Despite the fact that public speaking usually tops the list of many people’s fears or phobias, most jobs—from the boardroom to the mailroom—require folks to speak up in a group. In the age of virtual Zoom meetings and socially distant get-togethers, speaking to a crowd has become an even more daunting challenge for those trying to stay on message and keep people’s attention.
That’s where Marin County author and media coach Andrea Devaux comes in. Her eclectic career includes spending time as a public speaker, filmmaker and theatrical director. In the North Bay, Devaux is best known as the president and co-founder of Networking Entrepreneurial Women of Marin, which regularly hosts events for professional women such as monthly networking dinners, trips to wine country destinations, outdoor adventures, comedy and game nights and happy hours at local restaurants.
Recently, Devaux combined all of her knowledge and experience into a new book, No Such Thing As Off the Record: A Survival Guide for Media Interviews & Appearances. Later this month, Devaux presents tips and techniques outlined in the book as part of a virtual event with the Larkspur Library on Friday, July 31.
No Such Thing as Off the Record is an essential survival guide for anyone who needs to become an expert on public speaking. It offers skills to navigate tricky interview scenarios and avoid unexpected pitfalls, such as the titular problem of commenting about sensitive subjects “off the record” to a trusted source.
Devaux discusses the book at the upcoming virtual event, which marks Larkspur Library’s first foray into online events. The small public library serving the community of Larkspur has been in its current location since it first opened in 1913, keeping the small town charm of Larkspur alive, and it regularly provides resources and services thanks to the Friends of the Larkspur Library nonprofit organization.
Specifically, the Friends of the Larkspur Library funds many vital library needs, such as upgrades to the library’s reading room and the Children’s Library, new books, audio books and DVDs, computers and printers, children’s summer reading programs and speakers for the Library’s annual speaker series.
Already this summer, the Larkspur Library has adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic by installing new virtual hours, and holding curbside pickup. It hosts online chats, answering emails and returning calls Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11am to 5pm and making appointments for patrons to pick up reserved library materials on those same days from noon to 4pm. Items are checked-out to patrons in advance, staged in a bag for their convenience and placed on a table under a canopy in the parking lot adjacent to the Children’s Room Entrance and Book Drops.
Larkspur Library also took summer reading online for 2020, offering a children’s reading program that concludes on July 31 and hosting an Adults Reading Bingo game running through Aug. 29 in the Beanstack App. Visit the library’s website to download bingo cards and to find out more about this year’s summer reading program.
