A Traditional Presentation ( Went Great!!)

[Crittergetter]

Ok guys and gals, last month I went to a 3d shoot with Darren (aka Hackbow). Darren and I we're 2 out of 4 trad shooters and the other 2 left early for personal reasons. I knew one other guy there and meet another who heads up a local bow club. We talked a little and he asked a few questions about my equipment. I was shooting one of the bows I made. Anyways, he contacted me the other day and asked if I would be willing to make a presentation at their monthly meeting this month and talk to them about traditional archery and show my "stuff" and why I choose this vs modern equipment. Remember, the entire group is compound shooters. Needless to say I'm a little intimidated. Mainly because I've only been doing this for a couple years now but am looking forward to sharing my passion for traditional archery! I am NOT going to try to convince anyone this way is better! Just want to effectively convey a love for this sport!  Any veterans of this path have any words of wisdom?

[reddogge]

First of all they don't know much about it so they are looking for information which YOU possess and they don't so don't be intimidated.

Explain your bow, your arrows, other equipment you use. Go over the importance of tuning the arrows to the bow and visa versa. Discuss the different aiming methods people use. Discuss hunting equipment and broadheads, sharpness, cut on contact, etc.

Give your honest opinion why you chose to walk this path which should come from the heart. Throw it open to questions. You're almost done!

I'm sure they will enjoy it.

BTW we do this at the library once a year for our club. I'd recommend doing an outline and practicing a litte before.

[moebow]

Good for you crittergetter!!  Just tell them what you know, share your passion but DO tell them your experience level too.  Be open and honest and you will make great headway and friends.  Have fun with it and let us know how it goes!!

Arne

[R. W. Mackey]

What's the club and date, gone a lot this month,but if I am home could give you a hand. Not that you would need one,
But ill offer my assistance. Been doing this a few years,

Roy

[Cyclic-Rivers]

show your passion, that alone will hook people in.

I think the straight forward information approach is perfect in this situation.

I think the guys before me covered it well, but I would also mention things about making your own equipment to stumpshooting.

Having an outline in front of you will help you move through your presentation and help you remmebr stuff, you might forget.

Thanks for doing this and have fun.

[Bowwild]

My input is going to be mainly about presentation style. I used to teach Public Speaking and still do a lot of it.

Many above have covered the content really well, convey why you like "traditional" without denigrating other equipment or hunters.

Probably more than you want below.

My best tip to you is to consider your audience more important than yourself. A speaker's job is to be interesting and to help the listener listen. Keep your visual aids hidden until you need them and put them away when finished with each to avoid distractions. Most archery speakers leave stuff all over the place, pass things around etc. These tactics inhibit listening.

INTRODUCTION - 2-3 Minutes
- Your name (I often forget to tell name)
- Your Experience (years in archery/traditional)

PRESENTATION  OBJECTIVE - 1 Minute
- During this presentation I will
  1. Describe what is meant by traditional
  2. Highlight some of the equipment
  3. Describe why I prefer traditional
  4. Offer some tips

BODY 15-20 Minutes
- Define Traditional (Good Luck! ha!)

Equipment
  - Self-bows, Longbows, Recurves
  - Generally: Fingers, sightless, feathers

Why I prefer Traditional-Mostly personal
  - Aesthetics (grace, woods, curves, etc.)
  - Nostalgia (archery legends)
  - Simplicity
  - Light and quick to shoot

Tips
  - Draw weight (25% less than compound)
  - Form just as important
  - Bow length (tree stands/blinds)
  - Arrow Weight
  - Broadhead style (fixed)
  - Effective Range & Practice Strategy
  - Instruction videos or websites

CONCLUSION - 1 Minute--

During this Presentation I...
- Defined Traditional
- Highlight Traditional Equipment
- Described why I enjoy Traditional
- Offered some tips to keep in mind

Then ask your audience: Are there any questions about what I covered?

[Crittergetter]

Good info guys! Thanks so much. I will glean all I can from each of you and do my very best to represent traditional archery in a positive light. Roy, the club is the East Mountain Christian Archers. The meeting is on the 14th at 6:30 pm. If you can go id be glad to have you along!

[R. W. Mackey]

Well I'm leaving on the 12th, heading to Nebraska for a week of chasing Longbeards. Would love to go, maybe next time.
  We still need to get together sometime.
  Good luck, matters not what you tell them, just speak from the heart, they will feel your passion.

RW

[Crittergetter]

Good luck chasing turkey's Roy! Also remember we are having the hog hunt at Sabine Wma on the 22-26 so if you can, swing by and hunt or hang out for a while!

[Crittergetter]

[R. W. Mackey]

Will get back on the 22 nd or 23rd, will try to get by one day.
Best of luck on the hog hunt, hope some of the out of state
Do well.

RW

[59Alaskan]

Great feedback provided here.  Bowwild provides some great advice.  

I do recommend cutting the times he recommends at least in half though.  I have also been doing public speaking for over 20 years.  The attention span of the average american has definitely decreased in that time frame.  Keep it short and focused.  Show a ton of passion and include stories.  I would leave at least half the time you're allotted to Q&A.  If you don't receive any questions, that's no ding on you...that means they really weren't interested in the topic to begin with and you did them a favor by cutting it in half.  Q&A gets them engaged in the dialogue and increases the attention span if, in fact, there is interest in the topic.  

You are hoping to generate interest.  That can happen in 10-20 minutes total.  Short and captivating, which usually means personal and stories.  Also leave them with multiple ways to contact you.  Those who want to learn more...will...

[Crittergetter]

Well, I made the "presentation" last night and I think it went exceptionally well! I just went over the basics and showed a variety of bows and arrows. Kept it informative but simple. Opened it up for questions after and the first question was from some smart a&@ (not really), and asked if everyone could see me shoot. Sucker put me on the spot! Thay had a Glendale buck set up at 20 yrds and I double lunged him. He said it was luck! Second shot hit the edge of the heart and lung! (LUCK) I felt like a hero! Lol afterwards several guys and gals shot several of my bows and everyone seemed to genuinely  have a good time. Even had the club president ask me about working with him to build a bow! I was supper excited about that! All in all a great time and got to share what we all love, traditional archery!!  Thank you to everyone who offered advise and helped me along!!

[wooddamon1]

[curlis]

Great job!

[Jerry Russell]

I will agree with most that say show your passion for the sport.  Realize that many in a large group will think that traditional archery is antiquated and inadequate.  You most likely will not reach them but there will be some that have lost the fire for archery due to the modernization.  These are the ones that are primed for what you will present.  They are just needing a bump in the right direction.  Make sure you leave them with a path to follow such as local trad groups or links to get more information.  

I would advocate 10-15 minutes.  For most, 20-30 minutes will be waaaayyyyy to long.  For the ones that really want to get into this sport, you could never talk too long.  They will reach out to you later.  
Good for you for doing this.

[Babbling Bob]

Randy, Reddogge gave some great points that would help you outline your presentation.

If you are comfortable with doing a short 25 to 30 minute powerpoint presentation for part of your 45 minutes typical time allotment, go to the web for additional photos and set up your presentation on some of the points listed above.  Find some common ground such as hunting.  The different types of bows can be presented in the powerpoint real quick.  

My experience at a university is that you need to  practice ahead of time, because you may have too much information. Get in and out of your points quickly so they will not get bored or blast you with too many questions.  

Hope this helps

[KentuckyTJ]

Great advice above. My thoughts on this are most compound guys see trad equipment as very insufficient means to get the job done. I would suggest you stress how sufficient we can be with proper practice, a well tuned rig and with personal limitations on affective range. Here are the top scores from out KY Trad Fest shoot this past weekend for use in your presentation.


KyTradFest 2015 Top 3 Places in every class (410 highest possible score)

Men's Recurve
1) 379 Roger Wireman 2) 364 Tom Coates 3) 358 Kip Smith.
Men's Longbow
1) 320 James Bowling 2) 301 Ron McDonald 3) 300 Dale Pottinger
Men's Primitive
1)329 Bob Enlow 2) 323 David Underhill 3) 316 Eric Hartman

[Crittergetter]

Originally posted by crittergetter:
Well, I made the "presentation" last night and I think it went exceptionally well! I just went over the basics and showed a variety of bows and arrows. Kept it informative but simple. Opened it up for questions after and the first question was from some smart a&@ (not really), and asked if everyone could see me shoot. Sucker put me on the spot! Thay had a Glendale buck set up at 20 yrds and I double lunged him. He said it was luck! Second shot hit the edge of the heart and lung! (LUCK) I felt like a hero! Lol afterwards several guys and gals shot several of my bows and everyone seemed to genuinely  have a good time. Even had the club president ask me about working with him to build a bow! I was supper excited about that! All in all a great time and got to share what we all love, traditional archery!!  Thank you to everyone who offered advise and helped me along!!

This was the other day! Thx guys!!

[woodchucker]

Great job, Brother!!!!! Well done, and Thank You, for helping to spread the "word"!!!