HELP!!STAGEFRRIGHT,,Giving talk on trains,,,,

Ok I am giving a seris of talks on trains and I need to know how to prepare…

How many slides should I have?

How much copy should I write and how many minutes of copy is typical per page…

How much should I Improvise…

How much attention span should i expect from a group of 30 people in there 20s? 30s? 40s? age range (I expect the older the larger the attention span)…

How much food should I have for afterwards…I want enough but I dont want too much…

I am talking about trolleys and former high speed rail lines in the Buffalo NY-Niagara Falls region.

Having done this, I can offer some suggestions for what its worth. Perhaps others have a better method.

  • Write an outline of the subject(s) you want to cover.
  • Choose the slides strictly on the basis of illustrating your outline.
  • Get some large index cards. Copy the main points you want to cover. Dont write it as a script. Once you warm up…you’ll be fine. If you share my poor eyesight…print large so you dont have to hold them up to your nose as I am tempted to do.
  • Be yourself.
  • Interject some humor…usually helps break the ice…
  • Present it as you would like to hear it…don’t try to second guess their attention span.
  • Choose a couple of people in the first row and make eye contact during the course of the talk till you feel comfortable
  • Practice in front of a spouse or a buddy a couple of times so you feel comfortable and can make changes…get their input too.

Have fun…I know you’ll be fine…good luck. Sounds like a great topic.

Oh…snacks…on the light side…

Wallyworld has given the best advice: prepare thoroughly. The best thing I can add is from my choral singing experiences: try to turn your stage fright into performance energy. Yes, I know you are asking “How?” I don’t know how I did it but I managed to do so, even in solos.

Another thing to remember: the entire audience is rooting for you. No one goes to a concert or talk to see the performer fail. They all want you to be good so that they can enjoy themselves.

Jack

Excellent advice given! I would only add:

  1. Keep the subject matter focused on the audience level, that is to say don’t put a lot of techie talk into a presentation if the audience won’t understand it.

  2. Interject some “real world” information or anecdotal stories to keep the audience focused and the information relevant.

  3. Don’t take any questions until the very end.

  4. Keep the information moving

  5. RELAX, if you goof it up nobody will notice but you!

You mention a “series of talks.” Is that the same talk for several audiences, or a number of different presentations for the same group?

If it’s “same presentation, different group,” your outline will be your friend - you can tech it up or down using anecdotes, slides, and specific examples your audience will understand/appreciate.

If it’s a series for the same group, keep your individual presentations focused on one or two subjects, as time dictates. Finish up with a teaser - give them a reason to come back next time. F’rinstance, if this presentation is about the AB&C RR, and they interchanged with the X&YZ, tell them you’ll be talking about that next time. Or if you decide to cover all the trackage first, tell them you’ll talk about freight operations next go-round. Then pax the session after that.

As was mentioned, hold questions until the end - and don’t second guess what they might ask. Just put together the information you know (there’s that preparation thing again) and present it. Questions (and comments) can be a learning experience for everyone, including you. You might be surprised to find a former employee of one of the lines (or other expert) in your audience. That can be a good thing.

You could use that old saw about imagining everyone in the audience in their underwear, but that could be distracting…

Just relax and enjoy. I’m sure you’ll hear lots of compliments when it’s over.

You’ll be fine. That’s the first thing

Figure on maybe three slides per minute. But NOT every minute. Your outline will probably have some discussion, then a bunch of slides that you want to show, then back to the outline to set up the next topic. Estimate 3/minute while you’re putting up the slides - just time enough to say what the picture shows.

Don’t worry about the audience’s attention span for at least half an hour. After that, if the eyes are wandering it might be time to find the end. On the other hand if several are leaning forward and making eye contact, carry on for another while.

If you like your topic, they will too

John

Walk onstage naked. Wearing an engineer’s cap.

No one will notice what you are saying.

I thought you pictured everyone in the audience in their shorts? good luck with your presentation.

stay safe

joe

How tacky is that? What rotten advice! How can you wear an engineer cap without a red bandana? For Pete’s sake, the fashion police would put you under the jail! [;)]

Don’t rely on power point presentation. There’s a reason why they say “Death by Power Point”, it loses your audiences attention.

I agree with PPT comment; also don’t surround pictures with words - folks will spend so much time reading or trying to decipher what’s on the slide that they will not listen to you.

Always, always make a backup if you are relying on electronic media. Nothing worse than getting either the blue screen of death or a “file corrupted” message. Don’t forget to bring the backup with you.

Next, practice, practice, practice. If you can, do a run through of your program on the equipment you will be using. Next, relax and enjoy the experience - remember - YOU are the expert. Questions work best at the end as others have suggested, especially if you are doing an informational presentation which seems to be your plan.

One other thing, bring extra cables, power cords, connectors, adapters, power supplies, etc. It has been my experience over the years of doing lots of presentations and classes that the places where I do this either never have the stuff, or it is “somewhat” incompatible with what I have. The Law says that the outlets will always just a LITTLE too far away unless you bring extra power cords - then the problem will not occur; this is because the electrical elves are frightened when they see you have this stuff with you and you won’t need to use any of it; leave it behind, however…

If possible, make sure the room is fairly cool before you start; nothing worse than a room that’s too hot, or too cold for that mater as it will distract your audience. I also request folks to turn off cell phones, pagers, etc. or set them to quiet.

Vary the tone of your voice. Use simple words and speak slowly - if you think you are going too slow, slow down even more - then you’ll be on target. Good luck! You’ll do fine.

work safe

If you can stand another post with suggestions, here goes:

Do have some slides, but keep them to about one per 3-5 minutes of talking…so flesh them out accordingly.

Slides - less is more. Not in their number, but in what you cram into them. Each should have a larger font for a title, and then perhaps 3-6 somewhat cryptic points below it. Slides that look too busy are distracting and confusing.

Do talk to the slides. Just remember to look at your audience at least once each slide. (of course, I am being funny. You can use your slides as cues to where to go next as you stall or run out of interesting things/questions from the audience if you take them).

It is a good idea to do a full, real-time rehearsal, and do have a script. Not a word-for-word, but as stated previously, a well spaced, well written, and organized outline. In fact Power Point offers you that, complete with small inserts showing your slides.

However, the very best preparatory mechansim is actually knowing your subject. It is this single factor, more than any other, that allows you to speak extemporaneously (off the top of your head), that will convince the audience you are a winner and that they are likely to leave well informed. It is this capacity that will allow you to field questions and to do it with verve and with humour.

Avoid hubris. Focus, and respect your audience. If you allow yourself to get too cocky after you have warmed to the subject, you will say something that you will remember all of your life 'cuz it will be as embarrassing as aitch every time you recall it…about 30 times over your lifetime. It gets worse each time because you have more experience to judge just how awful an episode it really was. Do you wonder how I know this?

That’s about it. Knowledge, preparation, practice, and then a careful delivery. By the way, I just modeled one refinement for good spea

So sorry, my bad. I was going to also suggest a pocket watch, but I could not figure out where he would put it…[:-^]

BTD - You do realize you’ll have to come back here and give us a report after the deed is done…[:)]

Note to Self: next time Jim gives a clinic, go to the swap meet instead …

Dave