Chapter 4.10
Speak for Animals
Speak about animal rights at schools, gatherings and any society that wants an interesting speaker. There is plenty of scope to be an independent speaker or you could speak on behalf of an animal rights organisation and some even give you training. Once you get into your stride you may find you are a naturally gifted public speaker and that giving talks is a bracing and worthwhile craft.
Titles for Talks
As a public speaker you could ask patrons whether they would like you to tailor a talk to their particular activities. You may also want to develop a few talks on specific stock-in-trade titles. Your own titles for talks could be something like:
- What are rights and what do people gain from animal rights?
- Is animal rights based on inane thinking or critical reasoning?
- Is vegetarianism immoral?
- Why have people from ancient times to the Renaissance condemned animals?
- Are animal rightists anti-human?
- Is factory farming moral farming?
- What is animal testing and is it good for people?
- Why promote animal rights?
- How does the property status of animals affect animals?
- Is wearing fur good for us?
Always present your talk as a question. By this you will give your audience an augment with a conclusion that may be controversial and which they can agree with or dispute. It makes your talk more interesting than merely describing a situation or rolling out a list of facts with no clear climax of an ending. Do not just tell your listeners but convince them of the rightness of your case.
Being a Speaker
You need certain qualities for giving talks to audiences. You should:
- Enjoy speaking in front of people.
- Have good knowledge of animal rights issues and/or specialist knowledge in your particular field of animal rights.
- Have good presentation skills.
- Be able to empathise with diverse kinds of audience.
- Be able to deal with questions from your audience.
Some people are naturally accomplished speakers, but the art of public speaking can be learned and improved upon and there are many diverse courses on the subject.
The more you pack in to your talk the more your listeners will forget, even by the time they walk out the door. Your most important point might simply be to make a good overall impression and you do not need to prattle on overly long to achieve that. Depending on who you are addressing, talks could last 15 - 20 minutes for school children or 30 - 45 minutes for adults.
Thoroughly knowing your talk will fortify your composure during delivery. It is said Winston Churchill spent one hour rehearsing important speeches for every minute he spent presenting them. This will be too much of a chore for most speakers. But try to deliver without reading from notes, although an occasional glance to remind you of major points is in order. Give most of your attention to the audience.
Don't let your audience get away. Capture their attention. Photo: Ben Tubby / Wikimedia Commons. |
Presentation Tips
- Arrive early and chat with some of the audience. Get to know them a little. It will help improve your nerves and limber you up. Speaking to people you have met and spoken to can be easier than addressing an audience of complete strangers.
- Just before your talk make sure any equipment you use, like visual aids, works properly. While checking, go over in your mind the important points you are going to make and imagine delivering your opening remarks.
- The ultimate aim of your talk is to change or strengthen the attitude of members of your audience in favour of animal rights. So speak from your heart and try to inspire your audience without putting on an overblown act.
- Given the nature of the human onslaught on animals it is easy to fall into the habit of being negative or emotionally charged. However, be upbeat and positive. Emphasise solutions to problems, not just the problems or atrocities themselves.
- Diplomatic tact is an asset; remain calm, factual and professional, especially if confronted by an aggressive individual or a disruptive audience.
- Concentrate everything on getting your key message (one or two points) across to the audience. That is the reason for your talk.
- Do not be alarmed if you see blank faces. Do not waffle on but interact with your audience. Ask if they understood what you have just been going over and restate or rephrase again if necessary.
- Strive to grab your listeners’ attention by enlivening your subject. One formula is to develop a dialogue; look at individuals and ask them rhetorical questions, like “What do you think happened?” or “How would you react if...?”
- Displaying graphics will provide added interest to your talk and act as prompts to you for points you wish to make.
- Keep an eye on the clock and do not ramble on past your allotted time or you will risk annoying people.
- Leave time for a discussion or a question-and-answer session at the end of your talk.
- Answer questions fully and with respect, irrespective of whether you think the questioner is hostile or stupid.
- Someone asks you a question and you are stumped for a reply. Say you do not know and that you will find out and get back to the questioner with a reply.
- Complete silence on closing your talk? Activate blank faces by asking if they agree with such-and-such a point; pick out individuals and ask for their opinion.
- Ask people what they thought of your presentation, to improve on it. Talk to the organisers or circulate a questionnaire.
- Made a mistake or forgot a line? Backed into the blackboard and brought it crashing down? Everyone goofs-up occasionally. Carry on and learn from your blunders to make a better show next time.
Approaching Institutions
The most direct way for getting engagements is by looking up institutions, schools and colleges, societies and clubs. Phone them and ask if they would like a speaker. Make sure they clearly know that you speak for animal rights and not about animal welfare, environment, or some related field. When you have given a talk at these places ask for referrals to other bodies.
In addition, promote your own web site or blog specialised for animal rights outreach speaking (see Chapter 3: Internet, and Chapter 4: Blogging). On your web site tell readers:
- About yourself and why you speak for animals.
- Your lecturing experience, relevant qualifications.
- Age ranges you address and duration of talks.
- Typical themes of your talks, examples of their content, and duration.
- Tools you use: videos, booklets, activity sheets, etc.
- Your catchment area or how far you are prepared to travel to an engagement.
- That your talks are free but reimbursement for travelling expenses is appreciated.
- You may also want to say if and how your talks are adapted to school curricula.
You can also give talks by volunteering through one or more non-profit organisations that offer animal rights presentations to schools and elsewhere and are looking for speakers. A non-profit organisation might require that you are well versed on animal rights issues and have some experience delivering lectures and presentations. A few non-profits give training and material to their would-be speakers.
When a school or institution is interested in engaging you, confirm the time and date with them in writing. At the same time find out:
- The theme(s) they would like you to cover.
- The number of students in the class.
- The audience’s age group.
- The audience’s level of knowledge of animal rights.
- How long your presentation is expected to last.
- Any special areas that you should cover or avoid.
- Whether you can show videos, illustration, etc and what facilities are available, like visual aids or video equipment.
It may be an idea to put most of this in a booking form to send them when confirming your presentation.
Getting Material for Talks
Ask established animal rights organisations for relevant material to hand out at your talks: videos, DVD’s, leaflets, posters and any merchandise. Many organisations would be happy to recruit you to distribute their stuff and you could also offer to fundraise for them through your talks.
Further Development
Perhaps you do not want to give talks yourself. An alternative approach is to develop a list of experienced people who would like to give talks and market your speakers to schools and societies. Send out letters of introduction with brochures outlining your service and your speakers. Consider a
full-size four page colour brochure with pictures if you can afford it; it stands the best chance over any other kind of literature of being filed for future action if they cannot use you immediately.
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