I thought I would post an article about how I prepare my talks.

The starting point is reading up on the subject and since I have over 2,000 books on Military History in my study, plus hundreds of electronic ones on my computer, I normally have everything I want.  If not, then I do some research online.

I set up an electronic folder for each talk, and copy as many relevant pictures, maps etc into it that I can find.  I modify some maps or diagrams of battles by taking out all images of troop positions and movements, then I can use the same map to show various stages in the battle.  Some images just go straight in, others may take a week or more of modification.

I begin to create the talk on PowerPoint and as I do so, create a script as a Word Document.   The talk will go through many modifications during its preparation.  I tend to put everything of interest into it then, when it is complete, practice it to see how long it is.   If it is too long I go back over it to see what can be cut out.  I may well do this several times before it is right.

When I actually give my talks, I do not use a script or notes, but rely on the slides to act as a prompt for what I am going to say.  I therefore make sure that the caption or other notes on the slides is sufficient to give me that prompt.  Reading the script a few times beforehand also helps.

I use a remote slide changer, which doubles up as a laser pointer to assist in making sure that the talk flows smoothly.

Finally, when I have given the talk, I always ask for questions, which sometimes lets me mention additional matters which I had to cut out to prevent the talk being too long.

I recently was given a new projector for my birthday, kindly funded by my wife and my daughter.  My old projector was 10 years old and only worked reasonably in a dark room.  My new one, an Epson EB-S41, has a brilliantly sharp picture, even in ambient light, and is lighter and more advanced than my old one.  I have tested it to get used to how it works, but not yet used it for a talk.

I thought of giving my old projector to my grandson’s school, but they informed me, in a very kindly way, that all of their classrooms had interactive whiteboards, so they did not need it!!!  I am obviously behind the times on the latest educational developments.

I therefore donated my old one to our outstanding local village charity, which runs many events.  For larger events they use our village hall, which has a really large drop down screen and a projector, but they sometimes run smaller events in other venues so they thought it would be useful.  They have a new Chief Executive and she promptly took the opportunity to book me in for a talk later this year.  They heard my Royal Engineer Bomb Disposal talk back in 2012, so this time I will be giving them my talk “The Story of a Medal”.

My name is Rod MacArthur and you can read more about me here.  I have been giving Military History talks since about 2006.  I normally create at least one new talk per year, so I now have a portfolio of 21 talks, details of which can be seen by clicking on these links of 18th Century Talks, Napoleonic Talks and Modern Talks, or by the Top Menu dropdowns of the same names. If you then click on each talk a brief description comes up.

Some talks have only been given a few times, one (on Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal) has been given 26 times.  Most of these talks have been to Probus (Professional & Business) Clubs, Historical Associations and Military Associations (such as the Royal British Legion) in South East England.  Some have been given in Spain and Portugal, since we had a second home in Spain until recently and I have given talks to groups during visits to Peninsular War battlefields.

Between 2006 and 2019, I gave nearly 60 talks.    I was due to give five more in 2020, but the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic postponed these.  I started giving talks again with one at the end of 2021, and five more in 2022. I gave six in 2023, four so far in 2024 with five more booked for later this year and even two booked for 2025.

The talks are all PowerPoint presentations and I have my own laptop, projector and screen, although some venues have built in projectors and screens, which is obviously more convenient.I give all my talks to raise funds for appropriate charities.  If I need to travel any distance I would request modest travelling expenses.

If you are interested in any of my talks please contact me here.

The posts below are in reverse chronological order (ie newest first) and show recent talks given, new talks produced and other items of interest.