Member Article

Finally, a Cure for Poor Public Speaking?

A retired medic and lecturer who once wrote jokes for some of Britain’s comedy greats, has turned his waggish talents to helping business professionals beat the fear of speaking in public.

Dr Ray Lowry, who was a gag writer for both the Two Ronnies and Carry On’s Kenneth Williams in the 1970s, has launched his own company offering nerve-busting, confidence-boosting coaching to under-performing public speakers.

Dr Ray Lowry Ltd, based in Tynemouth, North Tyneside, seeks to put would-be public orators on the road to being competent, engaging and entertaining performers in front of any audience.

The 62-year-old who has enjoyed varied and successful careers as a doctor, dentist, academic, gag writer and more recently public speaker and stand-up comedian, decided to take matters into his own hands after himself sitting through hundreds of appalling corporate speeches.

Now Dr Lowry has lunched his quest to persuade businesses to realise the importance of ensuring their staff are effective and entertaining speakers, whether it be at a conference or hosting a team briefing.

To reinforce the message, Dr Lowry has also written a new book, Be An Entertaining Speaker, which aims to put public orators on the road to being competent, engaging and humorous performers in front of any audience.

To complement the book, the former senior lecturer at Newcastle University’s Dental Hospital, has developed a special coaching workshop and taster sessions.

Dr Lowry said: “How well you perform in front of an audience can not only make or break some people’s careers, but could also be instrumental in how well a firm fares in the marketplace.

“With unemployment currently standing at around 2.5m and competition for jobs fierce, in a bid to sort the wheat from the chaff interviewees are increasingly being asked to show their mettle by giving presentations.

“Yet the art of public speaking – and make no mistake, it is an art but one that can be learnt to good effect with the right help – is rarely touched on at school, and given even less kudos in the workplace.

“You are not asking people to be Ken Dodd, yet being a good speaker can raise you above being mediocre.”

Dr Lowry became involved in comedy writing whilst studying dentistry at Birmingham University in the 1970s, enjoying success working with big comedy names such as Dave Allen, Kenneth Williams, the Two Ronnies and Don Maclean.

However, he eschewed a full-time career as a gag writer – even turning down the chance to work on the then fledgling Not the Nine O’Clock News - to qualify as a dentist and doctor, an unusual feat 40 years ago and virtually unheard of now.

It was then he was subjected to many poor presentations.

But after perfecting his own public speaking skills over four decades and coaching colleagues to become more skilled in front of an audience, he decided on retiring to do something to help raise the bar and teach others how to overcome their fear of being in the spotlight.

“Public speaking is one activity that sorts the sheep from the goats. And from where I have been sitting over the years, there are a lot more goats making presentations than sheep, though they send me to sleep just as effectively,” said Dr Lowry.

“There is a feeling in some companies of why would we help someone else to shine if they are better than me?

“But somebody who is good in business will want other people to shine as having equally good people around is actually good for business. Enlightened people want those around them to perform better.”

Working under the title The Public Speaking Doctor, he says he wishes someone had been offering his services when he first started out.

“I didn’t know what to do or how to do it. So I set out to find the secrets and see if I could become an entertaining speaker. And I did, as my engagement diary now shows. I am in demand at conferences, at business meetings and as an after-dinner speaker.

“Now I’ve set up my own business and written the book to help others master the techniques. Before you start becoming an entertaining speaker, you need to be a competent one.

“By improving your competence as a speaker you will become more entertaining anyway. Competence and entertainment go hand-in-hand in the public speaking business because the audience expects it.

“You’d be surprised at how many top performers are coached. But being an entertaining speaker takes you to a higher plane as a presenter.”

Dr Lowry himself performs stand-up in his spare time at venues in and around Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He has also co-written many festive pantomimes for an amateur dramatic company close to his home.

He is therefore well versed in how to effectively engage with an audience through humour, story-telling and interactive participation.

Dr Lowry, who has been coaching high profile individuals for around a decade, explained: “I work with audiences of different shapes and sizes using old and new material, from comedy to scientific fact, so I understand the needs of modern public-speaking.

“This is learning in a really flexible way, depending on what people need from it. For those who want to do it for a bit of fun, there is the book.

“For those with a public-speaking date in the diary, there is a correspondence course and for those who are considering a career in it or want practical teaching, I do group or one-to-one sessions up and down the country.”

But what makes Ray different from other coaching professionals? “I see myself as a public speaking doctor, which suits me well as not only do I have the medical background, but I am able to help people.

“Coaching is a bit like medicine in that I’m looking at people’s inner soul; you have to have integrity, you are helping them heal themselves and you have to be knowledgeable and experienced.

“You also have to have what I call a bedside manner. An awful lot of people doing this sort of teaching are not the sort of people you would want to bare your soul too.

“But I carry myself like a doctor should do. I see people, I diagnose their problem, I sort them out and then I discharge them.”

• Be An Entertaining Speaker is available from Amazon at £9.99.
• More information on Dr Ray Lowry’s work can be found at www.drlowryafterdinnerspeaker.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jane Hall .