Has anybody seen my mouse? Speaking about your charity in public

OK, so I've taken you back in time on several occasions in this blog. But this time I'm going back over 30 years. You wouldn't even recognise me. I was nine years old. So I want to tell you about the time I first spoke publically. It was about my mouse. I'd lost him, you see. Well, not exactly. I was performing this very short poem by A.A Milne in a local drama competition. I don't remember much about it, other than that I really enjoyed it, and I've never lost that buzz from speaking in public, even when having to do it for a living, representing a charity. So here are some tips on speaking in public about your charity, cross-referenced to a cute poem about a mouse (bet nobody's done that before): 1. Tell people what you're going to talk about immediately "Has anybody seen my mouse?" The subject matter of this poem is pretty clear from the outset. My mother, who worked as a teacher, used to run all her lessons with the same sequence: tell them what you're going to say; tell them; tell them what you told them. I think this adage also works well for charity public speaking. Don't give away too much, and maybe drop some teasers in, but tell your audience what to expect. 2. You are addressing a group of individuals, not just a group "Uncle John, have you seen my mouse?" Notice that the mouse-losing child is addressing his uncle, not the many readers of this poem. And this is an important one to remember. The minute you address the audience (even in your h