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

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!)

What Teachers Want to Hear

Question_Chart_TX07Author talks are a staple at professional reading and library conferences such as the California Reading Association conference coming up this weekend in Riverside, California or the California School Library Association conference in Sacramento in November.  I did a quick survey at a board meeting of the Ventura County Reading Association, asking teachers, “What do you want to hear when you attend an author presentation?”  Here’s their list: (in no particular order):  

  • Synopses of the author’s books
  • The author’s writing process
  • How they got started (and what they were before they became authors)
  • Inside stories about specific books
  • Inspiration
  • Rejection
  • Rough drafts
  • Revisions
  • Perseverance
  • Author/illustrator relationship
  • Anything fun we can share with our students when we tell them we met a real live author!

 When you craft your next author talk, keep these topics in mind if you want to be a hit with the teachers or librarians in your audience.

Authors pictured: Kate Hovey, Greg Trine, Barbara Bietz, Carol Heyer, Michelle Markel, and Mark London Williams at a recent CSLA conference.

Authors pictured: Kate Hovey, Greg Trine, Barbara Bietz, Carol Heyer, Michelle Markel, and Mark London Williams at a recent CSLA conference.

4 Tips for the Perfect 15-Minute Luncheon Talk

Let’s say a local service organization has asked you to speak at their luncheon.  You have 15 minutes in front of the group.  You might ask, “What should I talk about?” 

The better question is, “Who is in the audience and what do they want to know?” Think about what you can give to them that can help them with their dream.

Even if you’re talking to a room of high-paid bank executives, these folks are parents and grandparents who have spent many bedtimes reading books to their kids.  And probably more than a few of them are harboring a dream of writing their own children’s book (in their spare time) and having it picked up by a publisher.

Assistance_League_of_Fullerton_logoAs you prepare your 15-minute talk, consider these four really helpful tips that the Assistance League of Fullerton (California) gives to presenters for the “Day with Authors” fundraising event that features both children’s and adult authors. 

1) Authors who tend to sell the most books tell the best stories, be it about their current book, their body of work, themselves, or getting started in their writing careers.  They cover all of these things to one degree or another during their presentation. 

 2) A key point is that the authors talk to the audience rather than read passages from their books exclusively.  Unlike a book tour, our attendees may not be coming to hear you specifically; they are coming to participate in a full-day event featuring many authors.  If you choose to read a passage from one of your books, make it brief.  Attendees much prefer to hear you speak rather than read.   

3) Think of your presentation in the same way you approach a book:  plot, character, conflict, dialogue.  You do not have to be a standup comedian or even a polished public speaker.  It does help tremendously if you have a “story” to tell your audience that includes information about your latest work, your total body of work, your “themes”, the struggles you encountered on your way to becoming a published author.  The audience likes to know an appropriate amount about you as a person – past as well as present.    

 4) A good story, told in a human, genuine way, trumps a polished presentation with the audience.    If you make a mistake, point to it, laugh and move on.  You are already doing something braver than most people, and that is talking in front of an audience. You don’t have to be perfect.  You just have to be you.