My most common comparison is its like acting without a stage. One person is the director/author, the rest are the actors who are doing ad-lib rewrites in real time.
If you were doing a talk on your hobby
- Thread starter Captain NeMo
- Start date
DragonLancer
Hero
Back when I was at school (late 80's) a gamer friend of mine did the same thing and talked to the class about roleplaying games in general. As I recall he avoided the history and the negative side of the hobby (as seen by others - though here in the UK I've never heard of any problems unlike in the US), and instead focused on what an RPG is, how it's played, and then gave a few examples (D&D and WFRP are two that I remember) and explained the differences and similarities. Afterwards he showed a copy of the WFRP rulebook around to those who were interested.
As I recall it went down well, though you had a few people (girls really) who just rolled their eyes and waited to get it over and done with.
Good luck with it.
As I recall it went down well, though you had a few people (girls really) who just rolled their eyes and waited to get it over and done with.
Good luck with it.
Stormborn
Explorer
As a proffesional speech teacher (and public speaker in the other half of my life) I should probablly add a few things:
1) Choose a simple clear sentence as your thesis. If it doesn't direclty relate to the thesis, it doesn't go in the speech.
Samples:
"Role Playing isn't just for nerds."
"RPGS have had a profound effect on all aspects of the entertainment industry (or pop culture)."
"Everything I need to know I learned from playing Dungeons and Dragons (or chosen game.)"
"Role Playing is all about imagination, social interaction, and good math skills."
2) Choose 3 to 5 very specific things to say about one of the above. The last one would be easiest. Let these be the frame work for your body.
3) Resist the urge to tell everything you know. Do not include anything that doesn't directly support the thesis (see 1). In a 5-10 min. speech you do not have time to go into real depth about anything. Trust me, the assignement you are talking about sounds like the one I give for my classes' mid-term. Hit the high points or you are never going to get it all in.
4) When choosing props (presentation aids) make sure they are large enough to be seen by every one in the room. Minis are out, but a 11 by 17 photo of 1 mini is big enough for the average room. Never pass anything around the room while you are talking, people wont listen to you they will look at the hand out. Also without a lot of practice of all participants, do not include other people as presentation aids. It rarely works.
5) Avoid Jargon. RPGs and RPGers create words and phrases like almost no one else. If a nongaming friend doens't immediately know what you are talking about it, don't say it in the speech. Define short hand if you plan on using them, like DM, PC, RPG, and DnD.
6)Start with an interesting, short, and not to geeky anecdote about Role Playing that leads into your thesis. For example, you might say something like "Does anyone know what Robin Williams, Wil Wheaton, Vin Diesel, H.G. Wells, (a few other notable names here) and I have in common? We are all Role Players!" or "Have you ever played Final Fantasy? Gone to a Murder Mystery Party? Guess what? You are a role player just like me."
7) Reduce what you have to say to a few key words as prompts and put them on note cards. Do not try to memorize your presentation. Do not try to give your presentation from a fully written out text. If you teacher requires one then give it to him or her, but don't use it to deliver your speech. The goal of a speech is to get the audience to listen to what you say, not the way you say it. Reading doesn't sound natural and doesn't engage the audience.
8) Cannot stress this enough: Practice! Practice in as close to actual conditions as possible. This means: standing, out loud, in front of an audience (practice making eye contact), and with any aids you plan on using.
I would be glad to look at an outline or any materials you might have questions about. Just e-mail me.
1) Choose a simple clear sentence as your thesis. If it doesn't direclty relate to the thesis, it doesn't go in the speech.
Samples:
"Role Playing isn't just for nerds."
"RPGS have had a profound effect on all aspects of the entertainment industry (or pop culture)."
"Everything I need to know I learned from playing Dungeons and Dragons (or chosen game.)"
"Role Playing is all about imagination, social interaction, and good math skills."
2) Choose 3 to 5 very specific things to say about one of the above. The last one would be easiest. Let these be the frame work for your body.
3) Resist the urge to tell everything you know. Do not include anything that doesn't directly support the thesis (see 1). In a 5-10 min. speech you do not have time to go into real depth about anything. Trust me, the assignement you are talking about sounds like the one I give for my classes' mid-term. Hit the high points or you are never going to get it all in.
4) When choosing props (presentation aids) make sure they are large enough to be seen by every one in the room. Minis are out, but a 11 by 17 photo of 1 mini is big enough for the average room. Never pass anything around the room while you are talking, people wont listen to you they will look at the hand out. Also without a lot of practice of all participants, do not include other people as presentation aids. It rarely works.
5) Avoid Jargon. RPGs and RPGers create words and phrases like almost no one else. If a nongaming friend doens't immediately know what you are talking about it, don't say it in the speech. Define short hand if you plan on using them, like DM, PC, RPG, and DnD.
6)Start with an interesting, short, and not to geeky anecdote about Role Playing that leads into your thesis. For example, you might say something like "Does anyone know what Robin Williams, Wil Wheaton, Vin Diesel, H.G. Wells, (a few other notable names here) and I have in common? We are all Role Players!" or "Have you ever played Final Fantasy? Gone to a Murder Mystery Party? Guess what? You are a role player just like me."
7) Reduce what you have to say to a few key words as prompts and put them on note cards. Do not try to memorize your presentation. Do not try to give your presentation from a fully written out text. If you teacher requires one then give it to him or her, but don't use it to deliver your speech. The goal of a speech is to get the audience to listen to what you say, not the way you say it. Reading doesn't sound natural and doesn't engage the audience.
8) Cannot stress this enough: Practice! Practice in as close to actual conditions as possible. This means: standing, out loud, in front of an audience (practice making eye contact), and with any aids you plan on using.
I would be glad to look at an outline or any materials you might have questions about. Just e-mail me.
Last edited:
Captain NeMo
First Post
Thank you all for the advice...I do hope I'll be able to put this thing off till Thursday though. It is actually a requirement for me to go over the history of the hobby, so I think I should be able to kill a minute or two going on about how Gygax did this, this and that to TSR, so eventually ti was bought out by the guys who made M: TG. As of now, I think it'll go something like this:
- Introductory statement (Hello, my hobby is...) 15 seconds
- Brief expansion (In particular, I will be talking about...) 30 seconds
- History (Chainmail, TSR, WOTC, Present) 2 minutes
- What is roleplaying? (With comparisions to videogames and wargames) 2 minutes
- How do you roleplay? (Get out some dice, compare it to a boardgame) 1 1/2 minutes
- Why it appeals, why I'd reconmend it. 1 minute (ish).
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