Media Training Worldwide’s TJ Walker Gives Insights On Public speaking & Media Training

TJ’s Insights

April 13, 2005

New Books, TJ Walker’s “Media Training A-Z”
http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com/mediatrainingaz.html
“Presentation Training A-Z” http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com/presentaz.html

Triage Speech Prep

There will be times when it is impossible for you to set up a room to your specifications before giving a speech. Recently, I was giving an hour-long speech at a conference in California. The speech began at 4:30 PM and was to end promptly at 5:30.

Normally, I like to get to a room at least one hour in advance of giving a speech or training to set up, preferably 90 minutes in advance. However, in this case, another breakout session was going on in the room that did not end until 4:15 PM. The speakers and other panelists didn’t leave the front of the room until 4:23. Yikes! That left seven minutes to do the following:

1. Turn off the PowerPoint projectors (I normally use PowerPoint, but not on this occasion).
2. Position my notes on a table in front.
3. Get out and organize handouts for the audience.
4. Organize a display table for my books, DVDs, CDs and product packages for sale.
5. Put out order forms, presentation tip cards, and other freebie handouts for the attendees.
6. Set up my video camera, lights, and tripod in the back of the room to capture my speech.
7. Train the room monitor to use the video camera and record properly.
8. Set up my own wireless microphone, receiver, and speakers (I always take my own sound system—just to be sure)
9. Meet and greet attendees as they entered the room.
10. Check in with the convention audio recording technicians who were capturing the entire speech for resale on CD.
11. Not let any of the attendees streaming into the room see me sweat!

Did we start the meeting on time? Yes (people hate late starts)

Did I accomplish all eleven items above? No. I couldn't get to number 10, checking in with the other audio technicians. I had to cut something and that seemed like the logical place to cut. My first priority was to my live audience, so I did everything possible to prepare the room and myself to give a great speech. I wish I could have alerted the other technicians that I was using my own sound system, but I ran out of time.

It always pays to know who and what will be in your room before you speak. If you have specific technical requirements, make sure your hosts are made aware of them. Plan or even rehearse how long it will take you to set up. If you aren’t given as much time as you need, try to do the cutting before you are in front of the room with people looking at you. In this situation, I had already decided not to use PowerPoint. This meant I didn’t have to worry about slides or computer/compatibility issues.

Prepare to make the most of the time given you when you have narrow windows between speakers, and then plan accordingly.

Do you need a keynote speaker? http://www.mediatrainingworldwide.com/keynote.html

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Author of Media Training A-Z
& Presentation Training A-Z

TJ Walker
Media Training Worldwide
212-764-4955

Media Training Worldwide provides more media and presentation training workshops and seminars (54 separate courses) than any other company in the world. Media Training Worldwide also publishes more than 100 presentation training books, DVDs, CDs, and other information products and is the largest presentation/media training publisher in the world. For a product catalog or more information on training services call 800-755-7220 or visit http://mediatrainingworldwide.com/mediatrainingcatalogapril2004.pdf.

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