Category Archives: presentation delivery

This refers to how the content is delivered including ice breakers, pacing, props, visuals, sound, kinesthetic experiences, video conferencing, large group sessions, small group sessions, Q & A sessions, workshops and residencies.

5 Things I’ve Learned About Doing School Visits: Kim Norman

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School visit season is over. Summer vacation is here. But keep your brain humming! Summer is a great time to reflect on what worked well for you last year and to think ahead to what you can implement in the next school year.  Here’s some advice from author and school visit expert, Kim Norman.

1. Sometimes kids forget why they have their hands up… and they are not offended if you tell them, “You can put your hands down now.”

 2. Even if the child posing a question has long, curly locks and a pink hair bow, I NEVER assume gender. Long-lashed boys with collar-length hair and pixie-haired tomboys in jeans can make gender a real guessing game. When I repeat a child’s question, (which I always do, to make sure everyone hears it) I no longer say, “He/she asked…” Now, I always say, “The question was…”

 3. Treats are not necessary. I used to offer treats (like stickers) for participation, but have found it’s unnecessary. After a few minutes, even “jaded” 5th and 6th graders are eager to participate. Also, the disappointment is too great for those who don’t win the treats.

 4. My presentations must be for the STUDENTS. I may toss in a rare occasional aside that teachers will enjoy, but I keep my interaction focused on the kids.

 5. Every school seems to have a clever “Mr. Jenkins” who knows how to make the microphones and projectors work. Mr. Jenkins is often at the other end of the building when you need him.

Kim Normanis the award-winning author of several picture books including TEN ON THE SLED (Sterling), IF IT’S SNOWY AND YOU KNOW IT, CLAP YOUR PAWS (Sterling), and I KNOW A WEE PIGGY (Dial). Kim has visited more than a hundred schools around the U.S. where she shares the joy of books and the humorous “horror” of her Evil Inner Editors. Her popular resource, Children’s Authors by State, provides a terrific service to teachers, librarians and parents who are hosting author visits.  

Signature Openings

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Even outgoing authors get butterflies before school assemblies or other presentations. A little anxiety is a good thing! But don’t let nervousness to derail the rest of your presentation.One way to avoid this is by having a signature opening.

 A signature opening means that you choose specific way to begin each presentation. Since the opening is something you are used to doing time and again, this can help calm your jitters. Here are some examples of types of signature openings

  • STORIES. Start by telling a story – not just “When I was a kid I loved to read,” but tell a specific story that demonstrates your passion for reading. People remember stories better than lists of rules or maxims.
  • IMAGES. You might click through a series of photos wordlessly before you begin, perhaps with some funny or unusual ones included. This shared experience bonds the audience and helps them anticipate your core program.
  • POLLS. Ask a question that all kids can answer such as “Where in the room are my kindergartners?” and then go on up through the grades. Or “How many of you love good stories?” Or “How many of you sometimes get stuck on what to write about?” Whether they raise their hands or not, the question itself requires kids to pause and think.
  • ACTIVITY. Engage the audience in an activity. If you’re comfortable getting kids to join in, have them join you for a song, a chant or just to clap along with something you perform.

 All of these techniques can help you capture the audience’s attention, but do what feels best to you. A signature opening can oil the gears of your presentation. Once you get rolling, it’s easier to stay rolling. Before long, the butterflies calm, and you’re into the core of your presentation, having a good time.

4 Tips for Book Festival Presentations

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Book Festival Props

For outdoor presentations, blow up book pages to at least 16" x 20" and have kids help on stage

Book festivals offer big challenges to authors and illustrators when it comes to keeping the crowd focused and engaged in your presentation.

In school assemblies, you’re confident that the kids have a collective understanding of the school’s rules and are grouped by age. You can use a PowerPoint presentation to great effect.

But book festivals are open-air, multi-generational, noisy settings full of distractions and a fluid crowd. PowerPoint? Forget it!  A reading? It won’t engage enough of a crowd. Props? Better make them big so they can be seen. In short, you’ll have to revamp your presentation to suit the setting.

For my presentation at Feria del Libro in downtown Los Angeles, the stage was a small outdoor amphitheatre. Many of the festival-goers’ first language was Spanish.

 For color, I enlarged key pages of my book, Estela’s Swap, into poster-size images and laminated them. To engage the crowd, I invited kids to hold the posters on stage with the blank side toward the audience. Then I had the crowd sing a song that’s key to my story, “Cielto Lindo.” (While I don’t know how to speak Spanish, I can sing this song in Spanish!)

As I shared my book as a storyteller would (telling, not reading text), I tapped on kids to reveal the images for key points in the story. In the last scene, I had one child be the main character: she put on a bright orange Ballet Folklorico skirt and twirled.

To end, I had everyone – kids on stage and the audience – sing “Cielito Lindo” once more. This took about 15-20 minutes from start to finish, the perfect amount of time to keep a festival crowd’s attention.

 So here are 4 tips for successful Book Festival presentations:

1)     make your props big

2)     engage the audience in a group response

3)     use kids as volunteers

4)     keep the time limit short.

Click here for a list by state of Book Festivals and when they occur.

ASK ALEXIS: How Should I Shape My Workshop for Students?

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Image courtesy of digitalart/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My email inbox sees a steady stream of authors asking for advice on how to handle specific school visit situations. Since these concerns are the concerns of many, I thought I’d do a little “Dear Abby” here and post the question and my response in case this might help you, too.

 Dear Alexis,

I have a school visit set up for a local 6th grade language arts class. I thought I’d start with the publishing process and then talk a bit about where ideas come from. The teacher asked that I lead them into a Halloween creative writing assignment, so figured I might give them a couple different images to choose from. Just how much can I shove into 30-60 minutes? I was afraid if I talked about details as well, that it might be one subject too many. What do you think?”   — Happy-But-Anxious

 Dear Happy-But-Anxious,

First, congratulations on trying out new material in this one-class-dose at a familiar school. When you do this, it gives you a chance to get feedback from the teacher in a supportive environment and to tweak your presentation before you do it at another venue.  This builds skill and confidence.

 Now – about the workshop. A workshop is different from a school assembly in that it engages students in a hands-on experience to teach a specific strategy that students can apply to their work. In terms of pacing, think in chunks of time.  How many minutes will you devote to each segment of your session? Possible sequences (60-minutes, 45-minutes) might look like this:

 SEQUENCE for 60-minute session (ideal time)

10 minutes:    Introduction to you and your works

15 minutes     Activity Part 1: Model the strategy with the students

15 minutes:    Activity Part 2: Have students apply strategy independently

10 minutes:    Group Share

5 minutes:      Wrap-up & Next Steps

5 minutes:      Q & A

 

SEQUENCE for 45-minute session

5 minutes:      Introduction to you and your works

10 minutes     Activity Part 1: Model the strategy with the students

10 minutes:    Activity Part 2: Have students apply strategy independently

10 minutes:    Group Share

10 minutes:    Wrap-up and Q & A

 OPENING: The kids will want to know about you and your upcoming book, so it’s a good way to start and build rapport.

 ACTIVITY Part 1: Plan to focus on ONE thing and do it thoroughly. For example, rather than talk about where ideas come from, why not do a couple of different exercises that will have them actually generating ideas. Using photos as prompts is a great technique. You might call this exercise the “Idea Bank” (and in your case, it might be the “Halloween Idea Bank.”) They will make “deposits” into this bank that they can “withdraw” from when they need to.

 It always helps to model what you want the students to do, so, you might begin this segment by observing a photo together and have them generate ideas as a group.

 ACTIVITY Part 2: In the next step, give them another photo and have them generate ideas independently. You can show one photo on a big screen to the whole class, give a photo to small groups, or give out individual photos.

 GROUP SHARE: Invite students to share some ideas they’ve written down. (Make this voluntary.)

 WRAP-UP and NEXT STEPS: Quickly review the technique you demonstrated and extend this by sharing other specific strategies that you have used to generate ideas for your books or magazine articles.

 In addition to generating the Halloween Idea Bank, you might have students produce an opening sentence, a slice of dialogue, or a dramatic closing sentence to prime the pump for future writing. But by teaching them the bigger strategy of how to generate ideas, they will be better equipped to create stories later.

 Q & A: If you have time at the end, invite them to ask you about your work. This helps build a bond, writer-to-writer, and lets students know that their struggles are normal.

 Finally, by blending the “you” part (you as a writer and your book) and the “them” part (giving them a strategy they can apply to their writing) you’ll produce a satisfying session.

 Good luck!

 If you have a question, send an email to alexis@SchoolVisitExperts.com and put “Ask Alexis” in the subject line.

Choosing Volunteers

 

So, you’re facing 250 kids in an assembly.  You’ve asked a question.  Or you’ve invited volunteers to join you on-stage.  What’s the best way to choose respondents or participants?

 Kids are all about fairness.  They want you to be equitable in your choices. So I try to make sure that I choose kids from a variety of grade levels and classes.

 Here’s how I do it.

 LARGE GROUPS:  When I’m warming kids up at the start. I say, “Raise your hand if you’re a kindergartener,” and they raise their hands.  I go all the way up the grade levels, noting where each group is sitting. Later, when I call on volunteers, I do my best to choose kids from each grade level and a variety of classes within that level. I’ve found that one kid becomes the hero for that grade, making everyone feel as if they had participated themselves because they know the person who was chosen.

 SMALL GROUPS: When I’m in a small group, I say, “I have only one rule.  When I say , ‘Any questions?’ you can raise your hand.  When I call on a kid, all the other hands must go down so that you can listen to the question and the answer.  When I’m done answering, I’ll say, ‘Next Question?’ so you’ll know when to raise your hand again.”  It’s important to choose kids from all sides of the room.  Most speakers favor right or left, front or back, so be aware of where you tend to look to make your choices and be more equitable. 

 AUDITIONNING: For my book THE RECESS QUEEN, I “audition” kids for the main role.  As I stand in front of the assembly of kids, I make a mean face, stamp my feet and say, “I need a girl who can do this.”  Kids immediately mock my facial expressions, and I quickly choose the first girl who mirrors this energetically.

 READERS’ THEATER: When my assembly focused on my book, LOUD EMILY, I had kids volunteer to do Readers’ Theater.  This made teachers nervous because not all of the kids I chose were great readers. But this worked out fine because, as the narrator, I stood behind each actor when it was his or her turn to speak, and helped them with words they weren’t sure of.  I can’t tell you how many times I chose kids with really limited language abilities (by accident!), but they really shone in front of the whole assembly. For my picture books, I prefer this to having teachers choosing the “best” readers. But, I do think that texts for middle grade or YA Readers’ Theater might benefit from readers with a good command of language.

 Kids love to be on stage.  They love to ask questions.  And if they feel that you are being fair in the way that you choose volunteers, they’ll relax and enjoy the experience.

 

 

6 Mistakes Authors Make in Assemblies

Mistake #1. Opening weakly

Solution: Get attention! Invite the audience in immediately with a startling statement or image, a communal action (singing, chanting, clapping in rhythm) – anything that commands attention and shows the kids that the program is in your capable hands.

 

Mistake #2. Being unaware of audience reaction

Solution: Learn to “read” the room.  Are kids getting restless? Beginning to chat? Turning away from your presentation?  Time to switch up the content or pace and get them refocused.

 

 

 

Mistake #3. Speaking too softly, quickly or monotonously

Solution: Practice breathing, projecting, slowing the pace and speaking with lots of expression. Even if you think you have a voice like a foghorn, it will sound strained to those in the back of the multipurpose room.  Be sure to use a microphone. And don’t talk to the screen or easel – face your audience.

 

Mistake #4. Using visuals or props that are hard to see

Solution: Aim for the kids in the back of the room.  Make props oversize. Be sure everyone has a clear view of your props and the screen

 

Mistake #5: Going overtime

Solution: Appoint a timekeeper to give you warnings at 10 minutes, 5 minutes and the end. Keep your eye on the clock so that you can adjust your pacing.

 

Mistake #6. Failing to create an ending with impact or with a call to action

Solution: If you like to incorporate a Q & A into your assembly, don’t end with it – place it just before the ending. Wrap up by sending the group out with one last anecdote, a summary of the points you made in your presentation or an appeal for them to do something (Be sure to read! Write! Start a book club!)

Freshen Your Images and Props

 If you’ve been using the same props and PowerPoint show for over a year, it may be time for an overhaul.

Are your props large enough to be seen at the far end of the multipurpose room?  If not, you’re leaving out a significant portion of your audience. Consider taking time this summer to exaggerate the props you have or find new ones.

In terms of images, kids love to see family photos.  Do you have some to add to the mix?  Or perhaps ones you haven’t used before? They can be of you as a kid – or you with your family today.  If you have a special pastime, throw in some images of that, too – knitting, pet shows, gardening, Thai Chi classes, beach volleyball, doll collecting, gaming  — anything you do for fun that rounds you out as a person.  And these images are great conversation starters. You never know which audience members, kids and adults alike, will share the same interests.  Don’t think, ‘Well, they can find that on my website.”  Bring it to them.

My dad built this rink in our backyard in Wakefield, Massachusetts where Kathy & I practiced moves in our new Carol Heiss ice skates.

Fresh images can also spark a new angle on your presentation, new insights as to what informs your writing or illustrating life.  So, take time to review what you have, what you do, and how you can shake things up a bit to make more connections at school visits next season.

Call in Your Questions to Brain Burps!

What burning questions do you have about school visits?

You might be a newly published author or illustrator, someone who’s multiply published, or someone who’s returning after a break from the biz.  You might even be an editor or agent who would love for their authors to make contact with kids in schools.  Here’s some good news for you.

Brain Burps Logo-smKatie Davis is going to interview me on the topic of school visits on her popular kidlit podcast, Brain Burps About Books.  I would LOVE for you to call her voicemail hotline at 888-522-1929 before February 7 with any questions you might have about school visits.  Your questions might be about

  • creating a program
  • getting gigs
  • crowd control
  • writing contracts
  • selling books

 – whatever is on your mind!

It would also be great if you have any funny or strange school visit stories to share.  I’ll answer questions on the show, and Katie will bring in stories to round out the episode. 

Though fairly new (since August 2010), Katie tells me that the show grows daily – she’s had over 7000 downloads in over 50 countries and Brain Burps About Books is #1 in the iTunes store in Children’s Publishing!

Please help spread the word about children’s literature by telling people about the show, and about calling in for my episode before Feb. 7 at 888-522-1929.

School Visit Tips for 2011: Part 2

Here are a few more helpful school visit tips for you from expert presenters. After this, watch for one more post on this topic! 

Google - Actor on StageGet there early to give yourself time to relax.  Because you are ON STAGE, performing, the minute you get out of your car.  Giving yourself 15 to 20 minutes to simply sit there in your car “Vegging out” helps you to relax, refresh, and recover from the drive.  I sometimes even close my eyes and doze for a few minutes.  If you are afraid you’ll sleep the morning away in your car, set the alarm on your iPhone (or equivalent), or take along a kitchen timer. — Wendie Old 

I always say [to the audience] that I’ll bet they don’t believe that I used to be very shy, afraid to speak up, and never in front of a crowd.  That you can always learn to be less shy, and everyone has felt shy about expressing themselves at some point.  This establishes a really nice rapport, I’ve found, and is really an important gift you are giving to a lot of them.  — Joanne Rocklin

Create coloring pages, activity sheets, and other “hands on” projects that can bProject - ZEBRA - Caroline Arnold09-sme downloaded from your website and used in the classroom to build up knowledge and interest in your books before or after your visit. Include this information in a packet sent to the librarian before your visit. I love going to schools and see walls of cut paper zebras created from the template on the web page for my book A Zebra’s World.  No two zebra’s are ever alike!  — Caroline Arnold

 Find out ahead of time if there are any parking issues at the school, and also find out which door visitors are to enter by.  If you are leaving the house extremely early, make sure you have an emergency phone number for your contact – i.e. home phone number or personal cell number.  – Marsha Skrypuch

Flexibility is key. Although your program is the central event in your mind, many other situations are happening all day long in the school which you are visiting.  I have had a fire drill in the middle of my presentations, an electrical failure throughout the school, a principal in a gorilla suit climbing a 3 story ladder fulfilling his promise to stay on the roof for the day if the students had read 5000 books, a child throwing up all over the front row of children, and once, just as the children streamed through the door, the lamp on my power point projector blew.  I learned early on to laugh, take what happens and make it work. And who knows… there might be a book in it someday.  — Kay Winters

If you have school visit tip, be sure to add it in our comment section!

School Visit Tips for 2011: Part 1

Here are some helpful tips for you from expert presenters as we swing into High Author Visit Season.  Because there are so many great bits of advice, I’ve broken them up into three posts, so watch for them.

Google - Child & Cell Phone

To break the ice with a roomful of kindergartners, ask them to reach into their pockets… and please turn off their cellphones.  Their reaction — after a second or two — is priceless. — Chris Barton
 

Check, check and double check with the event coordinator regarding equipment needs, schedule, length of program, etc.  It’s amazing how many times I’ve shown up at a school and found a “surprise” after we had already discussed details.  I always send a “Just want to confirm . . .” email a few days before the visit.  — Barbara O’Connor

I make a point of introducing myself to all the adults in the room, both teachers and parents, and shaking their hands with a smile. Often teachers feel too shy to introduce themselves, but I find that if I do so, we create a bond or link that makes them more interested in the presentation. Taking the initiative also helps me feel friendlier and more empathetic towards the teachers and parents — you tend not to resent people whose hands you’ve shaken and with whom you’ve exchanged a friendly smile and word. It’s easy and it’s effective.   — Rachna Gilmore

Regarding Skype visits: 1) To keep the transmission from skipping, freezing or disconnecting, make sure your computer is plugged into your router, rather than going completely wireless.  (And make sure the school at the other end does the same!)  2. TURN OFF YOUR PHONE!  3. TURN OFF YOUR CAT OR DOG! (Or lock them out of your office during your presentation.)  — Lee Wardlaw

For about the first year or more of school visiting, I always brought stamped, self-addressed envelopes with me and gave them, along with a short questionnaire, to every adult in each assembly I did.  Yes, every adult: teacher, principal, school librarian, secretary and parents.  I asked for suggestions on how to make my presentations more relevant.  I asked them to tell me how to improve my physical appearance for presenting or the choreography of my presentation. (One teacher told me to cut my bangs, as they couldn’t quite see my eyes–how would I have known this?)  I learned to keep the questions to one short page…and not overwhelm them with too many questions or they wouldn’t return them…they have too much on their desks!  After 400+ school visits (throughout the USA and in international schools and military base schools in Europe) later, these evaluations helped shape my presentations to this day. — April Halprin Wayland

I come with an extension cord, duct tape to keep the cords down, my own tea bags, water, almonds and extra granola bars in case there is no lunch.  When driving, I bring a back-up projector.  — Deborah Hopkinson

Try to leave [the audience] with something tangible to actually take back to the classroom or home. It would be a work of art we each do, or the start of a new story.  Anything that they can show off to others.  — Mike Rex

If you have school visit tip, be sure to add it in our comment section!