Loud and Clear: Secrets to Reading Poetry in Public

If you get the chance to read your poetry in public, you'll probably be nervous - it's said that speaking in public is the number one fear in our society, more common even than the fear of death. But that's no reason to join the ranks of the inaudible, uninspiring and inexpressive. These simple guidelines can help your reading stand out from the crowd.

* What to read

First you must choose the poem(s) you're going to read. Try and find something that can be understood on just one listening. The audience probably won't get the complete layered message they would if they were reading it for themselves, but they should catch some of the images and hear the sound devices. Metrical and rhyming poetry is often easier, as it provides a structure for the listener to follow.

Make sure you have a fallback selection: you may have less - or more - time than you expected, and you'll need to adapt. You may also want to re-think your choice according to the mood of the audience and what else has been read; there's nothing like trying to read an elegy when everyone else has been doing stand-up comedy. And if you're the last person on at the end of a long evening, however skillful and well-presented, 10 minutes of heroic couplets probably won't be appreciated.

* Preparation

Choosing the poem isn't enough, though: you need to prepare it. Read it - aloud - at home. Not just once, but over and over until you can almost recite it from memory. If you have your poem by heart, you'll be able to look up and make eye-contact, to draw your audience into the poem with you. Audiences like to feel involved and if you never look at them they won't.

Print the poem out in a large font - often the lighting is bad on stage. The practice sessions should iron out any pausing and inflection problems, but if you mark up the poem with intonation arrows, pauses and run-on lines, there's less chance you'll stumble.

* Before you read

Before you start the reading, take a moment to look up and speak to the audience. Tell them something about yourself or the poem - when or why you wrote it, or what inspired you.

This isn't simply 'padding'. It's an opportunity to find your voice. If there's a microphone, this is when you check how it sounds, whether there's feedback and where you should stand. It's also an opportunity for the audience to tune into your accent, and for you to check they can all hear you.

Once you've finished this 'impromptu' speech - which should only take a moment - remember to maintain the volume. Don't read into your paper; speak to the audience.

If you're reading several pieces, a pause and a few words between them gives the listeners time to assimilate what they've heard and to change chip ready for the next piece. But don't let the patter dominate the poems.

* The reading itself

If you use glasses, make sure you have them with you - and use them! (Reading glasses are great if you're nervous: you can't actually see the audience faces, though you can still sense their reaction.) Remember, though, even if you can't make eye contact, do try and look up occasionally.

Speak loudly, clearly and slowly. The audience only has one chance to grasp what you're saying: make it easy for them.

You don't have to pause at every line break, even if your poem has full end-rhymes. In fact, emphatic pauses on line breaks and rhymes are likely to make the poem come across as stilted or mechanical. Usually, the natural grammatical pauses are the best.

A slight pause on a line break may be appropriate, though, even when the sense runs straight from one line to the next. In such cases, a slight upward inflection on the word before the break can show that the sense is to be carried through.

The extent to which you dramatise will depend on the voice and subject of the poem. Good reading doesn't necessarily involve melodrama, and if you aren't comfortable with 'performing', you are unlikely to do it well. Simple pauses, sensible intonation and perhaps a change in stance should be enough to indicate changes of scene, tone or point of view.

* And finally...

When you finish reading, it can be such a relief that you just feel like running. Instead, take a breath, look up at the audience, and thank them for listening, or simply say goodnight.

Remember: the audience chose to be there. The vast majority are on your side and they want to hear your poetry.