Category Archives: audiences

This refers to types of audiences: pre-school, elementary school, middle school, high school; teachers, librarians, administrators, parent groups, professional groups, service organizations, families

Authors on Stage: Picking Up Performance Tips

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Are you working on a new presentation? Or perhaps trying to beef up an old one? One of the best ways to get fresh ideas is to see authors and illustrators in action. And festival showcases are a perfect way to see many all in one spot in a single day.

Case in point: on Saturday, November 14, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., over 30 authors and illustrators are appearing at the first-ever Western New York Children’s Book Expo at Kleinhans Music Hall in Buffalo, New York. (And, full disclosure, I will be among them, doing a presentation from 12:30 – 12:45 p.m. at the Buffalo News Literacy Corner, and signing books all day, so stop by!)

Because a festival crowd is fluid and multi-age, the showcases are only 15 minutes long. By observing authors, you’ll pick up tips on how they open, what they focus on, how they engage the audience, and how they wrap up in such a short amount of time.

This extravaganza is being organized by Kim Krug and Kathleen Skoog and their team at Monkey See, Monkey Do…Children’s Bookstore of Clarence, NY. In 2012, the store received the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA) Pannell Award, given out to recognize and publicly applaud the work of booksellers who stimulate, promote and encourage children’s and young people’s interest in books. Then in December 2014, author and philanthropist James Patterson gifted Monkey See, Monkey Do…Children’s Bookstore with seed money that started things rolling, and local businesses are helping to bring this to the public for FREE.

For more information on the WNY Children’s Book Expo (location, schedule, book pre-order discounts) click here.

For a downloadable flier, click here. Pass it along to your friends in Western New York!

Help! What Do I Do with an Antsy Audience?

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Kids get squirmy. Adults chat. What do you do when their behaviors distract during your presentation?

Head ‘Em Off at the Pass: Understand that squirms and chattiness usually happen when 1) some event in school has them buzzing, or 2) the audience isn’t engaged. Engagement is key. Plan for this in the body of your presentation. About every ten minutes, change direction or involve the audience in an activity, ask a question, invite a volunteer to help on stage, or reveal a cool prop. Also, when you begin, be sure you’ve established a “quiet” down sign. Either use the school’s system (for example, some have a pattern of claps) or one of your own. (I hold my arms at an angle, palms forward.) Then wait. Don’t begin until they’ve settled. Waiting is essential. If you talk over a half-settled audience, the volume will rise and you’ll have a very hard time getting them back.

The Looky-Loo Effect: Whatever you look at, the kids will look at. This is great when you want them to focus on a prop or an important slide in your presentation. It’s not so great when a kid barfs in the middle of your assembly. (It happened to me! And I hope it wasn’t a commentary on the content of my program . . .) If there’s a disturbance in the room that’s out of your control, know that if you focus on it, the kids will too, and it can be challenge to get their attention back. Take the small stuff in stride so that the focus stays on your program.

Silence is Golden: Are two faculty members chatting together? Walk closer to them as you continue your presentation. Make eye contact. If they continue to chat, you might cover the mike and quietly ask, “Did you have a question?”

Are We There Yet? Have you ever been in a presentation and groaned, “When is this ever going to end?” I have. Audiences want to know in advance what your presentation is going to address. And they want to know when it’s going to end. At the opening of my assemblies for kids, I quickly give them an outline of what they’re going to learn and tell them that we’ll be acting out a story at the end. This way, they know the whole presentation arc will be covered and that you’re not just going to ramble then end when the time runs out.

Do you have any “antsy audience” questions? Or do you have a technique that work well for you? Share!

How Can You Entice Teens to Your Library Programs?

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Here’s the issue. You’ve been invited to do a talk at a local public library. You know that the library will promote through their usual channels. But if you’re not a middle grade or YA star author, attendance can be all over the map, with nothing guaranteed. So what carrot can you have the library offer to motivate an audience to show up? The answer is credit. From teachers. For attending your event.

I’ve seen this in action at my local library. Our Friends of the Library group sponsored a program called, “Shakespeare in Song: Songs & Sonnets Celebrating the Bard” created and performed by William Clark. They knew adults would show up, but they wanted to attract a younger audience, too. To motivate students, the Friends of the Library sent a notice to all English teachers in local middle schools and high schools that announced the program and (here’s the key) suggested that teachers offer a homework pass to any student who showed up. The library created a form to certify attendance that was signed by a volunteer at the event, and the student was given a program as extra proof of having been there.

The result? A Standing-Room-Only crowd filled with students.
Why not suggest this kind of partnership the next time you do a library gig? It’s a winning situation for you, the library and, most importantly, the kids who come to meet you.

Should Teachers Evaluate Authors’ Presentations?

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Not long ago, I received this email from a newly-published writer:

QUESTION: My first book just came out a couple of weeks ago. I’ve done a few presentations and have more lined up. I’d like to provide my hosts with some sort of evaluation form. I can make one myself, but it seemed like something I might find on your website. Any suggestions or resources would be most welcome.

ANSWER: Provide an evaluation form? It depends. A form is most useful to you
1) when you are trying out new material and want constructive feedback or
2) when you primarily want to gather testimonials to post on your website.

Once the kinks in your program are worked out, an evaluation isn’t necessary. And once you gather some juicy testimonials from teachers, librarians, administrators and parent-hosts, you may not need to keep requesting them. (You’ll get them spontaneously anyway from your host or from fan letters.)

What you ask on your form depends on what you want to know. I favor the “simpler is better” route. I have them rate my overall performance and ask two open-ended questions. You can find an example of my evaluation form here. For the best response rate, have your host collect these on the day of your visit.

Here’s what I ask on my rating scale:

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest, please rate the author visit listed above.
Poor Excellent
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The author assembly / author workshop (circle one)
a) Met my expectations b) Did not meet my expectations c) Exceeded my expectations.

For open-ended comments, here’s how I phrase my request:

What did you like about this author and/or her presentations? What did you gain that you think you might be able to apply in the classroom?

Other comments:

Notice that I don’t ask, “What didn’t you like?” This can be addressed by respondents in the “other comments” section.

I also request respondent data. Some choose to be anonymous, and that’s okay. I’m most interested in their grade level or teaching assignment and what type of session they observed.

I observed the following programs: ____ Assembly ____ Classroom Q&A ____ Writing Workshop ___ Family Night
I teach grade(s) ________ City/State ______________________
Subject: ____________ Name (Optional) ________________

If you want more specifics on your performance, you might consider using this Performance Feedback Form, based on what teachers value in a presenter and their presentation. In general, it covers your demeanor, presentation specifics and audience engagement.

As to the question I asked in the title of this post, “should teachers evaluate authors’ presentations?” my answer would be, yes. When we’re in the field, authors are educators. The only way to find out if we’re on the right track with our presentations is to get feedback. Then we have to be prepared to make necessary changes to make sure that we are delivering quality services to our audiences.

Getting Invitations to Speak at Local, State and National Conferences

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There are four basic ways to get gigs and be visible at local, state and national conferences such as ALA, ILA, NCTE and those that are subject specific.

• Keynote speaker: Authors who keynote at state or national library or reading conferences are either invited directly by the organizers or promoted to organizers by publishers. A publisher may choose to promote a debut author, a front-list author or a popular backlist author. Expenses are picked up either by the publisher or the organizer, and the author may or may not receive an honorarium for this appearance.

• Book signing: Authors who sign books at a publisher’s booth at national trade shows are invited by the publisher to appear. These signings are generally reserved for front-list authors from that calendar year or who are on the publisher’s current bestseller list. A publisher may offer full or partial reimbursements for travel and/or lodging to the author along with free entry to the trade show, but all other expenses are up to the author.

• Session or workshop presenter by invitation from the organizer: This gives you a special designation in the conference program and offers an opportunity to be scheduled for a book signing.

• Session or workshop presenter by proposal sent in by you: You can submit proposals to do a session or workshop at a conference by following the organization’s submission policy and deadlines. Conference registration fees are usually waived for the session organizer, but other expenses are your responsibility. This does not guarantee you will have a special designation in the conference program or an opportunity to be scheduled for a book signing.

• Conference participant: For those who keep their ear to the ground, merely being a participant can offer information about issues that the author can address in upcoming proposal submissions. It’s also a way for you to meet potential hosts and generate contacts for future events.

TIPS
• Let your publishers know you are eager to speak or sign at conferences. If you have specific conferences in mind, tell them. Suggest they promote a panel of their authors to speak on a topic to the organizers.

• Make a grid of proposal deadlines and themes for upcoming conferences. (You might combine efforts with your writers group to generate this.)

• Propose a session. You will end up expending money for this if accepted, but it gives you a great platform for meeting potential hosts. For best results, focus on state and local branches of the national organizations.

• Join relevant organizations. When you join a professional organization, you will have access to benefits such as listserv discussions, early announcements of upcoming events and reduced rates for events.

• Look for the state and local affiliates of national organizations for speaking opportunities. For example, the ALA (American Library Association) has a list of state and regional chapters. They also have a spreadsheet showing which state library associations also have school library associations.

Here are a few parent organizations to check out:
ILA – International Literacy Association
ALA – American Library Association
NCTE – National Council of Teachers of English
NAEYC – National Association for the Education of Young Children
Also, look for subject-specific conferences (math, science, social studies, etc)

Understand that this is a “long-tail” investment: the longer you’re in the organization and the better you know the people in it, the more visibility you’ll receive over the long term.

Do you have any tips you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you.

Podcast: Evergreen School Visit Advice

4 Ways to Make Librarians Love Your School Visit: Advice from Toni Buzzeo

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Toni Buzzeo, award-winning author, librarian and educator, has been giving great advice to authors and illustrators even long before the publication of her book, Terrific Connections with Authors, Illustrators and Storytellers: Real Space and Virtual Links, co-authored with Jane Kurtz, in 1999. Read on to find out her expert suggestions for making terrific school visit connections with librarians.

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I come to the topic of school visits wearing two stylish, but completely different, hats. As a children’s author, I have visited hundreds of schools across this country and around the world. And as a school librarian, I played host at Longfellow Elementary School in Portland, Maine to at least two authors every year for eleven years. As a result, I’ve gained a deep understanding of what it takes, as an author, to wow a librarian host. And I’d like to share my ideas with you.

1. Be clear, be prompt, be honest, and be gracious in your communications. Every school visit begins with a conversation, either in person, by phone, or through e-mail or snail mail. Whether the librarian is the one to reach out to you, or you are the first to establish contact, the impression you make in your first and ongoing communications will set the tone of the visit. Be clear about your needs. Hedging in order to land a visit and then suffering under unsuitable arrangements or honoraria will not serve your interests well and may ultimately alienate your host. Always respond promptly and honestly about arrangements as you plan. And above all, be gracious even when you feel put off by something that is suggested. It well may be that what appears to be a verbal or written mis-step was unintended. Leave room to discover this and smooth the waters.

2. Know and understand developmental ages and stages. Librarians, and all educators in the schools you visit, will appreciate your thorough understanding of the variety of developmental ages and stages within the groups of students that you meet. While some hosts may ask you to address a combined group of kindergarteners and fourth graders, or eighth graders and seniors, this is the perfect time to be clear and gracious. Explain that each of your presentations is designed with specific developmental learning stages in mind, making it necessary to avoid the combination of such disparate grades. It is essential that you do create presentations that are suitable for each age/grade range in the school, changing not only your content but also your method of delivery to suit the developmental needs and understanding of each group.

3. Understand and design presentations to respond to local curriculum. Your first reaction to this advice may be, “But I’m not a teacher!” Actually, that isn’t true. When you are in a school, you are temporarily in the position of an educator. Because every school hour is precious in this age of standards-driven education, and because in all but five states (see map), those standards are national (entitled the Common Core State Standards), it is easier now, than ever before, to become comfortable with the standards that govern educational goals and incorporate them into your presentations. Start here and then solicit help from teachers you know to refine your presentations.

4. Learn and practice appropriate “behavior management” techniques. If you have taught school or led Scouts or other youth groups, you already have experience in guiding children or teens to appropriate behaviors. If not, however, learning intervention techniques will benefit you by making you comfortable in dealing with students and make you a valuable visitor, readily handling disruptive students and situations yourself and moving quickly back to your presentation. Seek out avenues for learning successful interventions such as observing veteran teachers and librarians, discussing options with educator friends, and reading articles online or in educational journals.

About Toni Buzzeo: Working both from her colonial farmhouse in Buxton, Maine and her sunny winter nest in Sarasota, Florida, New York Times bestselling children’s author Toni Buzzeo has published 19 picture books so far, including the 2013 Caldecott Honor winning One Cool Friend. She also wears the hat of a seasoned educator. A former college and high school English teacher, Toni then became a practicing Library Media Specialist and was named the 1999 Maine Library Media Specialist of the Year. In that hat, she writes many professional books and articles, Common Core curriculum based on children’s literature, as well as teaching and promotional guides for children’s books. Learn more at www.tonibuzzeo.com

5 Things I’ve Learned About Doing School Visits: Advice from Kelly Milner Halls

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by Kelly Milner Halls

For several years, I didn’t dare do school visits. I was afraid I had nothing of value to offer. So I observed other speakers. I borrowed this thing from one author, that thing from another and prepared. Then I did school visits for free, until I found out if those things worked for me. In time, I had the courage to charge a fee, confident I was now an author visitor worthy of a paycheck. What changed? I learned these five things – and more!

1. Don’t Just Talk — School visit audiences vary from school to school, and class to class. But if you’re meeting with more than ten kids, be sure to offer them large visual aids along with your intellectual concepts. That keeps the kids at the back of the room engaged and helps visual learners to move with you, from speech point to speech point without disruptions.

2. Don’t Depend On Visual Aids ALONE – It’s just as important that you use an engaging speaking style as it is to provide visual stimulus. Never forget – YOU are the rock star of your show. Your visual aids are like your back-up band. Join them together, and anything is possible.

3. Remind the Kids YOU Were a Kid Once, Too – When I walk out for my presentations, I get the biggest kick out of the kids’ reactions. Little kids say it out loud.
“You’re old.”
“I know!” I reply with a great big smile. “Who knew a writer could be an old lady?”
That part is obvious. And to a kid, anyone over 16 is OLD, so don’t take it personally. What is not obvious is the fact that you were once a kid, very much like they are. So give them a bridge to the child you once were. Use those over –sized visuals to prove you were little once. Use your personality to prove you’re STILL little, deep inside. That relationship is crucial. BTW, to “old” writers, anyone under 18 is LITTLE, too.

4. Have Fun! Get Sad! Have Fun! –That sounds simplistic, but it’s not. If you don’t have fun, neither will the kids. If you don’t show the sad side, you’re being dishonest. When they pay you to speak, fun better consider sharing pieces drawn from the whole human spectrum. Tell a joke related to the topics your write about. Spell out the danger that made someone a hero. Admit to something crazy you did to get the story. Tell your truth, whatever it turns out to be. Use age appropriate humor and tragedy the same way a novelist does to hold your audience’s attention and loyalty.

5. NEVER Forget How SMART Kids Are! Kids may not know as much about the planet as you do, but knowledge and intelligence are not the same things. Kids are not stupid, even when they are in kindergarten. They are inexperienced, true. But they can spot fear and falsehood from a mile away. So leave them in your car. Go out there and celebrate that potential by sharing smart, again, age appropriate information. Never talk down to a kid. Don’t patronize or be dismissive. Make a real connection through mutual respect.

For the past 20 years, Kelly Milner Halls has been writing carefully researched weird nonfiction for young readers across the country — first in magazine and newspaper articles, then in full-fledged books. From monsters to Sasquatch, from aliens to ghosts, Halls is drawn to all things odd, and is proud of it. She makes her home in Spokane, Washington with two daughters, two dogs, too many cats and a five foot rock iguana named Gigantor. She visits schools on a regular basis and will soon star in her own video series for MSN called, “Kelly’s Curiosities.”