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Monday, 1 February 2016

Taking advice from an expert I'm reading one of my short stories at a function on Thursday and I'm a  tad nervous, so via Facebook I asked my poet friend Kerry (Kezzabelle) for some tips, because she is a seasoned performer at spoken word events and all sorts of places.

She advised: 'Practise in front of the mirror; if you're brave enough, record it to hear how you sound -  you'll hear your intonation, length of pauses etc; try to  keep your head up so your voice projects; most important of all, concentrate on slowing down, because when we're nervous we gallop through and the audience will miss the power of your piece.'

I also went round to meet her in person for a one-to-one crash course on how not to fall on my arse in public. This was an hour well spent, during which I learned the following:

She also had some useful advice about which words I should emphasise in my story and made some suggestions about when to look up, pause, etc.

I'll let you know how I get on.
Posted by Julia Thorley at 19:31 Labels: Kezzabelle, reading aloud
