Intro
Transition Initiatives frequently make requests for presenters who can do a reasonable job of explaining peak oil, climate change and Transition at one of their community meetings.
We have a hunch that there must be loads of transitioners out there who'd be willing to step up for this. So, in the spirit of relocalisation, we're hoping that these potential speakers will self-identify and make themselves available to talk to groups within a reasonable distance.
Letting the world know you're up for this
The instructions for how to do this are |-- here --| . You'll be adding your own marker to the "map of speakers", we've set up as a |-- GoogleMap --| .
Feedback
If you do present to a group, we encourage you to request that the organiser sends an email to us with an honest appraisal of how it went. The first couple will always be a bit dodgy, but after a few, we'd expect to see you earning plaudits that would make Julia Roberts green with envy.
Resources
- If you're up for this and you want to see some typical material, the presentation I've been working with is |-- here --| in section 2.3. It's fully scripted to give you an idea of what I burble on about, but I'd recommend adapting it to fit your own personal style.
- There's a |-- forum --| for you to communicate with eachother and share ideas/materials
- Eventually, we're hoping that you'll form a self-supporting group. In the meantime, if you're planning a talk and need to talk to a seasoned vet, please give us a call in the office on 05601 531882
Final comments
Talking to a large group can feel daunting (usually in inverse proportion to the amount of preparation the speaker has made!). However, it can produce moments of pure joy: watching a group really "get" the concept of peak oil; feeling that strange energetic lift in the rooom as the phrase "unleash the genius of the local community" begins to sink in; hearing the buzz at the end of the session as people make connections and begin a creative journey.
There's often one or two difficult questions, but it's amazing how quickly one can become adept at handling them.
Occasionally, the presenter can get floored - in a good way. One time when I was giving a transition talk, a little girl walked right up to me and held up a piece of paper. She was so small, I barely noticed her. When I did, I stopped what I was doing and got down to her level. She'd drawn a picture of planes and cars with the word "stupid" plastered all over them, and some bikes with the words "good". There was also a strange looking creature that she claimed was me! I described it to the audience - I kinda fluffed it because I found it so emotional.
If you think you can give this a go, I'd really recommend stepping up. The next few years will demand that everyone step out of their comfort zones and discover aptitudes they didn't realise they had. Mebbe that's you...