What is a Lightning Talk?

A Lightning Talk is a short, sharp and ‘to the point’ talk. It’s about having a clear message to deliver in the shortest amount of time.

“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” – Mark Twain

Childhood Experience of Public Speaking

Our childhood experiences often shape up to love or hate something. My public speaking experiences as a child, often upset me, but gave me the desire to grow.

I was 12 years old and in a boiling hot classroom in Africa. Although I was nervous, I knew I was well prepared. I was going over my talk over and over in my head as I gazed out of the window at the crispy, brown grass on the sports field. I didn’t hear the talk before mine – Clive’s talk. He was the naughty boy in the class and was always in trouble for not doing his homework. We all knew Clive sniffed Tipex thinners, and we thought this was why he was always in a ‘world of his own’. I vaguely heard him mumble and pause as I rehearsed the order of my content quietly, in my head. This was one of the biggest talks I had ever done and was probably the start of my public speaking journey.

“Dawn, you are up next,” Mrs Nel waved me to the front of the class. I picked up my bag of props and walked, shakingly, to the front of the classroom.

Hats

Hats! My talk was about hats from around the world, and the role hats played in our lives. I loved the talk. Mom and I had enjoyed preparing it. We had dug out old hats and got hats from neighbours and friends. For this talk, I was totally in my element. I put each hat on as I spoke about it. A hat from the World War II, a Portuguese hat, a peak cap, a straw hat. They all told a story.

I finished my talk, blushed at the round of applause, and sat down.

Then something happened that shook me. Mrs Nel praised Clive for his talk. “Really?” I thought. I sat patiently and proudly waiting for the feedback she was going to give me. But that never happened as I had imagined. Mrs Nel spent 10 minutes ripping my talk to shreds. I was very upset as I struggled to hold back the tears.

I now know what Mrs Nel was trying to do – build me up. And, looking back, I was really very lucky to have had this kind of support and experience from such a young age. In my role as head girl, I was also expected to speak in front of crowds, at sports events, at assemblies and awards evenings. This really helped me grow.

Teaching & Tour Guiding

I trained as a teacher. This of course meant I needed to speak in front of classes of teenagers, at staff meetings and in training sessions. My confidence grew. Teaching gave me the tools to support the young people I was working with. I was able to support them to feel more confident standing up in front of a room to share their ideas, reseach, stories and opinions.

My life as a tour guide meant I had to stand up on the coach, microphone in hand and tell stories. I also led walking tours and learnt about the power of the voice, how to inspire groups to appreciate their surroundings and find tales in everything they see.

Guilding truly gave me the courage and experience I have today to stand up on a stage and share.

Wells Festival of Literature

I was invited by poet, healer and all-round brilliant human being, ForgottenBee to deliver my first Lightning Talk at the Wells Festival of Literature. It was a wonderful experience to be in an auditorium filled with creatives to share my story of growing up in apartheid South Africa, in only 5 minutes. I have since made that talk a 20 minute talk for a business networking event and an hour talk for the online Women’s Institute platform, Denman at Home.

Groop Lightning Talk

A last minute opportunity arose for a 10 minute Lightning Talk when a speaker pulled out of an informal event at Groop in Corsham in Wiltshire. I had a couple of hours to create something, anything, to speak to a group of software developers and clever people. I did this talk on repurposing content. Although my talk was not relevant to their work, many came up to me afterwards and asked about podcasting, YouTube channels etc for their personal projects.

South African Chamber of Commerce UK

When I was on the Executive Committee of the SA Chamber in the UK, I developed a series of Lightning Talks from South Africans around the world and in different niches and fields of interest. They were hugely successful as the speakers got some speaker coaching from Deon Newbronner (Meaning 4 Life) and it was so amazing to hear stories from such interesting people. My talk was a repeat of the talk I did at the Wells Festival of Literature, about growing up in apartheid South Africa.

(My 5 minute Lighting Talk starts at 18 minutes on this YouTube clip)

Doing a Lightning Talk today

Today I seek out every speaking opportunity. Some are paid and some are simply for the love of the community or the topic.

But, it is the Lightning Talks that really inspire the speakers and the audience. As I prepare my town of Frome for the TEDxFrome event, I am inviting speakers in the area to share their ideas and stories at local Lightning Talks.

Please get in touch with me if you would like to participate in any form of Lightning Talk or public speaking – online or local to me in Frome, Somerset, UK: dawn@dawnadenton.com