[nabs-l] The importance of public speaking training

[Amy Sabo]

Hello Bridget,

Thanks for sharing this awesome suggestions and thread on doing
good public speaking in the pr field. I was wondering if you
could send to me off list a link or a copy of this manual that
you discussed in your post to me? The reason that I ask is that
I'm pr person myself and, I have done lots of work in the pr
field both in nonprofit work specifically for the nfb and also in
media relations too. And, I think that this would help me out
professionally and personally too since I have done lots of
public speaking engagements and, I plan to pursue more in my near
future.

Thanks again for the information and, I will talk to you soon.




Hugs,
amy

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 2:26 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nabs-l] The importance of public speaking training

Jedi,

You're absolutely correct. Any group or organization attempting
to gain
"converts," (smile( needs to have specific language when talking
about
the benefits of training and why an organization like NFB is
essential
in our society. Anyone somewhat familiar with psychology will
know using
words like "we" and "I feel or believe," are key words to help
remove
tension and personal emotions in a discussion. People don't want
to feel
as though they are sitting through a lecture or being told they
are
wrong and bad for not doing this or that. Whether we believe
whole-heartedly in something or not, we all reach certain
understandings
in our own time. Like anything else, we can live by example,
discuss the
benefits of training and nonvisual skills and how it's important
blind
people be accepted as equals, hence the importance of
organizations of
the blind, but ultimately, it is up to the individual to accept
these
ideas or not. Pontificating wins no one over to causes and
groups. Not
only do we have to persuade people, but we have to be very aware
of how
we go about this persuasion. Jedi has brought this up before, but
for
those of us with experience in public speaking, we know the
importance
of including all individuals in a discussion, and being conscious
how we
approach topics whether one-on-one or with a group. I think it
would be
super beneficial for the Federation to create a team to devise
specific
plans to be implemented for public speaking. This team could
develop a
handbook of sorts detailing the best ways in which to approach
certain
topics and how to be effective when speaking to the public. This
team
could also work with affiliates on training people in the art of
public
speaking. As we continue to push Federation initiatives and seek
out new
members, public speaking will be, and is, a vital aspect, and we
need to
be well prepared for such activities. This is why corporations
and
organizations hire PR and media relations teams to help prepare
PR
strategies which include public speaking, and many of these teams
will
offer speech writers and public speaking specialist to help the
group
prepare for speaking engagements. While interning with a PR firm
last
summer, I worked on an account with a nonprofit in Nevada, and
one of my
specific duties was to develop a public speaking handbook which
included
key points to keep in mind when speaking in public and how to
dress
during speaking engagements. I also drafted briefs for some
clients in
our local school districts on certain legislation specific to
issues
affecting students, and helped incorporate this information in
speeches
used for school administrators when speaking during committee
meetings
and with parents. Public speaking is vital to almost every group,
employer and organization out there. Being well prepared and
knowing
what to do is essential in winning people over to a cause. To
make this
a nation-wide effort within the Federation would be a good idea.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
 
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 7
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:49:05 -0500
From: Jedi <loneblindjedi at samobile.net>
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Why is it important to join an organization
of
	the	blind?
Message-ID: 19d4ebf7-e432-4c4c-af26-cf998989914b at samobile.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format="flowed"

You know, it occurs to me that part of the "problem" (in quotes)
that 
we're discussing has much to do with our "recruitment speech" (in

quotes). I think it was Bridgit who felt that the P word scares
people 
off. Maybe instead of talking about a philosophy of blindness,
there's 
always the option of saying "I believe." For instance, I believe
that 
the blind are as capable as anyone else. Or, I believe that
training is 
a key component to functioning as a blind person in a sighted
world. 
Or, I think that social definitions of blindness are a much
bigger 
problem than actually not being able to see. These phrases should
be 
familiar to you, but they're just worded differently.

And as to the issue of persuading people to get training, it's
tricky. 
No one likes to hear that they have much to learn, and I don't
care 
what the topic of conversation is. We all like to believe that
we've 
got it together even if it's obvious to outsiders that we don't.
I 
could really believe this to be especially the case when
discussing an 
emotionally charged topic like adapting to vision loss. Not only
would 
someone like not to hear that they haven't got it together, but
they 
don't want to hear that they're blind enough to need such
services to 
begin with. Now, legitimately, there are those who really don't
need 
such services, but there are many more who would find them useful
if 
they ever decided to try. So as a result of all this, I've taken
to 
describing how blindness training has helped me if and when it
seems 
appropriate. Most people can draw the line between their
experience and 
mine. But at the very least, they realize that i'm talkiing about

myself and not them, so it takes some of the pressure off.
Another 
option is to just wait and let the individual identify issues
they're 
having and talk about how blindness training helped you to
overcome 
similar barriers. And then there's always the option of just
waiting it 
out. Sure, some folks told me I needed training. But I think I
really 
made that discovery for myself when I noticed that the totally
blind 
Federationists around me could function in ways I could not and
that 
the partially blind Federationists around me functioned no matter
what 
they saw at any given point.

Respectfully,
Jedi


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