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| Hey Guy's,
I need some advice. I'm doing my "first" seminar this Wednesday and I'm a little nervous. I'm not exactly shy, but I have never done any sort of public speaking before. Do any of you guys have any tips/advice for me? I have decided on the topic, I just need some advice on how to begin. I guess you could say I have a case of "stage fright". I would really appriciate any help you guys could offer.
Thanks,
Karen |
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| Karren,
The trick is to get command and feel confident with the crowd. Work the crowd and certain folks in the crowd and they will listen. I used to have a hand full of baits and mention to the folks that I will be asking questions later and those that can answer them, get a bait. Wow, do folks listen good then. lol[:bigsmile:]
Depending on the crowd, dont joke around to start out with unless you really know your joke is going to be funny. I always thought I was funny, untill a tough MI crowd in IL did not like my jokes.[:blackeye:] My wife told me, my hummor was too dry and I should stick to teaching about muskies.
Dont do a photo shoot seminar, show some fish on slides or power point but be subject related. To show folks that you are the master and have caught every large muskie on the planet really drags the crowd down. I have seen seminars like that and I have left because I really did not learn anything.
Have a subject, follow it and work the view points. Power point presentations are great for doing that. If you dont have a projecter just use power point on your computer and save them to 35mm and put them on disk. Your local camera shop will turn them into slides for about $3 a peice.
If you have 10 folks that come up and ask questions at the end you did a good job. One more thing, dont charge to much. Most clubs are working off a small budget and you will be invited back if they can afford it.
I took speech at the U of Minnesota and got an "A" and thought I would never use that course again. Boy was I wrong, I have done 25 seminars and will continue to do so because of my love for teaching and presenting new ideas to new anglers.
Just be yourself and teach the folks how to become better anglers, dont hold back secrets, because only 10% of the folks will really remember them anyway..lol[:bigsmile:] |
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| Karen;
congratulations ! First ,remember that 98% of the crowd
are sympathetic to your situation.Very few people enjoy
public speaking.Be yourself.Pick a few faces in the crowd
to use as "stops " when you're looking over the room . Ask
questions and try to get answers .You'll have a brief rest
and a chance to look at your prepared notes.3x5 cards are
good to use for outline and single areas.Steer the answers with your questions .Use those few friendly faces . Smile .Be yourself. Speak clearly and loud enough for everyone to hear .Most important fact is you wouldn't
have been asked if people didn't think you could do it!
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| Congratulations Karen, you are about to learn a new skill. Sounds to me like your a few steps ahead of the game by admitting your a little nervous.So,how do we navigate uncharted waters? I like to feel my way through, based on past experiences and take it easy.If I run up on a reef I can always back up slowly.I can make mistakes because I'm not perfect and I can learn from them all. Thats called wisdom where I come from. Three times I have had to speak at meetings at the last minute when the speaker didn't show up.Being unprepaired we tend to speak straight from the heart. You will do fine, and everyone will learn something,especially you................RAZE |
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| Congratulations Karen, you are about to learn a new skill. Sounds to me like your a few steps ahead of the game by admitting your a little nervous.So,how do we navigate uncharted waters? I like to feel my way through, based on past experiences and take it easy.If I run up on a reef I can always back up slowly.I can make mistakes because I'm not perfect and I can learn from them all. Thats called wisdom where I come from. Three times I have had to speak at meetings at the last minute when the speaker didn't show up.Being unprepaired we tend to speak straight from the heart. You will do fine, and everyone will learn something,especially you................RAZE |
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| I was going to tell you to pull up to the podium on a flaming mini bike + do a couple of wheelies, but check your local fire codes first.[;)] As long as you know your material, you will do fine! If you don't know an answer to a question, tell them...once you start talking you will relax + everything will fall into place...a ship can't sail w/out leaving the harbor, + no doubt this is a stepping stone for future engagements...and don't forget, as you end the seminar + the peeps whip out lighters + hold them in the air, come back onstage for a encore, this will drive the crowd wild + you will have carved a place in seminar history!! Now get out there + know that everything will be OK....[:sun:] |
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| Karen,
First of all congrats on your speaking engagement...
Not much I can add that the others didn't cover. The best advice I can give you is to "be Karen"...[:)] and above all be yourself and be honest.
If your a little nervous, tell them so and mention this is your first "formal" seminar.
We haven't had the opportunity to meet but I gotta sneak'n hunch your a very personable and likeable person or you wouldn't have gotten this opportunity.
I agree with Jason's advice on visual aids, fish pictures are fun to look at but make sure the majority of your presentation has some "content" or a purpose other than just being a fish picture.
If you can try to get crowd participation by using one or two people in the group for demonstrations if possible. Above all, don't embarass anybody but most crowds enjoy it when someone from the audience is asked to help out.
And if none of this works....just picture them all sitting there in their underware...[8)] [:bigsmile:]
Mark
Musky Adventures
Eau Claire, WI |
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| Thanks you guy's....
Good advice from you all!! I will definitely put it to use. I'm getting ready to head up to Lake Geneva now for the seminar and feel more confident.Thanks to you all!
I appriciate your advice and will let you know how things go.
Wish me luck!![;)]
Karen |
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| Howdy Karen,
I've provided a couple dozen presentations in my day, some to crowds in excess of 150 folks. Here's my tip to add to the advice above.....follow this simple outline to organize the ideas you'll share....
Intro - "Thank you for inviting me here today. I have some ideas to share and I bet I get some good ideas from you, too."
1. Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em. (this is a summary of your material..."Today I'm here to share information about XXXXXXXXX.")
2. Tell 'em. (This is all the details of your information. 90% of your time is spent on this portion of your outline.)
3. Tell them what you told them. (This is another summary of your material..."OK, I just told you about XXXXXXXXXXX".)
4. Ask for any additional questions.
5. Thank them for their time and attention.
I wouldn't bother starting out by telling them that you are nervous, they'll assume that and they'll admire you for just doing your best. Stay humble throughout the session to avoid provoking anyone in the crowd.
Don't take any **** from anyone either, though; sidestep any attempts at arguments or insults by saying to the individual, "That's an interesting point, but I don't want to get off track with my presentation. Maybe you and I can talk about your idea after the presentation is over." If the person persists, say, "I don't think most of these folks came here to talk about that. Please, let me get back to my presentation, you and I can talk after I'm done up here." This places the pressure of the crowd on the idiot who is being disruptive. If the person still continues, it is up to the host to shut him/her down, you've done all you can do. I don't mean to scare you with these tips, but you need a plan to respond to a disruptive person.
You'll do fine. You may stumble here and there, but that's a-ok, too, everybody does.
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| Hey Guy's,
I'm happy to report it went very well![:bigsmile:]
I didn't get the standing "O" with lighters blazing but I did get a warm reception. It was my first "paying" gig and it was well recieved. They asked great questions and came up after to ask more. There were about 30 people mostly men (only 1 woman besides me) and thanks to all the great advice, it was a success!
I'm off to LOTW's tomorrow, so I gotta go pack! I hope to have some nice pictures to post when I return...
Take Care and Thanks again for your great advice and encouragement. I really appriciate it! [;)]
Karen |
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| muskygirl, how did you do? |
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| Get your audinence involved. Some of the most informative presentations I have seen became a lot more interesting when this occured. |
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