We WANT to hear from you. Tips on Speaking at City Council Meetings

        

                



I recently read some articles about the fear of public speaking - holy smokes, I had no idea it ranked up there with trips to the dentist and that an overwhelming majority of people of all ages and stripes would pretty much rather do ANYTHING rather than address a group of people from behind a podium.

As a member of the City Council, I am constantly encouraging people to come to the meetings and speak their minds on what ever issue or issues they might be passionate about. When I do this, I am completely serious. I will not speak for the others, but for me feedback from the public - especially residents and tax payers of Lowell - is something I depend on. If you know me, you KNOW I have a lot of opinions on a lot of things. :-)  However, my job on the Council is to reflect the will of the people in Lowell and when you come and address us it helps me to know exactly how you feel, what you believe, and what you would like to see happen.

We have a public comment portion at every meeting during which you can have up to 5 minutes to speak about ANYTHING to do with Lowell - even if it is not on the agenda. I cannot tell you the number of times someone has expressed themselves to me and it has opened my eyes to a way of thinking or a perspective that had not occurred to me.

My purpose in writing this is to help you prepare - to make it easier for you to come and speak your mind. When you stand up, the rules require that you tell us your name and address. We get people from other communities who address us all the time and while their perspective is welcome, I sure put a lot more weight behind the remarks of anyone who lives and/or owns a business in Lowell. Someone with skin in the game. So, be prepared to tell us who you are and where you live. Once that is done, here are some tips to help you in your presentation.

1. We are all just people. Even those of us on the City Council get nervous addressing a group. We are not going to grade your presentation - this is not speech class. You are not alone in being uncomfortable - so remind yourself that public speaking is not easy for the vast majority of people and do the best you can.
2. We actually WANT to hear from you - we are not expecting a professional presentation or a power point slide show. Speak your mind. Share your heart. We are listening.
3. It is great if you can look one or more of us in the eye while you are talking, but if that freaks you out - look slightly over our heads and we will THINK you are looking at us! If it makes it easier, take turns looking at different people while you talk, it keeps them engaged.
4. Don't be afraid to make notes or an outline. It helps me keep on track to have a rough outline in front of me - even if I don't use it. It can keep you on point and give you a reference point to return to if you get distracted. If you want, write out your whole presentation and just read it to us the first time or two you talk to us. Just look up once in a while to make sure we are still there.
5. Attend a meeting or two in order to get the lay of the land. We follow procedures and an agenda, but the atmosphere is pretty down to earth and open. In addition, you can watch other people address us and see that no one gets their head bitten off.
6. One of the best tips I ever read on public speaking was this: Tell the audience what you are going to tell them, then tell them, and then remind them what you told them. By that I don't mean to be a broken record, but rather to take your main point, or points,  and make it or them crystal clear by repeating them. 

EXAMPLE: Hi, my name is Mary Wilson of 637 N Monroe in Lowell and I want to talk about the big trucks that continue to travel my street even though they are not supposed to. Our road is in rough condition as it is, and heavy trucks traveling on it just make it worse. We also have a lot of kids on the block I live on and they might be in danger. I would like to see more active enforcement of the ban on trucks on Monroe by our police department.

With this simple message, none of us would have any doubt that Mary Wilson is concerned about semi trucks on her street and would like to see something done about it.

So, please take the step of coming to the Council and letting us hear from you. I really want to hear from you and look forward to it.