Unaccustomed As I am...

By Rosemary Johnson

Imagine me standing there in front of everybody at the ACW Writers’ Day in Birmingham last Saturday (8 March), immediately after lunch, making an announcement about the ACW Flash Fiction Competition.  I started off by telling everyone my name and that I was the Competitions Manager, followed by uninteresting bits first, such as the entry fees (£3 for first entry and £2 for the second) and the maximum word count (300 words).  Only then did I move on to the most important thing, that the deadline is very close – Tuesday, 31 March.

Until that morning I wouldn’t have thought too much about how I gave out a notice such as this, but… the big but… I was doing it in front of Mark Faithfull, of the Malmesbury Speakers Academy, who was leading a session on public speaking.  And he’d just told us not to start off any speech by introducing ourselves, but to kick off with a phrase which will instantly capture everyone’s attention.  To make things worse, I was aware of standing with my hands behind my back.

From a quick discussion around the room, it appeared that the vast majority of delegates attending were terrified of public speaking, especially when they had to talk about their own writing.  The session however was interactive, more interactive than any other ACW Writers’ Day I have attended, with opportunities for us to speak five or six people around a table, then building up to addressing the whole room. 

Mark talked us through how to prepare a speech, and, of course, the techniques are not so different to planning writing.  He talked about Clarity, Confidence and Courage, how being able to speak well can energise us and make us more effective in other parts of our lives.  We talked about starting with a hook or a phrase which will startle the audience into giving us the speaker their attention.  Michelle, who began with “You are looking at an enemy of the people,” certainly grabbed ours.  Then we should add some substance - some detail.  End with a call to action, but be careful how you do it.  Even if you are desperate to shout 'Buy My Book', don't - speak instead of how you and your book can do for the audience. 

Unsurprisingly, me myself, being a former teacher and currently an Authorised Local Preacher at my church, I have no fear of public speaking, but that’s only one aspect of it.  As the day went on, I realised I had a lot to learn and I learned a lot, particularly:

Body Language.  How do you stand?  What on earth do you do with all your arms and legs which suddenly seem to increase in number?  You keep them still and, if you want to engage with your audience (which you do), you step forward. 

Microphone Technique.  Mark didn’t spend long on this topic, except to say mike technique needs to be learned.  Teachers like me attempt to project their voice across the whole room, but that doesn’t work when there is a microphone next to you.

Timing.  You don’t know how long your speech is until you try it.  Speakers need to rehearse by delivering it out loud.  Reading it and saying it in your head won't do.

A point Mark made repeatedly is that it’s not about us and how we perform, but about what the speaker can offer the audience.  Entertain them,  Inform them?  Win their support for an important campaign?  Draw them closer to God?

perhaps, with a good read?

I enjoyed my day at the ACW Writers’ Day.  I always do.

Rosemary Johnson has had many short stories published, in print and online, amongst other places, Cafe Lit, The Copperfield Review, Fiction on the Web and 101 Words.  She has also contributed to Together magazine.  She has also written a historical novel, set in the Solidarity years in Poland.  In real life, she is a retired IT lecturer, living in Suffolk with her husband and cat.  Her cat supports her writing by sitting on her keyboard and deleting large portions of text.