Comedy workshop in Tallinn, 55 min

Humour Workshop by Julie Kertesz from Julie Kertesz on Vimeo.

Growing Bolder, 2015 the 3rd May and some interview links

A photo poster with a bit of text published by Growing Bolder, and already 2700+ shares.



See also some of the interviews, thanks for all the wonderful interviewers!

1. "United Kingdom: At Age 77, a Life of Inspiration" 2011

2. It is never to late, Guardian 2012

3. Awesone old lady of the week. 2014

4. Aging with attitude, Senior planet. 2015

5. Videoclips from last Story Telling Workshop 2015

First time, different version?

First times,  version 1
Uploaded by julie70. - Arts and animation videos.

BBC1 with Julie standup & other memories of films takers

Dee's team come to my house to film in the morning in March 2015. and at noon took me to a Greenwich Comedy club, one of the oldest, Up The Creek.

I have performed at Greenwich Comedy club in 2012... 12 July! As it was my birthday, three pals from my Lewisham Speakers club come to listen. Two of them also begun Standup Comedy later, the third went on to tell tales about his police work with Scotland Yard all around England.

Five hours material, less then 2 minutes result, that used also material from the film "Julie70 standsUp" by Irene Fernandez, and showed some photos I lend to them for the mixing. Where is it?

It was interesting to live through a very professional team work! The sound-taker (at left) who stopped us each time a fire-engine passed through the street. The producer director, Dee here in the middle who directed all of us, asking questions from me and to repeat some answers shorter or better, told all where to stand and what to take. He had in his head already how it would look and how he will make the mixing. And the video camera taker, assisting and verifying how the image come out.

As they left, Dee took with him the disk Irene Fernandez gave me after she made her 15 minute film: she gave us permission to use some of her material and Dee did use three bits from it - I think the most important was the one I was shaving! Shown just before the one taken by the team with me combing at the same place.

Here is Irene Fernandez, filming me home two years ago.

Alas, as the result had to be only a 15 minute film on big screen at Goldsmith's, many takes were not used and no mention remains of toastmasters activity, on my storytelling, and even not about how I discovered "I have now got comedian eyes".

The new story of the oldest memory on my first told joke remained and they even added the picture of me kid with my mother. No mention of my past career, even if he asked me lots of question about it Thursday.

Well, in a story one has to concentrate on one main message, in this case was Julie taking on Standup Comedy at age 77.

Taken by my Sony camera looking at the television, this is not the original film... of me on TheOneShow in BBC1 - later they had send me a DVD of all the evening.

Julie on BBC1 - short movie from Julie Kertesz on Vimeo.

It is true, I did remain the same age from 2011 - I was still 76 to now, 4 years ago, end March, was my first ever gig. Now I am after 80, so what? Poetic licence lets us, as also women do all the time, remain for years same age, isn't it?

At the end of my video should go, and I will try to add it:

"Embrace what happens to you, look at it with comedian eyes, use it"

I did from age of 77 learning to make laugh from it.

My name is Julie Kertesz - Always ready for an one night Stand... Up or tell you my true stories.

but do not call me in the morning: Google me, first."

Here is a video from 1st October when I was live on the One Show of BBC1 - the one from yesterday, I have yet to work on it, I will also add it here.

Complementing the Competent Communicator Manual

I got in January 2009 to Lewisham Speakers Toastmasters club, and in February I joined both it and  then also Meridian Speakers, so I could speak more. They meet in different weeks (Wednesday 1st 3rd week and Tuesday 2nd and 4th). Each club, offered something else. As I had difficulty to get a speech slot fast, I gave my first project speak "Icebreaker" - titled "and the ice did not break" in March as Mystery Speaker in Croydon Toastmasters Club.

I fall in love then and there.

With the audience.

So, did not stop, since in love. Inside Toastmasters clubs first, then at Spark London personal story telling on stage, or later at one of many Standup Comedy clubs I performed, my love did not change: the audience gave me back that love they felt I had for them.

The first year, I wrote in a notebook I just found what I wrote at the end of 2009, what I did and I achieved, beside getting in November my Competent Communicator award and beginning to tell stories on podium before live audience in Canal café theatre in fall. 

I visited a lots of clubs, in London, and even one in Washington, helping and even giving speeches to some. That first year, already, I did not stop to study only from the Toastmasters very good CC Manual which is contains a great but brief course of speech fundamentals.

I did read and study also the following books that first year.

• Body-language for Dummies
• The Power of personal storytelling, Maguire (how to find your stories & how to embody)
• Improving your storytelling, Doug Lipman (links between Message, Audience, You)
• Speak like Churchill, stand like Lincoln - first chapter "the power of Pause"
• The lost art of great speech, Richard Davis (basic of rhetoric explained well)
• In our Time, speeches that shaped the modern world - Howel William
• High impact speeches, Richard Heller (writing, delivering)
• Romancing the Room, James Waystaffe (charm the audience)
• Taking Center stage, Deb Gottesman and Buzz Mauro (acting skill to public speech)
• Presentation Zen, and The naked presenter, Garr Reynolds - open up, tell of yourself
• Whoever tells the best story, wins, Annette Simons - storytelling in corporate environment
• The story factor, Annette Simons 
• The leaders guide to Storytelling: business narrative, Stephen Denning
• Telling your story, Donald Davis
• Learning public speaking skills, Dale Carnagie
• Big speeches in History 

And those are only the first year books that I have now home - some of them I read many times. A lot of others joined them through the years, and I found some gems in each that I could use.

Yes, we do need more material, each depending of course on his or her interest - mine that first year was storytelling as I used stories in all my first 15 speeches.

1. "And the Ice did not Break" - 12 March 2009 in Croydon (when I was 10 years old...)

2. "About my nose" (that I did not cut at 40) - 14 April in Meridian (told again in Firebirds now)

3. "There is life after 70" years delivered 5 May at Lewisham

4. "May I? Yes. Thanks!" at Meridian the 26 May - short sentences, clear. Some rhetoric too.

5. "Body language?" (When I was kid, I killed... with my eyes) Lewisham the 17 June

6." 30 years ago, when I first came in this club" (delivered in Monument club, USA) 16 July

7. "Discovery is fun" (Meridian) 11 August

8. "The power of pause" (Lewisham) 18 August

9. "Tell a story!" Meridian 29 August

10. "Dare to share!" Lewisham speakers 12 November

Then 5 stories for the Storytelling manual, my first Advanced Manual

• "The old woman and the Death", Hungarian folk tale (told more then once)
• "The inner child", Lewisham - personal tale
• "Paula, great grand mother", Meridian and on stage Canal Cafee Theatre
• "The red scarf", Meridian - personal history tale
• "Mathias King", Meridian (he was born at my birth town and was 1st folk tales I read) 

5 more Entretaining speeches delivered in Toastmasters at the same time as I went to paying audience at Canal Café with different of my true tales till end of 2010

At the end, 2009, I won in Lewisham club Humorous contest delivering a speech "Dare to fail"  how I failed at each of my first six CC speeches. At the same time, I learned the projects well and of course at long, corrected most of the mishaps that happened: analysing, listening, getting back again on the saddle. 

With the Revitalised Education Program of Toastmasters, we will have a lot of on-line material that can supplement what we want to learn, and videos, interactive material - all depending on our needs. That does not mean "do not read any more", only that a lot can be delivered online for all those who prefer and got used to work thus. We still will go to our clubs, have our meeting, bonding, get feedback live and get to tell what we learned, how we progressed. 

Tell stories and use humour - "Pathos" emotion connects us to our audience

Lots of good ideas from this article by Andrew Dlugan, between them:

"# Tell Stories
Stories are often the quickest path to the greatest emotional connection with your audience.
Carefully crafted stories allow you to evoke any of a wide range of emotions. Stories are often the most memorable components of a speech.

# Use Humour
Humor is closely related to storytelling, because you usually arrive at humor through stories.
Humour in a presentation evokes emotions such as joy and surprise, and often triggers secondary emotions such as calmness and friendship. If your audience is laughing, if they are having fun, they are happy to be listening to you and they are attentive. As an added boost, humor makes your audience like you, and that boosts your ethos too.

Julie : Humour opens our audiences heart and soul to us, as much as a story connects to them deep.

Judy Carter recommends 3 key stories to tell:

The story of your credibility, with past (mess to success) - the old "Ethos"
The story of your company, (mess to success) - the old "Logos"
The story of your heart - very personal story of your mess to success - old "Pathos"

Julie: I do believe, we can adapt these ideas to every situation.

I was just named Ambassador of the REP for area 59 of Toastmasters - and as thus will visit the five clubs of the area many time a year, year after year. Discuss, speak, reflect about Toastmasters Renewed Education Program.

It would be good to create three stories, instead of showing / telling of facts only.
Depending on the time and club and audience, I can tell them shorter or longer.

1. My long experience with Toastmasters, from 1977 1980 then using it in my company and outside, then 2009 - 2015 so far could be the story of credibility. It is a humorous but inspiring story I can tell very short or a lot longer. From the first TM meeting (humorous) to now as Ambassador.

2. Toastmasters International journey, from the firsts clubs created by Ralph Smedley to some main changes through the last 100 years while retaining the fundamental principles, can also be told by ups and downs like an exciting story leading the the 2010 decision to modernise the education program. And then to the throughout Learning Masters and testings. Why and then discovering, slowly how.

3. The third story, can be very personal, but should be inspiring too. Perhaps, how what happened to me when I was 18 years old got me started on lifelong learning. How computers and online become important to me early on; and how much Toastmasters community helped me to get confidence to get to telling stories to paid public and to Standup comedy. Perhaps finishing, why and how going to visit clubs as Ambassador gives me new enthusiasm in my life as 81 year old.

And I just realised that 18 and 81 are related !

First Time's (published 1st 2012)

First times are not easy and yet, we never forget them...

First times version 1 by julie70
As prepared. Told at the Canal Cafe Theatre in London - here I added some photos with it.

25 years old - 35 years old - 41 years old then, 70
All that happened so long time ago...
But mostly they feel like yesterday.
In this version only the first, prepared version is used the one I recorded, when I told it, I did better and added more details also of the first lie to my parents, and the romance in Paris, and, well, not much more to the "after seventy" as my story of three first times was already long enough.