A TAM7 apology

[RSLancastr]

When you said "I haven't been satisfied with any of my TAM appearances." did you mean all of your appearancess from all of the TAMs? Or just all of them from TAM7?

I've always come away from my presentations wishing i had done this or that differently. but this was the first time i came away with a feeling of utter failure.

I already replied to the first interpretation.

For the second I wil say this: What did you think we were expecting out of you? A UFC championship?!

A short, coherent speech, on a topic which related to skepticism. I delivered on neither count.

 

[Wowbagger]

A short, coherent speech, on a topic which related to skepticism. I delivered on neither count.

Well, I think the consensus, here, is that you viewing yourself with waaaay too stringent glasses, in either case.

Cheer up! Everyone, here, still loves ya!

 

[RSLancastr]

thanks, Wow. It's nice to be loved.

 

[RSLancastr]

Well, I think the consensus, here, is that you viewing yourself with waaaay too stringent glasses, in either case.

That reminds me: I ordered a pair of stringent glasses last week - they should be in by now!

 

[Rasmus]

I wasn't at TAM unfortunately, so I shall take you at your word and will - for the sake of the argument - assume that you delivered a dreadful presentation.

So what?

As others have said, you are an inspiration and the example for what a good sceptic should be like. (And I don't care if you get tired of hearing that, either. So there!)

It's a good thing that you're not only doing what you do, but that you take the time and effort to talk about what you do to other sceptics. I for one would have loved the chance to listen to your dreadful performance because I think what you have to say and teach is important, and it matters preciously little if you are good at presenting what you do, given how good you are at doing it in the first place.

So, still assuming that you are right, I'd say you should continue speaking and possibly try to improve the points you find are lacking.

But I guess you're probably just plain wrong.

 

[RSLancastr]

I wasn't at TAM unfortunately, so I shall take you at your word and will - for the sake of the argument - assume that you delivered a dreadful presentation.

Nicely put, Rasmus. and thanks for assuming that my presentation was dreadful.

So what?

As others have said, you are an inspiration and the example for what a good sceptic should be like. (And I don't care if you get tired of hearing that, either. So there!)

It's a good thing that you're not only doing what you do, but that you take the time and effort to talk about what you do to other sceptics. I for one would have loved the chance to listen to your dreadful performance because I think what you have to say and teach is important, and it matters preciously little if you are good at presenting what you do, given how good you are at doing it in the first place.

So, still assuming that you are right, I'd say you should continue speaking and possibly try to improve the points you find are lacking.

But I guess you're probably just plain wrong.

 

[Caz]

Robert, I was thinking, if you wanted to do it again, there's always YouTube. You'd get to have another shot at it, and those of us who weren't at Tam7 but wish we were, would get to hear your presentation.

 

[rjh01]

Youtube, you could make a new speech, on Youtube, the one you should have made. How about it?

 

[HeyLeroy]

I did get another budgie, Alex the Wonder Budgie. Alas, when I was ill this spring it was discovered that I am allergic to birds. This explained the chronic and acute bouts of respiratory illnesses I've had over the years.

Alex now lives with a doting couple who cater to his every need.

Do you at least have visitation rights?

@Robert: As a person who has in the past planned to attend two separate TAMs and, due to circumstances beyond my control had the rug pulled out from underneath me on both occasions, I'm sorry to have missed your speech no matter how bad you think it was.

I've had experience with family members who have suffered strokes (an aunt and an uncle) and terminal brain cancer (my dad). Of course they were frustrated and embarassed at their diminished capacity in communication.

I'll tell you this; in no way did it diminish their ability to inspire, or dilute their messages.

Quit being so darn hard on yourself; you're appreciated more than I think you realize.

 

[Wowbagger]

The YouTube idea is a good point.

With YouTube you do have the luxury of multiple takes, and the opportunity for post-production tweaks.

 

[arthwollipot]

Robert, damn you, you are too modest for your own good!

I've just started watching your speech on the TAM7 DVDs, and although I've only watched five seconds of it, one thing has leapt out at me.

The moment you started speaking, the room fell completely silent!

That's all I'll say right now. I've paused the DVD after five seconds to say this. You silenced a room of close to a thousand people. I don't give a damn whether you think your speech was crappy or not. If I was ever able to silence a thousand people with a word, I'd be happy with my life. I'd be able to die thinking "I made a difference".

Robert, you made a difference. You silenced a room with a single sentence - "This is an incredible honour and I'd like to thank anyone who had anything to do with it."

I aspire to have that level of influence. You are an icon of the skeptical movement, and I thank you for everything you have done.

 

[rjh01]

OK, now that you have watched the rest of his speech, how about a review? And do not pull any punches.

 

[RSLancastr]

Robert, I was thinking, if you wanted to do it again, there's always YouTube. You'd get to have another shot at it, and those of us who weren't at Tam7 but wish we were, would get to hear your presentation.

Youtube, you could make a new speech, on Youtube, the one you should have made. How about it?

thank you bth for the thought. I think that the threads i have started here since tam have covered much of what i wish i had said in the speech.

 

[Chaos]

I've always come away from my presentations wishing i had done this or that differently. but this was the first time i came away with a feeling of utter failure.

I only ever saw you first presentation, but I liked that one.

If it makes you feel better (or worse, if you prefer that), I can bitch about how bad it supposedly was, though - just as a personal favor for you.

 

[Dicon]

Robert, the only thing I hold you responsible for (and thus the only thing you need apologize for) is my absolutely cold run at the craps table.

 

[rjh01]

thank you bth for the thought. I think that the threads i have started here since tam have covered much of what i wish i had said in the speech.

They are in several places. Now you can combine them in one unit. Then we can see the big picture. spofca knows all about youtube. She has more videos than me on there.

 

[RSLancastr]

The moment you started speaking, the room fell completely silent!

Yes, I was told that backstage, someone remarked " you could hear a pin drop!" Unfortunately, I was blithely unaware of this at the time.

That's all I'll say right now. I've paused the DVD after five seconds to say this. You silenced a room of close to a thousand people. I don't give a damn whether you think your speech was crappy or not. If I was ever able to silence a thousand people with a word, I'd be happy with my life. I'd be able to die thinking "I made a difference".

Robert, you made a difference. You silenced a room with a single sentence - "This is an incredible honour and I'd like to thank anyone who had anything to do with it."

that wasn't my presentation. it was my acceptance speech, which went much better (being mercifully brief).

I aspire to have that level of influence. You are an icon of the skeptical movement, and I thank you for everything you have done.[/QUOTE]Thanks, arth!!

 

[Phlebas]

Robert, ottle and I were so happy to see you up there, you could have spent the whole time telling us about your breakfast and we wouldn't have cared.

Nothing to forgive. Just don't get sick again.

 

[RSLancastr]

Robert, ottle and I were so happy to see you up there, you could have spent the whole time telling us about your breakfast and we wouldn't have cared.

that's my TAM8 talk.

Nothing to forgive. Just don't get sick again.

thanks, sir. you're very kind. and thanks to you both again for the visit. it meant very much to me.

How are you doing, by the way?

 

[MattC]

Mr. Lancaster,

You don't know me, and to be perfectly honest I don't know very much about you - I'd never heard of you before observing your speech on the TAM live feed, and as the academic community seems to view Sylvia Browne as somewhat of a joke (Montel has an even worse reputation) I don't know very much about her either. This dichotomy of interests serves as an effective divide between where you seem to set your mental focus and where mine lies.

I am afraid that I must agree with you that your speech was very hard to follow, but from my personal perspective you could not be more wrong about why that was. I found you surprisingly clear and very personable - in a way this made you the best speaker of all, for you are quite probably the most relatable person in skepticism. You are not a highly trained magician (as are Messrs. Randi, Teller and Jillette), nor are you a medical doctor (as were quite a few both in attendance and speaking at the convention), nor do you seem to have many unusual academic signatories. I hope you will pardon the metaphor, but you are the Batman of skeptics - a normal guy who realized that something was wrong, and that he could work to change it. You possess no inherent "super powers," aside from your own intellect and drive - two things that are very much on display when you speak regardless of what you may be saying.

It is precisely this which made your speech hard to follow - not due to any inherent flaw in the speech, but rather that most of us were watching you rather than listening to the speech. In fact I have great difficulty thinking of the perspective you offered as a speech, it seemed much more akin to banter amongst good friends rather than any sort of a lecture - and in this way it succeeded admirably. Many of the people in the audience were, as seems very clear from the other posts in this thread, very happy simply to see you again - accordingly, I do not think you achieved your set goals as a speaker, but I must say that you more than exceeded our expectations for you as a friend.

~ Matt