Sunday, April 03, 2016
What To Do When The Mike and Power and Lights Go Out
On LinkedIn a member of Toastmasters International asked what people would do when lights go out.
Luckily nowadays many mobiles are designed with a light. Check your smart phone so you can find how to turn it on in the dark.
If one person in the room can turn on their mobile or iPad or laptop screen, that light will enable the other people in the audience to find their mobile phones and switch them on.
You can use a water bottle to amplify light like a lantern. A mirror or even a reflective lipstick case can be used to reflect light. Instead of a roving microphone, you could move around he audience with a lit up phone to shine on the face of speakers in the audience. Best to have no more than one person moving about the room.
Backup Power
Organisers should have a backup power system.
If one person in the room can turn on their mobile or iPad or laptop screen, that light will enable the other people in the audience to find their mobile phones and switch them on.
You can use a water bottle to amplify light like a lantern. A mirror or even a reflective lipstick case can be used to reflect light. Instead of a roving microphone, you could move around he audience with a lit up phone to shine on the face of speakers in the audience. Best to have no more than one person moving about the room.
Backup Power
Organisers should have a backup power system.
Prinouts
If your speech uses slides, have a printout of each slide in colour, A5 or A4 or better still A3 to hold up.
Teaching
Teaching
My worst plunge into darkness was teaching English in a room with no windows. Luckily I used to speak on radio, so I just pretended I was on radio doing phone ins.
Always check the exits on arrival in case of an emergency. Then at least you can make for doors in an emergency and call others to follow you.
Table Topics
Always check the exits on arrival in case of an emergency. Then at least you can make for doors in an emergency and call others to follow you.
Table Topics
If lights go out during table topics, change the topics to humorous stories about what I did in an emergency.
If you know the audience well you might be able to get some funny lines in, such as, "You two at the back, stop smooching. The lights could come on any minute!" Or, "I'm afraid of the dark. Can somebody hold my hand? Any lonely millionaire will do."
Angela Lansbury, author and speaker.
If you know the audience well you might be able to get some funny lines in, such as, "You two at the back, stop smooching. The lights could come on any minute!" Or, "I'm afraid of the dark. Can somebody hold my hand? Any lonely millionaire will do."
Angela Lansbury, author and speaker.
Labels: humour, iPad, laptop. lantern, microphone, phone ins, power outage, printout, radio, slides, smart phone, teaching
