Insignificance of public speaking, for writers?

[Kyriakos]

A couple days ago i gave my (more than likely) best ever speech/presentation, to 30 people or so. It was on account of translating a collection of stories by Franz Kafka. The speech was ok, the audience was interested, i was even surprised that 5 people i didn't know came to me and asked that i (the translator) would sign their copy of the book.

But it seemed pointless. Speaking to a crowd. It can appear interesting if one speaks for 1 hour or so, but in reality nothing is gained for anyone. I have to suppose that i was good exactly because i didn't care much, at least not to an OCD level of aspiring to make an impression or say very specific things. I just mentioned information that i knew, and alluded to other things, and in general the presentation was a lot less interesting than even a badly written story plot. But a public speech is not a story plot. It supposedly is more direct and factual.

Maybe a writer should just write, and not speak to crowds. I know that a (very established) translator is of the habit to never speak publicly, and is reclusive all around, but this meant that the publisher he works with decided to not present a second book of his (own, original) work later on.
But an actual writer shouldn't be seen as a showman or presenter. Neither a rhetorician.

Ultimately i view this as pointless. Even if one was talking to a crowd of thousands, in some concert hall, and enjoyed a standing ovation - it is still without meaning, and fleeting. Writing itself should not be like that.

-Do you think that public speaking is a needed part of writing? Does it serve much of a purpose?

 

[Aleksey_aka_al]

Surely, it is. If you can speak publicly well, then you automatically can: a) please the crowd and get its attention quickly and firmly, b) you are more confident about the words you say (write) and so your language flows more freely.

 

[Hrothbern]

"let my deeds speak for me"

IDK if that should be all.
There is for sure the positive commercial PR effect of holding a speech that could as negative affect purity.
Think about the time that art was not yet "l'art pour l'art", so before the 19th century. The great artists were as much craftsmen for their clients, aware of PR for their clientele base, as artist in their own right and sphere.

I think your audience will always be interested in some small story about your struggle to get the soul of the author and his work in another language. Some corner of the veil lifted what choices you had, and which you choose because of... referring to the original (assumed) authors thoughts.
Makes it personal, gives intimacy, reflects your true labor.... and is, I believe, not cheap PR

 

[Kyriakos]

I don't like it. I have come to terms with the fact that as a writer i do have to speak publicly from time to time (book presentations), but i am very annoyed by what book presentations tend to be like. Most of the speakers are really not something anyone would benefit from listening to. In the rare cases where it is some logical and well-mannered academic who has knowledge of some specific subject (this wasn't in any presentation i myself was part of) it can be vaguely interesting, as long as the audience actually cares. But again it is fleeting. Verba always volant.

The amount of utter garbage one hears in book presentations and similar affairs is beyond anything one can imagine if they haven't been to a number of them. Ok, at least in this one i did have the ability to speak for hours if i had to, cause i know the subject (F. Kafka's work), but personally i had to suppress my feeling that it is not really different from a facade, to speak to people about a book.

 

[Disgustipated]

Don't discount yourself or be negative about the experience. Negativity is not useful. And it's not pointless, if it was pointless, no one would have showed up. The fact that there were people in the audience suggests it wasn't pointless. At least it wasn't pointless for them.

I won't say do it for them, obviously you have to do what's best in your heart. And I argue that it's not pointless. Did it change the world in any meaningful way? No. But it is a social interaction (even if the others were just listening it counts as social interaction in my opinion), and social interactions aren't pointless. We are social beings, and therefore socializing is not pointless. And expressing through actual words is yet another way to get your ideas across, and in some cases may be better than the printed word.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Not sure how it is in Europe, but nowadays any writer in North America, if they want to be perceived as fan-friendly and approachable, will agree to participate in some sort of in-person book promotion. That could be as simple as signing autographs at the local bookstore, to appearing at a convention, to going on a multi-city book tour. Publicity and word of mouth are every bit as important a way to get people to buy books as getting the book listed and promoted on Amazon or given a prominent bit of shelf space at a bookstore.

That's a large reason why science fiction conventions (the writing-oriented ones) are so valuable (and popular among the fans who are more into reading and writing than into watching). I used to attend two per year here, and it wasn't to meet any actors... because no actors were invited. I went to meet authors. The people who wrote those books on my shelf that I went hunting for every week, and that I'd scrape my pennies together to buy (literally, in a few cases).

I've met some of the biggest names in science fiction writing (okay, probably some are not so well-known now), and I feel very fortunate to be part of Robert Silverberg's Yahoo! group. I met him twice in Calgary (he was invited to two conventions, 5 years apart), and it's nice to be able to just email him if I have a question or comment on a story, and know that he will reply. He's over 80 now, so this is a time those of us in that group really treasure.

I have to wonder what kind of following Isaac Asimov would have had, if he'd lived long enough to experience the age of social media. He'd have had hundreds of millions of followers, and would have had interesting stuff to say every day. Lecturing is something he did a great deal, on many different topics, and could even improvise a talk at a moment's notice.

Asimov isn't one of the authors I ever got to meet. He didn't like to fly, and I've never been to any of the Worldcons where any SF author who has a book to promote, is up for an award, or is a fan him/herself (nearly all SF authors began as fans) will attend. Robert Silverberg lets us know which conventions he'll be at, and asks if anyone in the group is going; of course I always have to say no. He'd have to come back to Alberta for that to be possible.

But there was one year that I got to meet the next best person to Asimov: His friend, Frederik Pohl. Pohl was an innovator, both as a writer, and in the publishing end. He was one of the first agents; he pointed out to people like Asimov that they'd have a lot more time to simply write, if they didn't have to spend as much time in editors' offices, or by that time, even just searching out all the different possible magazines or newspapers where they could submit their material.

I've met numerous Star Trek authors over the years, and it was fun to reconnect with Alan Dean Foster, once I got online. We've emailed, and I know his username over at TrekBBS.

Speaking of forum interactions, there are some authors who join in fan forums with as much enjoyment as everyone else. One of the reasons I will always buy the newest Star Trek novel by Greg Cox is (in addition to his being able to write entertaining stories) because he's so approachable, friendly, and polite. He's as likely to jump into the umpteen millionth conversation about "does the Federation use money" or "name your favorite episode in ___ series" as he is to post in the TrekLit forum to discuss his latest novel. And fun fact (for me, anyway), he wrote a novel in a Young Adult spinoff series of one of Robert Silverberg's time travel novels, Up the Line... a novel that influenced my choice of persona when I joined the Society for Creative Anachronism.


Anyhow... writers simply writing and not making speeches at public appearances is still okay, but fans expect more these days. Maybe it's more of a science fiction/fantasy thing for the huge conventions and internet forums, although there are romance authors who make public appearances, have book signings, etc. Margaret Atwood - one of Canada's best authors (and whose novel The Handmaid's Tale was adapted so successfully into a TV series) - used to sign so many books for fans that she participated in designing a machine that allows authors to sign books remotely. Of course it's still preferred to have it done in person... that whole "this book was physically touched by the author, and I got to chat with him/her for a couple of minutes" thing.

Of course not all encounters go well. There are some authors I've banished from my book collection because of how they behaved when we met or interacted online. People can rave about Christopher Bennett or David Mack all they want; I found them to be jerks, and I don't reward jerks by buying their books.


In your case... is it that you don't like public speaking at all, or just don't like it when it comes to your own writing? Do you consider it a waste of time, and you'd rather spend that time actually writing? It seems that people enjoy your writing and what you have to say, so why not just consider it another way of interacting with the public who - after all - are the people you're hoping will buy your books so you can put food on the table, pay the rent, and afford your internet so you can post here and tell us about these things.


EDIT: And after having read other comments, look at it this way: Did your audience know more about the subject after your talk than they knew before your talk? If so, it wasn't time wasted. You taught them something, and learning is never a waste of time.

 

[Zelig]

Does it serve much of a purpose?

Get paid.

 

[Kyriakos]

^Thank you for the post

I am not having this position out of snobism; maybe it can be argued it is nearer to the opposite, in that i don't think i have anything substantial to offer by giving a speech. I don't view myself as a "teacher" (despite something like 300 hours of program/lectures for local libraries in the past and maybe some in the future too). I have no issue talking to readers, but at least that is more casual, instead of a speech.
And i am firmly of the view that writing is what matters, for a writer, and not social promotion or presentation. I hate how most writers here (also due to the sad fact we have virtually no agents for writers) are something like amateur showmen, and are really REALLY low-class in that too, as well as in the role of writer.

It did surprise me that some people wanted me to sign my TRANSLATION of Kafka. I also wrote the prologue, but it still seemed strange and unexpected, though obviously they liked the speech (else they possibly wouldn't even have bought the book).

 

[Valka D'Ur]

^Thank you for the post

I am not having this position out of snobism; maybe it can be argued it is nearer to the opposite, in that i don't think i have anything substantial to offer by giving a speech. I don't view myself as a "teacher" (despite something like 300 hours of program/lectures for local libraries in the past and maybe some in the future too). I have no issue talking to readers, but at least that is more casual, instead of a speech.
And i am firmly of the view that writing is what matters, for a writer, and not social promotion or presentation. I hate how most writers here (also due to the sad fact we have virtually no agents for writers) are something like amateur showmen, and are really REALLY low-class in that too, as well as in the role of writer.

It did surprise me that some people wanted me to sign my TRANSLATION of Kafka. I also wrote the prologue, but it still seemed strange and unexpected, though obviously they liked the speech (else they possibly wouldn't even have bought the book).

You'd be surprised what people want signed. Back in my theatre days, 30+ years ago, I was doing my usual thing on the properties crew, when after the show I was surprised to find someone backstage who was autograph-hunting... and he didn't just want the actors' autographs. He asked me to sign his program, and when I said, "I wasn't on stage, I'm just backstage crew," he said he didn't care; he wanted as many people as possible. He'd enjoyed the show that much.

So I signed the program, told him where he could find some of the other people he was looking for (but don't barge into the dressing rooms; they'd be in the common area downstairs), and it felt kinda nice for the rest of the evening. It's the first time an audience member expressed that kind of appreciation to the backstage crew (to me, at any rate).


Don't underestimate people's appreciation for translations. Back in 1972 I got hooked on a series of juvenile mysteries called Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators. That series went on for over 40 books, and was eventually canceled... in English. It wasn't until I got online and started browsing around that I found a Yahoo! group of people who are still fans of that series.

And then I found out that there are dozens more Three Investigators novels that were written in German. Well, I don't speak or read German, beyond a few words, and would really love it if I could find translated versions of those novels. This is a series that I've read, re-read, re-re-read and re-re-re-read over the years. Last year somebody in the Yahoo! group wrote a fan novel and released it a chapter a week... most of us couldn't wait until all the chapters were available; we eagerly awaited Thursday night and the latest chapter. So for me an English translation of those German novels would be wonderful.

 

[The_J]

Kyriakos, you're too meta, and apparently haven't seen a good speech yet ^^.

Scientists do public speaking all the time. Although it's horribly inefficient, and to get to the most important actual content, you'll need to write what they wrote.
But it promotes your work. Only people who did good work get invited to speak. If you're doing lots of work, but nobody wants your opinion on something related, well, then your work sucks.
And if you're a good speaker, you can inspire people. I've sat through horrible talks, boring the hell out of me. But then, you get someone who is really good, who can sell their topic well, and you're hooked and fascinated for the time of it, and you really appreciate the work, it'll motivate you, without knowing any of the hard details, of the content which matters at the end.

So yes, public speaking is of significance, even if your main work consists out of writing.

 

[Ryika]

Can't say much about it from the writer's perspective, but generally I find the value of a speech for the speaker depend a lot on the format. If it's just you rambling on for 30-60 minutes, to a local audience, then that has little value in my opinion. If however a speech is followed by a Q+A segment, that's where things become interesting, because that's when the speaker gets to interact with people on a topic that is relevant for him, with people who themselves have listened to the speech and have their own views on things, and that can really get the speaker to new ideas or new ways of looking at things. That can have a lot of value if the speaker is the kind of person who is able to take in other people's thoughts and opinions and turn them into something good for themselves.

 

[Kyriakos]

Kyriakos, you're too meta, and apparently haven't seen a good speech yet ^^.

Scientists do public speaking all the time. Although it's horribly inefficient, and to get to the most important actual content, you'll need to write what they wrote.
But it promotes your work. Only people who did good work get invited to speak. If you're doing lots of work, but nobody wants your opinion on something related, well, then your work sucks.
And if you're a good speaker, you can inspire people. I've sat through horrible talks, boring the hell out of me. But then, you get someone who is really good, who can sell their topic well, and you're hooked and fascinated for the time of it, and you really appreciate the work, it'll motivate you, without knowing any of the hard details, of the content which matters at the end.

So yes, public speaking is of significance, even if your main work consists out of writing.

Well, in my case it is (i think this is rather clear ) a view heavily influenced by introversion. Worlds are fleeting, but the more important issue for me is that while in writing literature i can focus on causing (theoretically; it is always the more vague the deeper it gets) a specific effect on the reader, in a speech while i may aspire it the end seems way too vain in my view. I did actually hate it when i was seen (in some older lecture of mine) as a main authority. I suppose i generally dislike 'appeal to authority', or just am too snobbish to even like acceptance by a crowd

@Valessa: there were questions, which i answered too. The format stays the same, regarding verbal statements, the way i sense them.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

But an actual writer shouldn't be seen as a showman or presenter. Neither a rhetorician.

Ultimately i view this as pointless. Even if one was talking to a crowd of thousands, in some concert hall, and enjoyed a standing ovation - it is still without meaning, and fleeting. Writing itself should not be like that.

-Do you think that public speaking is a needed part of writing? Does it serve much of a purpose?

I think I can get your sentiment and feel the same way. There is something very exalted about writing, something honest and pure. And marketing-related showmanship feels more like being a street hooker, in comparison. However, as you may have noticed, it is hard to pay the bills as a writer, in the majority of cases. So people do what they must. At least in Germany, many writes make a significant share of their income doing public readings for which they get paid. And naturally, visitors will want the reading to be, at least a bit of, a show. With some jokes and charm or perhaps in your case informative presentation.

On the other hand, writing is such a lonely profession. Presentations / readings get you around and social.

 

[warpus]

From what I understand Hitler was an excellent public speaker. Just pick up on his mannerisms and ways of speaking and you should be golden.

 

[BvBPL]

I’m giving a talk next week.
Communication skills are complimentary of each other. In some professions, being both a good writer and a good speaker is highly valued.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, writing an exact man.