You have been asked to thank the guest speaker at a Rotary meeting...
These notes were presented to the Rotary Club of West Ottawa by club member Keith Fraser
This should be briefer than the introduction but it’s generally more difficult because you are composing it during the presentation.
KEEP IT TO ONE MINUTE OR LESS
Remember, you are thanking on behalf of the group. And the speaker is still the hero of the hour. Don’t try to improve on their material even if you know the facts that they omitted, almost implying they hadn’t done their homework. Be very careful about adding a story from your own experience. But of course you can take a different point of view with politicians or controversial journalists.
Listen for worthwhile qualities in the talk, such as inspiration, humour, reference to Rotary, their perspective on the topic, their personal convictions.
You share with the chairman the responsibility for adjusting the mike. Not all are good speakers, so give them every advantage to be heard.
Assume the speaker knows how long they have to speak. It is your responsibility to remind them by rising and hovering and being brave and firm and courteous. Keep an eye on the chairman, who is keeping an anxious eye on the clock.
You have already asked them if they will take questions if there is time. You or the chairman should field these questions, and try to repeat them, so the audience knows the questions as well as the answers.
Make sure you know WHAT the gift is and WHERE it is.
This speech took ONE MINUTE AND 40 SECONDS
These notes have been culled from a talk, several times repeated, by my brother whose career was in advertising and public relations and included lecturing on public speaking at Carleton University. I have timed this presentation to give you and idea of how long one or two minutes takes to talk.