The book club meeting went really well yesterday—there was a great group in attendance and the museum where we were meeting was a great facility.
The format was for me to give a talk to the group first, followed by a Q&A section.
I always like to be really well-prepared when I give a talk—well, actually, I just like to be well-prepared for everything. In the past, this has meant that I put everything on note cards. While I didn’t read off the note cards (because that would be incredibly boring for everyone in attendance), I’ve always memorized my cards.
This time I used a great tip that I came across recently (and I wish I remembered where I read it.) This time I still had my paper with me, but I had a list of questions on it. Questions that I, of course, knew the answers to.
If you ask a list of questions, then answer them, your speech will sound more natural and relaxed. And—you still have a paper to go off of in case you lose your way.
So instead of note cards that detail what I’m going to say, my paper would say:
When did you start writing books?
Why did you choose mysteries to write?
How did you find your first publisher?
When is your next release?
That kind of thing. It worked out really well because I stayed on track but sounded more casual because my speech was less-rehearsed.
Have you got any public speaking tips? I’m always looking for new ways to improve because public speaking definitely doesn’t come naturally to me. :)
Elizabeth – I like that idea very much! And research shows that if you ask people questions, they get more engaged. So I have found that if I ask my audience questions (in your case, for instance, “Now who here likes barbecue?” “Ever eaten at some of the great restaurants in Memphis?”)the members respond, and get more “into” what I’m saying because they connect it with their own lives.
This is a great tip! I recently did a chat interview where I didn’t know the questions beforehand. I was nervous at first but by having such specific prompts to keep me on track, my answers came easily and I was really happy with the way it turned out. This is like interviewing yourself!
Elizabeth, I just love that tip. I always put notes on cards, but questions is so much better.
Karen
Asking yourself questions is a marvelous way to do anything. Like blogging. (So how DID you come to write mystery, anyway…?)
It’s probably a good idea for writers to collect questions so you can have interesting ones when you are ready if you ever have to interview yourself.
I’m completely obsessed with powerpoint when it comes to public speaking – if I hit a blank or something it’s all right there, and I can print off the ‘notes’ page and make notes on that. Plus, everyone gets something to look at! If it’s really important, though, I’ll be reading a script, because there’s no way to get through an academic paper without one, the minute your mind wandered you’d be lost (and nearly everyone still does this, so you don’t look bad for having a script, though the few who don’t look really, really good!)
That’s why interviews are great, because they give us a huge list of questions to answer.
My only other tip is to engage the audience – ask THEM questions!
Glad to hear you had good event, Liz … and thanks for that tip – it’s an excellent one!
I’ve learned to go slow. My biggest problem was speeding through and finishing too soon. So now I take a few moments between a question and answer or when switching topics. It really helps to pace oneself.
I am totally going to start using this tip. Thank you, Elizabeth, for easing one poor dude’s public speaking nervousness!
Mallory–And the nice thing is that we know all the answers to the questions that we’ll come up with! So it’s not something we have to rehearse. :)
Juliette–I seem to frequently go to places with no screens for the PowerPoint! I’d love to use a PP presentation. Maybe I should just ask some of these places ahead of time if there’s a spot with a screen.
Margot–That’s a tip that I keep forgetting! The last time I used it was at Malice Domestic last year and it worked really, really well. Thanks for the reminder!
Diane–You and Margot are so right–asking the audience questions is a great idea.
The Old Silly–So glad you liked it!
Stephen–Ha! I was a speed demon, too. I talk fast, I move around a lot when I talk, I talk with my hands–I’ve had to learn to slow down a little.
Karen–It’s amazing how the delivery with answering questions is just so much more natural.
The Daring Novelist–I’m surprised at the number of times I’ll get an interview request and I’m asked to submit my own Q&A! Suits me just fine, of course. Very useful to have these kinds of questions, isn’t it?
Oh, and mysteries were about all I ever read for 15 years! That really played into my decision to write them…I *knew* how they worked. :)
Great tip. Thank you for it.
Here two of mine:
-read a quote from the book. Don’t read longer than six minutes.
-relate to your audience. Find a commonality and talk about it.
-visual aids are great (book cover and…)
I have more…
Congratulations on the success of your talk.
That’s a terrific tip. My students are required to do public speaking as part of the curriculum and for their presentations they can only bring up a list of topics they are going to cover.
The Sweater Curse–Great tips! I’ll use the visual aid one today for sure–got another talk at a library.
Alan–Absolutely! As soon as I read that tip I knew it was one that was going to work out really well for me–I need all the help I can get!
Jemi–Hope it’ll help them out a little!