BAIPA

Bay Area Independent Publishers Association

Member Login
  • Home
  • Members
    • Member List
    • BAIPA Bookshop.org
    • Books Published by BAIPA Members
    • Member Login/Logout
    • View & Edit Profile
    • Membership Account
    • Membership Cards
    • Get the Most Out of Your BAIPA Membership
    • Volunteer with BAIPA
    • BAIPA Book Awards
      • 2018 BAIPA Book Awards Contest
      • 2016 BAIPA Book Award Winners
      • 2015 BAIPA Book Award Winners
  • Join
    • Member Benefits
    • More About BAIPA
    • BAIPA Board
    • Submit Testimonial
  • Events
    • Meeting Format
    • Morning Only Meeting Format
    • Meeting Location & Directions
    • Want to Present at a BAIPA Monthly Meeting?
  • Blog
    • Blog Guidelines
    • Author Interviews
  • Member Portal
    • Member Only Resources
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Public Speaking / From Page to Stage — Betsy Graziani Fasbinder on Public Speaking

From Page to Stage — Betsy Graziani Fasbinder on Public Speaking

October 15, 2017 by John Byrne Barry

Betsy Graziani Fasbinder was kicked out of Girl Scouts for being too shy to sell cookies.

She was such a nervous introvert in high school that she passed high school speech with a grade of A- without ever giving a speech. She convinced her speech teacher to give her the option of writing 20-page term papers instead of delivering her required three-minute speeches.

Now she’s a professional consultant on giving speeches. And she gave an engaging and compelling presentation at the October 14 BAIPA meeting.

As authors, she said, we invest time, angst, and energy writing our books and building our platforms, but we don’t invest in ourselves.

It’s not news that most people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. (Seinfeld has a joke about this, she said. At a funeral, we’d rather be lying in the coffin than doing the eulogy.)

People are afraid they’ll look foolish. Or too old, too overweight, too whatever. Or not famous enough, not clever enough, not whatever enough.

But as writers, we need to be comfortable speaking. We’re the best ambassadors for our own work. Because we want to make a connection with people — on the page as well as the stage. We want to connect with readers and potential readers.

When we get comfortable speaking and reading from our work, she said, we make our books a three-dimensional experience. When we read, and people react, the books come alive. Fear of public speaking robs us of that experience.

Here are five key points she shared.

  1. Public speaking is not a gift, but a set of simple, learnable skills that can be developed by anyone who’s willing and motivated.
  2. Think of public speaking with a lower-case “p.”Anytime you talk, you’re doing public speaking, even if it’s just with a friend. “If I think of you as a public,” she said, “You scare me. But I don’t do public speaking, I have one-on-one conversations with each person.”If possible, speak only to people you can see and engage with. One person at a time for three to five seconds.
  3. You’re better at it than you think. We all have an inner critic and we have to quiet ours down. (One way to do that is to record yourself and then watch.)
  4. Writers already know a bunch. You already know how the value of telling a story. As screenwriter Aaron Sorkin recently said, “Virtually everything worth knowing can be conveyed in a story.”
  5. Create a map, not a script. That doesn’t mean you don’t want to practice, but for most of us, it works better not to read a speech, but to talk the way you would to a friend.

And here’s her “mind-blowing bonus tip” — If you connect well with your audience, they’ll forgive you almost everything. Connection is more important than perfection.

Then she quoted Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.”

She also made a plug for watching TED talks, listening to audio books, going to writers’ events, participating in Toastmasters, and/or taking an improv class.

And whatever you do, don’t start with a joke.

Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Email this to someone
email
Print this page
Print

Filed Under: Author Platform, Book Events, humor, Public Speaking

← This Week’s Blooper — Be Sure to End Your
My Website and Me: A True Mystery Story →

About John Byrne Barry

John Byrne Barry is author of three "page-turners with a conscience" — When I Killed My Father: An Assisted-Suicide Family Thriller, Bones in the Wash: Politics is Tough. Family is Tougher, and Wasted, a "green noir" mystery set in the Berkeley recycling world. He's also an actor, bicycle tour leader, and crossing guard. He lives in Mill Valley.

Becky Parker Geist of Pro Audio Voices

Welcome to BAIPA

With COVID-19 teaching us all how to function remotely, BAIPA will meet via ZOOM ONLY until it is safe to resume in-person meetings. (Even when we decide to resume in-person events, we will continue the Zoom option.) We are implementing all the recommended precautionary measures to keep our meetings private and safe for all participants. All members and visitors who register in advance will receive a link to attend via Zoom video conferencing. On the Friday evening before the meeting, we will send the link and password out to members and to non-members … More

Current BAIPA members do not need to register for our monthly meetings. The night before the meetings, they will receive the Zoom info. However, members must log in to get a discounted ticket for workshops. 

Upcoming Events

  • CrowdFunding Success for Authors and Writers
    Crowdfunding | Karolina Grabowska Pexels
    • Dr. Judith Briles on how to use CrowdFunding to raise money to create your book
      July 9, 2022
      9:00 am - 12:15 pm
  • Email Marketing Success
    Email Marketing Success | Pexels
    • Pauline Wiles on Email Marketing Success for Authors
      August 6, 2022
      9:00 am - 12:15 pm
  • The Three Step Formula for Building an Author Platform
    • Fauzia Burke shares the Three Step Formula for Building an Author Platform
      November 5, 2022
      9:00 am - 12:15 pm

BAIPA Monthly Meetings

IMPORTANT
BAIPA is now meeting on the first Saturday of every month via Zoom only for now. In general, if the first Saturday falls on a holiday or holiday weekend, we will meet on the second Saturday.

We are also having workshops on the third Saturday of every month (also via Zoom only for now. In general, if the regular monthly meeting moves to the second Saturday, then the workshop will be two weeks later.

Future Events

  • July 9th: CrowdFunding Success for Authors and Writers with Dr. Judith Briles
  • July 23rd: Workshop: How to Creat a Million Dollar Speech with Dr.Judith Briles
  • August 6th: Email Marketing Success with Pauline Wiles
  • August 20th: Workshop: IngramSpark Best Practices & Tips with Ruth Schwartz
  • October events TBD
  • November 5th: Building an Author Platform with Fauzia Burke
  • December 3rd: Annual Cover Design Event

More exciting speakers and topics coming in the rest of 2022!

Keep up to date with BAIPA

Member Search

Search Members

  

Looking for Something?

Copyright © 2022. Bay Area Independent Publishers Association. All Rights Reserved. Website created by MakeChico.com and managed by WPinOneClick.com.

Copyright © 2022 · BAIPA Genesis Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in