Last week, I spoke for half an hour about murder mysteries and elements of writing them. The only planning I did was that I knew the teens wanted a murder mystery prompt and that was ready for them.
The previous weekend, I spoke for half an hour about how a character’s bedroom can tell the reader a lot about the character and their life by looking at things like how it’s decorated and how many clothes are on the floor (this was for a group of teenagers). There was minimal preparation for this one too.
Last year, I spoke for half an hour about how great creative writing is for mental health at an expo based on my book ‘Creative Writing for Wellbeing’ and my own lived experience. I had a basic outline of the points I wanted to cover, and then left the outline at my stand instead of taking it into the room!
Over the years, I have done many public speaking programs that leave me feeling like I can’t be a speaker. I’m sure this is the opposite effect than they are wanting their program to have. I realise that I’m much better when I can talk off the cuff rather than memorising a pre-written speech.
These off the cuff speeches are not completely unplanned. They are based on many years of experience and discussions I’ve had with various people. It does mean that I can talk on a variety of topics and be reactive to the audience and what they are interested in hearing about.
They also mean that my talks are unique and, I hope, fun for the audience as well as for me.
I am currently working hard to get the messages about the ‘right’ way to be a speaker out of my head and embrace my way of doing things. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and passion with audiences and I hope to do more of this in the future.
If you would like to book me to speak at your school, library, or organisation, contact me.
