What We Do
Overview
In our experience, too many public speaking training sessions follow the same pattern: you arrive early in the morning, tired and groggy from the journey in, coffee in hand and are told to sit in a large conference room, notepads out and for the next several hours are lectured at by a ‘public speaking guru’ who gives a lengthy address on the ‘tricks’ of performing. At the end of the day you leave, notepad full, left to fend for yourself in an increasingly competitive and demanding public speaking world and trying to ‘remember’ what you were shown. The basis of Speakeasy workshops are different in that they are entirely practical and interactive; you will have the opportunity to try out the exercises, find what works for you, and leave with a ‘toolkit’ of ideas that you can tailor for your own specific needs and to any public speaking situation.
Academic Skills
A research paper, if delivered well, can at the very least inspire interesting questions and nice feedback. It can also lead to whole host of opportunities including media work, publications and even a job!
In my session, we will deal specifically with how to be an engaging public speaker in the academic sphere. Drawing on my experiences (what I’ve seen done well and done badly, and some personal horror stories), I will provide practical tips and guidance on how to communicate your research effectively and lecture with confidence – as well as advice on how to keep your audience awake!
The following stuff will be covered:
- Introduction: tricks and tips on academic public speaking
- How to treat every conference paper like a job interview
- How to get your message across, keep your audience engaged and actually enjoy the experience
- How to deliver complex ideas and personalise your style of delivery
- How to disseminate your research beyond the academy
- PowerPoint: how to get it right; Posters: where so many go wrong
- The art of writing a spoken presentation
- Chairing conferences: a quick and easy way to make a good impression
- How to overcome the dreaded Q&A and ‘think on your academic feet’
During the session each participant will be called upon to do exercises in PowerPoint, to ‘perform their piece’ and practise answering difficult questions on their research. Participants will be free to contribute and butt-in throughout the day!
Acting Skills
In this session, you will be introduced to many of the techniques that I learnt in my dramatic training and continue to use as a professional actor. When I first began as an actor, I shared many of the key fears that academics struggle with: How can I combat nerves? How can I be free from physical and vocal tensions? How can I sustain stamina and breath needed for speaking to large audiences? How do I keep my audience motivated, alive and interested? Fear not, I will give you a ‘toolkit’ to help you overcome these apprehensions and help you reach your goal: whether it is to improve your chances of getting that next job, to command a lecture room with confidence or just to bring clarity to your academic thinking.
In the ‘Acting Skills’ workshop you will cover:
- Body and vocal exercises including warm ups to combat nerves, relieve tensions and improve public performance stamina
- Exercises to improve diction, resonance, range and articulation to improve your spoken word
- Utilizing key ideas in ‘Alexander Technique’ to improve your posture and presence on stage
- Advanced breathing techniques to maintain control during your performance
- Text analysis work to engage and enliven even the most impenetrable of texts
*We will also end the acting skills session with a Q&A to address individual concerns.