Giving Presentations

In the process of getting ready for the IAYC conference, I went through the Yiddish theme files. One was the handouts at presentations I have made since 1990 when I became interested in Yiddish. Several titles were used in repeated presentations.

Shtetl Mayses

“Essential Yiddish”

The Jewish Storyteller

Yiddish in Our Heritage

Yiddish: Its Present and Future

Yiddish in the San Francisco Bay Area

Yiddish in America – Elderhostel Program

Sholom Aleichem Community Recognition Day = SACRED

CAJE XXIX - Yiddish in America: the Immigrant Experience

The Yiddish Language and the Culture of East European Jewry

Yiddish: Tradition Continuity and Heritage – Jewish Women International,

Biennial Convention

There is an art in public speaking. Many knowledgeable people are poor speakers. To me the best part of any session is the Q & A at the end. Here are a few hints.

Always repeat the question. You are facing the questioner and usually can hear the person. People behind the one asking the question usually cannot hear it clearly. In repeating the question ask the person if this is what the person means. If you do not know the answer, say, “I’ll find out and get back to you.” Then compliment her.

Do not let questions drag on into speeches.

People can and should disagree without becoming disagreeable. If a person disagrees, thank the person and say, “That’s an interesting point, won’t you stay for a few minutes after the program when I’ll have more time to have you explain the matter.

Never try to talk over a distraction, recognize it, and make an appropriate statement—humorous, if possible.

The Orientation Session opening up the IAYC Conferences have become a tradition and my favorite time. It’s a relaxed time to meet and greet old friends and make wonderful new ones.

Just Another Day of News

Just Another Day of News

When I took my usual morning look at the headlines on my homepage, I was again struck by the awesome and absurd mélange of news. Imagine an article about the possibility that physicists may soon be finding the Higgs boson. If found, it would be the final link in the so-called “Standard Model.” Then in the next view was the headline about a sting operation in which a female worker at a Dunkin Donut shop in Rockaway, NJ was caught for offering her services to male clients while she was working her night shift.

While my daily contacts of news in the Yiddish realm cannot match that of either one of the attention-catching news above, there is more than enough for me. Imagine in one day of being told of an exciting club program in Minneapolis, a new gig for a Cleveland klezmer group, a Yiddish lecture in the Bronx, and getting updates of our upcoming IAYC conference.

My new toy, the iPad, is still somewhat of a “black box”. The how-to of e-mail and geo-positioning with locating of various businesses is passable, but the program for making Power Point-like demos still eludes me. So a little time is spent in trying to teach myself the “how to’s”.

Most of today will be spent with plans for this weekend’s 10^th Annual Picnic in the Park for my San Mateo County Council of the Blind. It’s great with entertainment and playing bingo with large print and Braille cards.

So tell me, how are you going to make today exciting? Don’t let it be another boring and humdrum day. There is so much out there in nature, making new friends, learning new skills and most of all putting into your day a component of our beautiful mameloshn.