How a Group of Foodies Found their Voices

"Speak in public? Never!" While we all love to talk, most of us find speaking in public can be a challenge. This was not the case at the FMCA's function on February 21 2005.Veronica Cuskelly reports.

More than 90 people filled the Playfair Room in the Council Stand at Sydney Showground on February 21 for the official launch of Mary Atkins's new book, Finding your Voice:10 Steps to Successful Public Speaking, and take part in an interactive workshop.

Members and guests feasted on a magnificent array of canapés, specially created for the function by Executive Chef Bryan Fawcett, and superb wines generously provided by our host, the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW. Simon Marnie was not only a brilliant master of ceremonies but he demonstrated that he is a master of voice impersonations as he humorously led us through the evening.

In officially launching the book, Lyndey Milan gave a glowing review, and Mary, supported by a professional Power Point presentation, gave an informative workshop highlighting various public speaking problems and providing practical solutions. Mary stressed the importance of knowing your audience, saying that from the moment they accept a speaking assignment, successful speakers constantly question the organiser on the audience profile, asking who they are, why they will be attending, their genders and social backgrounds.

Effective speakers also assess the time of day they will be speaking to gauge how sluggish or perky the audience is likely to be. This way speakers determine how light their speech should be, how much hard data it should contain and how much humour should be sprinkled throughout.  Mary went on to share with us valuable tricks to manage stage nerves before speaking. These included gently massaging your cheek when your mouth is completely dry - this will instantly stimulate saliva; and visualising positive images of your delivery and the audience.

The final part of the workshop involved the audience, with eight volunteers each giving an impromptu one-minute speech on a food issue. The topics chosen by Mary, some of which were quite provocative, stimulated the speakers' imaginations and resulted in some hilarious speeches. The buzz in the room, and all those who attended left filled with confidence that they were now better equipped to find their voices.