closer together and eliminate the center aisles. Leave extra space at the back of the room.

Closer,

Tim

Get involved

Fellow speaker,

Make sure you involve the audience in what you do. The more you involve the audience, the more they learn and take away from your speech.

Involved,

Tim

Keep it together!

Fellow speaker,

If you spread out your audience around the room it will also separate people from your speech. Try to keep people together as much as possible so you get a "group reaction" to your speech.

Grouping,

Tim

You've won a prize!

Fellow speaker,

Another way to get people to sit in the front is to tape prizes to the bottom of the front seats, or to set prizes on top of the front seats. In order to get the prize, people have to sit in front.

Awarding prizes,

Tim

Let 'em be!

Fellow speaker,

If you try to move your audience and they don't want to move...let it go! Instead, focus on doing your speech as best as you can.

Focusing on something else,

Tim

It's a setup!

Fellow speaker,

Before doing your speech, arrive early and sit in the audience in the four corner seats (farthest front left, farthest front right, farthest rear left, and farthest rear right) and see if there is anything blocking the person's view. If there is, correct it before presentation time.

Detecting and correcting,

Tim

Block off the back

Fellow speaker,

In order to get people to sit close to the stage, take out the back row of chairs or tape off the back rows of chairs.

Taping off,

Tim