If you’ve never given a talk about bellringing, you might be surprised at how many interest groups would be pleased to hear what you have to say.

The Womens’ Institute, Townswomens’ Guild, Rotary Club, U3A, local history society... even Music Appreciation societies are all worth a call if you feel willing to have a go at public speaking.

Focus your talk

Try to think what your audience will be interested in and build your presentation around that. If you’re speaking to the history society, dig out information on where and when your bells were cast, the history of the tower, old band photographs and peal records. If you’re talking to one of the Ladies’ organisations, make sure you tell them about the role of women in ringing, the Ladies’ guild past and present.

Use different media

Remember to use sound and video in your talk if you have access to a laptop. Props also go down well – muffles, broken stays, a model bell or old photos. Audience participation need not be restricted to school children – get people up to demonstrate change ringing by doing “human lapping” – walking through call changes or plain hunt is great fun!

Have a clear call to action

Giving a talk to a group? At the end of the talk offer a taster session on a specific date. Give out leaflets and collect contact details of those coming. The invitation is what turns interest into action.

Visit the Central Council website for presentations that you can download. Add your own local slides.