On the other hand.....
- Being on time and set up ready is courteous. When I was a member of a previous spiritual organisation, in the main centre of the UK, it would be par for the course to arrive on time for a meeting to find no-one there at all. the speaker would arrive up to 10 minutes late and the rest of the audience would drift in up to 20 minutes late. Yet, the spiritual teacher had told us "Do not waste time - it's the one thing you can never get back"
- A few bullet points on a piece of card can be useful if you dry up - and can help you to make important points rather than to remember them on your way home
- Re the top point, I also went to numerous meetings where the presenter spent up to quarter of an hour, with the audience in situ, trying to work out how to switch things on - and this was back in the video-tape age.
I'm not advocating super sales pitch slickness - but it does help if you have your audience on-side and not hanging on on the basis of their devotion. And, for non-Buddhists, this may be their first chance to hear about the Dharma. Which they will judge according to how they perceive the presenter, whether we like that or not
Now - yesterday - I gave a presentation at an in-service day for health professionals on needs of patients of different faiths. It looked as though i was the only presenter not to have a lap-top with a whizzy Powerpoint presentation. I did have a voice - which was an benefit after the previous 10 days. I did manage to give an overview of Buddhism and different Buddhist and cultural needs for 25 minutes with 5 for questions. I did have a red robe - as a change from grey suits. And I did have handouts for all participants with lots of notes and web references and details of all the Buddhist groups and courses in the city.
But would it be good to use more visual aids or to remain au natural? What works for you?
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