Public Speaking

Public speaking is a great way to get your campaign message across to a broad range of people.

Establishing a 'speaker's bureau', or a team of strong communicators who are willing to speak to other community organisations, is an effective way to engage the local community in your campaign. It's good to have a couple of people available in the group who all know the 'talk' and are willing to take turns to give it.

You can take your 'talk' to:

• Business groups.
• Service clubs.
• Local councils.
• Schools.
• Other non-government organisations.

Preparing Your 'Talk'

To be a good speaker, you don't have to be a performer. The key is to be relaxed, speak clearly, with authority and represent your cause in a professional manner.

To get bookings, all you have to do is write to the organisations you want to present to, and ask for some time at their next meeting. Make sure when you make a booking that you get all the details - date, time and place. Remember to get the contact name and phone number for the person you booked with so you can contact them again.

Different speakers relate better to different audiences. Make sure you learn about your audience so you can feel as comfortable as possible when you're presenting.

The Talk

It's handy to prepare some notes for your talk, especially if it's the first time you're giving it. But don't write an essay! People will get bored if you stand in front of them reading from a long theoretical paper. It's usually best if you prepare a list of points in the right order and if you need to remember statistics or quotes, it's best to write them down for easy reference.

Also while you're preparing your talk, think about the sorts of questions people might ask. They'll probably be quite similar to the questions you asked when you first learned about the issue.

Assume your audience knows little or nothing about your subject, unless you know otherwise. Don't lose them in too much deep theory - try to tell a story, from a personal or sentimental perspective, with anecdotes your audience can relate to.

Your notes might cover:

• An outline of the issue.
• How the problem/issue effects your audience.
• Who else the problem effects.
• What your audience can do to help.

Don't overdo it either - any longer than 20 minutes and people start to get restless. So unless you've prepared a break, keep to the point and keep it snappy, leaving plenty of time for questions.

Visual Aids

Slides and posters are also good to have so you've got something to talk to and your audience has something to look at that expands or explains what you're saying.

If you're planning to use slides, video or overheads, arrange this well in advance. You'll need to know where the light switch is and it's wise to bring your own extension cords. Check all of your projection equipment and allow lots of time to do a test run to make sure it all works. Don't use too many slides - 10-30 slides is plenty for a 20-minute talk.

After The Talk

It's always nice to write and thank the group for having you and make sure they have enough information to continue to spread the word.

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