A GUIDE FOR GIVING TALKS
If you are called to speak to an audience here are a few guidelines.
1. There will always be people in the audience who have hearing problems. At all times speak loud and clear.
2. If you have a soft voice, use a microphone.
3. Don’t drop your voice to speak from the stomach.
4. Don’t mumble asides.
5. If you are reading text, speak slowly. You know the story but it takes time for a stranger to absorb the words by ear.
6. Don’t concentrate on looking at just one person. Encompass everyone in turn.
7. Don’t speak to the screen or with your back to the audience.
8. If you have equipment, check everything in advance.
9. Check the venue beforehand if possible. I once arrived to give a film show only to find the hall had no plug sockets!
10. Plan your talk and have a crib sheet with odd phrases or words as a reminder.
11. KEEP SMILING
Beryl Armstrong