Little Paul - #
One of the blogs I follow included an article about public speaking recently, https://www.snipe.net/2014/06/why-you-should-stop-stalling-and-start-presenting/
It's written from the point of view of presenting at IT Conferences, but I think a lot of the advice in there also applies to anyone thinking about getting started in performing. I especially liked the sections on "You’re smarter than you think." (because every so often it helps to remember that every juggler I've ever met is better at juggling than 99% of the public[1]) and "Some pre-speaking panic-aversion tricks I’ve picked up" (I'm a big fan of the "even if it all goes wrong, it's only $x minutes of my life" trick several times)
While I'm linking to performance related stuff, I've started listening to The Comedians Comedian Podcast (thanks to Robin Gunney and Phill Blackmore for recommending it to me) which is a podcast all about how various comedians approach writing their material, coping with performance issues etc. I've worked my way through about 20 episode so far and it's been unfailingly interesting.
Stuart Goldsmith (who presents the podcast) is a standup who started out as a street performer/juggler, and when he's talking to other comedians with a similar background it gets really interesting.
If I had to pick two example episodes which I think readers of The Edge would get the most out of, I'd pick:
So, there you go. Have a read, have a listen, let me know what you think!
Cedric Lackpot - - Parent #
I saw Noel Britten many times when he was effectively in residency outside the Pump Rooms in Bath back in the early 90s. His was just about the slickest and funniest "do absolutely fuck all and then collect a massive hat" routine you're ever likely to (repeatedly) see, excellent stuff. Rocky The Raccoon for the win!
Little Paul - - Parent #
From what I've heard (from people who live in bath) his walking yours of bath are very much in that vein. Perhaps this summer I'll treat myself to a day out over that way and enjoy them for myself :)
I think for the right bjc, he might make a good oldskool panel member...
Cedric Lackpot - - Parent #
> From what I've heard [...] his walking tours of bath are very much in that vein.
Blimey, is he still doing those? I think he diversified into that from street theatre around twenty years ago.
> I think for the right bjc, he might make a good oldskool panel member...
Fuck yeah, word, innit? But he'd need a very muscular chairperson to contain him. Paging Steve Rawlings! Paging Steve Rawlings!
Little Paul - - Parent #
I get the impression he went street -> walking tour -> standup circuit -> back to the walking tours.
With those two on the stage, I don't think you'd need anyone else. I'd just love to hear them swapping stories between themselves
Is that the Bizarre Bath tour? (looks like it is, yes) Nicky & I went on one around 2007/2008 & it was a lot of fun. He handled the heckles very well.
Having now RTFA I think the advice given is more directly applicable to those thinking about running a workshop at a festival. Which themselves are an excellent place to start if you may need to present to an audience at a business conference jugglers are a very friendly, supportive & enthusiastic bunch.
/me wonders what LP's missing footnote was.
Little Paul - - Parent #
I remember that the footnote was terribly witty and insightful, but I can't remember what it was now either...
The boy with tape on his face is from my hometown :)
His show is very clever and damn funny
I've done a lot of public speaking over the last few years as part of my day job (running a small software company building search applications, in case you care). The article gets it spot-on. I've probably found it easier than a lot of other IT people due to my performing experience, and the fact that a lot of other presenters have absolutely NO idea what they're doing - they read their slides in a monotone, facing away from the audience, occasionally looking nervously into the middle distance, while describing obscure software...it's not hard to be better than that. One of my minor triumphs was getting better feedback than a guy from Microsoft at one particular event - and at the time I had some minor lurgy that meant I could hardly stand up, I even asked for a chair to be brought on stage in case I felt faint at some point!
Now some of my work contacts have found out about the juggling, so I occasionally get odd requests - which is why I ended up passing leeks in an Irish rugby stadium... https://youtu.be/7EfnGMEjgK4
Richard Loxley - - Parent #
As an aside, if anyone ever needs help with public speaking / confidence in front of the public, I wholeheartedly urge you to seek out Tim Sheppard: https://www.timsheppard.co.uk/
I've done several of his "Wild Weekends", which nominally teach public storytelling, but actually teach so much more: https://www.timsheppard.co.uk/wildtimes/ I credit his training in my winning £500 first prize in an "Elevator Pitch" competition a couple of years ago :-)
I think he's moved more into corporate training now (the last date on the Wild Times page is 2011) but still worth checking out.
BTW, he's one of us, having trained at Circomedia / Fool Time.
Cedric Lackpot - - Parent #
> BTW, he's one of us, having trained at Circomedia / Fool Time.
Aha! I was desperately trying to recall who he might be, and the only thing that sprang to mind was that he might be the curious old cove was a miniature bookbinder back then (in answer to the obvious question, yes) and lo! and behold - https://www.timsheppard.co.uk/story/tim.html
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