Last month I had the opportunity to speak at my very First conference. It was held at the Pepper Manor House in the Southern Highlands of NSW. A beautiful, grand old house in quite a picturesque location.
I was invited to speak at ICCare (formerly known as Wollondilly Support and Community Care Inc) which is based in Picton, NSW but its coverage also extends to the Camden, NSW region.
ICCare provide quality, professional service/support to people who are frail, aged, people with a disability and their carers.
As with many of the general population, some of the staff have had challenges with public speaking and this is how the presentation came about.
Although my presentation was by PowerPoint, I was careful not to present too many slides with bullet points only, as this can be quiet boring for an audience.
Instead, (on some slides) I used images to represent ideas that I was talking about.
During the presentation, I gave tips on overcoming nerves, preparation, speech structure, public speaking techniques and also gave a demonstration of ‘Impromptu Speaking’ or “Thinking On Your Feet’ as it is sometimes known.
I then invited a member of the audience up and another member of the audience gave them a topic to speak on for one minute.
After that, I invited 4 members of the audience up to participate in a ‘Round Robin’ which is another Impromptu Speaking exercise but much more fun.
After a 20 minute question period we adjourned to lunch and shared a few stories.
I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable experience and can’t wait for the next public speaking opportunity!
Written by David Johnson
16 May 2019
For more information on the services provided by ICCare, please click on the following link: http://wsacci.org.au/