[nabs-l] Public Speaking

[David Andrews]

As I recall -- and I could be wrong, there was an 
article about using a Victor Reader Stream for 
this purpose a year or a hear and a half ago, or so, in the Braille Monitor.

Dave

At 05:30 PM 6/22/2014, you wrote:
>Hello again, So, there seemed to be a fair bit 
>of interest in the whole audio teleprompter 
>idea. I heard of this from Sheila Koenig at our 
>semi-annual state convention, here in Minnesota. 
>She developed the idea while taking a class. 
>Here's a message about the idea from her: Part 
>of my Writing and Zen class required us to read 
>our writing aloud. Because I learned Braille as 
>an adult and haven’t developed the kind of 
>speed I wanted, I sought out another method to 
>read my own work. I downloaded the app called 
>Plain Text to my ipad. In this app, I can create 
>documents, and by using the rotor gesture, I can 
>read the writing line by line. This allows me to 
>use my ipad like an audio teleprompter. It took 
>a little practice because it required me to 
>speak aloud one line as another was being read, 
>but it really did work well. I’d be glad to 
>talk with anyone who has specific questions, or 
>we can meet in Orlando at convention. Feel free 
>to send me an email atshekoenig at comcast.net Hope 
>this is helpful for you all! Best, Candice > On 
>Jun 21, 2014, at 8:27 PM, Shickeytha Chandler 
>via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote: > > Thanks 
>Lizzy and Rahul! Rahul, I agree that certain 
>gestures and > visual expressions don't seem to 
>come as naturally to us as to sighted > people. 
>In my undergrad work, I took vocal (singing) 
>lessons as part > of a music minor. The faculty 
>gave me some constructive criticism > about my 
>facial expressions and appearance while singing. 
>this was not > done in a disrespectful way at 
>all, but definitely blunt and honest. > They 
>told me that I looked "bland" as I was singing 
>and that I did not > have any facial expressions 
>to bring life to the music. I was glad > they 
>pointed this out to me because I then began to 
>be more conscious > of how I appeared during 
>performances, whereas previously I had > focused 
>only on how I sounded. My voice instructor gave 
>me some > helpful tips. She told me to think 
>about the words that I was singing > as if I 
>were telling a story to someone and to think 
>about what > feelings those words would evoke 
>and let that come out naturally > through my 
>expressions. She didn't give me specific 
>instructions, such > as telling me to smile at a 
>certain point or look sad at a certain > point, 
>but rather encouraged me to let my emotions 
>become more engaged > with what I was singing 
>about and express myself accordingly. Many > 
>years ago, someone told me that facial 
>expressions come natural for > blind and sighted 
>alike, and I think perhaps many gestures do as 
>well. > I personally think that the key is 
>getting yourself relaxed enough and > focused on 
>what you are talking about and 
>emotionally/mentally > connected with the 
>subject matter so that those facial expressions 
>and > gestures will occur naturally. Now this 
>probably differs in singing > and speaking... 
>For example, it is easy to become emotionally 
>engaged > when singing a song about heartbreak 
>or about love or about a happy > event. But when 
>you are giving a speech to your Economics class, 
>well > maybe not so easy, lol. But I think some 
>of the same principles can > perhaps be 
>transferred. I think this sort of goes along 
>with what > Lizzy said about being knowledgeable 
>and comfortable with the subject > matter at 
>hand. My theory is that when that occurs, the 
>gestures and > facial expressions will come 
>naturally. Again I am speaking more based > on 
>theory than from practical experience here, but 
>I do know that > these things helped me with my 
>facial expressions and gestures while > singing, 
>and I do plan to use some of these same ideas in 
>my speeches, > though it will be an entirely 
>different situation. So I hope there is > 
>something that I just said that makes at least a 
>little sense and is > helpful (smile). I would 
>love to hear others' thoughts and opinions on > 
>the matter of facial expressions and gestures 
>while speaking publicly > as a blind person, as 
>I am sure there are a lot of differing points 
>of > view on that aspect. > > Shickeytha > >> On 
>6/21/14, Rahul Bajaj via nabs-l 
><nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote: >> Hi all, >> >> This 
>is turning out to be an intriguing 
>discussion! >> I have really enjoyed reading all 
>the great suggestions that others >> have given 
>so far. >> Although I'd like to believe that I'm 
>not that bad at public speaking, >> I have been 
>told a couple of times that I should use hand 
>gestures to >> convey my points more 
>strongly. >> I have never done this because, as 
>I am sure you all would agree, this >> isn't 
>something that comes to us naturally. >> As a 
>result, I just stand still while giving my 
>speeches and don't use >> any gestures; this is 
>something that weighs heavily against me in >> 
>public speaking competitions. >> Can anyone 
>share any effective strategies that they have 
>employed to >> circumvent this problem? >> 
>Someone spoke about practicing this with a 
>sighted person. That's a >> good suggestion, and 
>I'll definitely keep that in mind. >> Does 
>anyone have any other suggestions? >> >> 
>Best, >> Rahul >> >>> On 22/06/2014, lizzy via 
>nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote: >>> Hi 
>Shickeytha, >>> You've gotten some great tips 
>thus far.  Here are a few more >>> tricks to add 
>to the list. >>> First, let me just say that my 
>tips for a blind public speaker do >>> not 
>differ greatly from those I would give to a 
>sighted speaker. >>> - Always look at your 
>audience to keep their attention.  You >>> 
>mentioned sighted people looking down at notes 
>or a teleprompter, >>> I personally dislike when 
>people do this (especially when reading >>> from 
>a powerpoint located behind the presenter) 
>because it is >>> pretty distracting to the 
>audience.  No matter how you choose to >>> read 
>your notes, you will always have the advantage 
>of being able >>> to look at your audience while 
>speaking to them (which is a plus >>> if you ask 
>me). >>> - If you do decide to use braille, one 
>tip you could use is not >>> necessarily 
>memorizing your speech ahead of time, but 
>knowing >>> your stance on a topic and perhaps 
>just writing that subject down >>> (or even 
>shortening the word to just a few letters), 
>and >>> explaining your view to the 
>class.  Since no one else is reading >>> your 
>notes, they can literally say anything as long 
>as you >>> remember what the letters/words 
>mean.  There are benefits and >>> drawbacks to 
>memorizing your speech ahead of time, let me 
>know if >>> you'd like for me to elaborate. >>> 
>- Be sure to not only speak clearly, but also 
>use inflection.  I >>> can't stress this enough, 
>speaking in a monotone voice is a sure >>> way 
>to get people to fall asleep or think about 
>things totally >>> unrelated to your 
>presentation. >>> - Know your audience and your 
>subject matter.  You speak to >>> college 
>students in a different manner than you would 
>third >>> graders which differs from how you 
>would speak to parents. >>> Likewise, you'd talk 
>about genocide with an expression that >>> 
>contrasts the one you'd have when talking about 
>something >>> positive.  Be sure to maintain 
>appropriate tone of voice, >>> posture, movement 
>etc.  You'll know your audience is engaged 
>when >>> they react appropriately to something 
>you've said.  For example, >>> when you tell an 
>anecdote, they respond with ooos and ahs, 
>awws, >>> laughs/chuckles- whatever's 
>appropriate.  If you hear a lot of >>> movement 
>(stretching, looking for a clock, checking 
>phones, >>> etc.), or excessive coughing (when 
>it's not flu season), you know >>> you've lost 
>your audience and it's time to take a more 
>upbeat >>> approach. >>> - Finally, and this is 
>the most important tip of all in my >>> 
>opinion.  Be yourself.  If you're not a funny 
>person, don't force >>> it.  If you're not 
>comfortable moving around, just maintain 
>good >>> posture in one area.  As Joe said, 
>these things need to look >>> natural, so do 
>whatever you feel most comfortable with.  If 
>you >>> would like to learn about gestures, 
>movement etc.  then by all >>> means, do so! It 
>makes for a great presentation, but don't 
>force >>> anything. >>> Please let me know if 
>you'd like for me to elaborate on specific >>> 
>topics! I would be more than happy to do so. >>> 
>Hope this helps, >>> Lizzy >>> >>>

         David Andrews and long white cane Harry.
E-Mail:  dandrews at visi.com or david.andrews at nfbnet.org