Speaking of Amateur Radio

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Speaking of Amateur Radio

• Keep one thing in mind

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It isnt about Amateur Radio . . .
Its about the audience . . . Or its about to
bomb!
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In real estate its Location, Location,
Location, but in public speaking its Audience,
Audience, Audience
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Ask yourself
WHO ARE THESE GUYS, ANYWAY? WHY SHOULD THEY
CARE?
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Believe it or not . . .
Most people know very little and care even less
about Amateur Radio. Our goal is not just to
increase how much they know about ham radio. Its
to increase how much they know so we can
influence their attitudes and change their
behavior.
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What do I want my listeners to do?What do I want
them to believe?Maybe I want them to . . .

• Decide to become hams.
• Agree to cooperate with my ARES / RACES group.
• Stop being afraid of RF from my station.
• Support reasonable antenna regulations, oppose
  bad ones.
• Be convinced that ham radio is valuable and hams
  are good neighbors.

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Thats what I want, but what do they want?

• To know What has this got to do with me and my
  life?
• To think This was a good use of my time.
• To feel This speaker respects me enough not to
  bore me, confuse me, or make me feel like an
  ignoramus.

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Two good ways to go wrong

• Dont think about the audiences backgrounds,
  interests, and needs
• Dont have a point theyll care about, or if you
  do have a point, bury it in so much mind-numbing
  blab that nobody will notice it

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SSB, PSK31, CW
Part 97
VHF
E IR
Electromagnetic spectrum
DXCC
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Seriously?!
Would anybody really give the same sort of talk
to history majors or Cub Scouts that he or she
would give to a group of electrical engineers?
Would anybody really assume that non-hams want to
listen to an hour of ham jargon, FCC rules
regs, and the physics of RF?
Would anybody really give a talk that doesnt
make a recognizable point, has no logical flow,
dishes out indigestible lumps of disconnected
facts, and generally bores the pants off the
audience?
Yep. Been there, heard that!
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How will your talk influence their attitudes and
change their behavior?
Looks like hams are good neighbors in my town.
Im all in favor of ham radio, and I might even
want to become a ham.
Versus
What a stupid waste of my time! I would rather
have ants in my socks than listen to another word
about ham radio as long as I live.
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Amateur Radio is the topic. But the talk is
really about the audience. Or its about to bomb.
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73, Kay Craigie N3KNVice President, ARRL

• To learn more about presenting Amateur Radio,
  visit
• www.arrl.org/pio