Angela Breidenbach – Page 24 – International Institute of Genealogical Studies

Tips for Giving a Great Presentation

By Kathy Holland, PLCGS Putting together a workshop presentation can be a daunting experience. Presenting the workshop can be downright frightening! But it doesn’t have to be daunting nor frightening. It’s just like talking “shop talk” with co-workers. As genealogists, we are each other’s co-workers, and we all know genealogy. A presentation is just a well-constructed conversation with our fellow genealogists. So, what makes a great presentation? Here are some tips: Know your audience. Yes, we are all genealogists. Although we may all have different experiences, we have a common thread that connects us all. Some of us are beginners, while others are more experienced. Some of us do client work, others write books and blogs. Others are speakers, and others teach. And some do all of these things. But we are all doing genealogy, no matter what. So, be aware that all types of experienced genealogists will be in your audience—and know that even the most experienced are open to learning new things! Watch other presentations—both online and in-person. What techniques are the speakers using? What works, what doesn’t? What techniques can you incorporate into your presentation? Choose your topic. It should be one that you are especially passionate about. One in which you can spend hours talking about. The one that you can become an expert on. One classic example is The Legal Genealogist—that’s Judy Russell. When genealogists think of all things legal in the genealogy community, we immediately think of Judy. She’s that go-to person, and the classic expert on genealogy and the law. What topic will make genealogists think of you? Plan ahead your timeframe. How much time do you have for the presentation? Thirty minutes? An hour? Even ten minutes can make a difference on how much you can cover. Tip #1: time yourself with your topic: how much can I cover in 10 minutes? 20 minutes? 30 minutes? And so on… Tip #2: Keep adding material until you have one topic that you can do as a 20 minute talk, then add more material until it becomes a 30 minute talk. Then add more to make the 60 minute talk—and now you have one topic, times 3 versions that you can do on a moment’s notice. End result: you have created a time-flexible topic that you can take to any society or conference as a speaker. Societies and conferences may ask a lot of…

Will You Be There? The Great Canadian Genealogy Summit

TORONTO: For Immediate Release The Great Canadian Genealogy Summit (CANGEN) is pleased to announce their inaugural conference, to be held October 21-23, 2016, at the Courtyard by Marriott, Brampton, Ontario. The Summit showcases Canadian genealogists who have an expertise in the record sets relating to the early settlers of Canada. On Friday, October 21, we have arranged a day at the Archives of Ontario. And better still, for those with Loyalist ancestors who are mind boggled with the documentation required for your UEL certificate, former UELAC Dominion Genealogist Kathryn Lake Hogan will be offering a workshop at the Archives. Kathryn will share her expertise on what documentation is required and how to access the records at the Archives. Our Opening Plenary speaker on Friday evening is genealogist and author Jennifer DeBruin who will share with us some of the struggles of our Canadian ancestors. This energetic talk will be followed by a social time. A time to get to meet fellow Canadian genealogists, an opportunity to get to know the speakers better, or browse the vendors/exhibits in the marketplace. Saturday’s programming offers five streams of research. Registrants are welcome to mix and match: Ruth Blair – who will talk on researching Irish ancestors Mike Quackenbush – who will talk on researching English ancestors Louise St Denis – who will talk on researching French Canadian ancestors Kathryn Lake Hogan – who will talk on researching Canadian ancestors Christine Woodcock – who will talk on researching Scottish ancestors Sunday starts with Louise St Denis, Director of National Institute for Genealogical Studies, sharing her extensive knowledge on Methodology. THEN she is providing each registrant with a certificate for a FREE course at the Institute. We wrap up the weekend with Lynn Palermo, The Armchair Genealogist, who will help us to get a better handle on writing our family stories so that our work can be preserved for future generations. REGISTRATION for the full weekend is just $159cdn ($125 usd). Registration for the Saturday only is just $119cdn ($93 usd) http://www.cangensummit.ca/ All registrations include breakfast and lunch on Saturday, free access during the weekend to Findmypast, and admission to the exhibition hall/marketplace.

New Course: Research US Midwestern States Ancestors

We have a new course starting in May at The National Institute for Genealogical Studies. Written by Cari Taplin, CG, Research: U.S. Midwestern States Ancestors is designed to give students a basic understanding of some of the historical events that occurred in each state, especially events that shaped the state’s history, boundaries, laws, and records. The states included in this course were all part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803: Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Each state is unique in its geographical formation, social attitudes, political structure, ethnicity, industry and historical records. The modules included are aimed at giving researchers information to aid understanding of these states individually and to provide tools for researching family history, not only in terms of the individual, but also in their broader social context. Professional genealogist and course author Cari Taplin, CG points out, “As the country expanded from east to west, our ancestors traveled through and sometimes stayed in the midwestern states. Researching in those states is vital to most family history research. The rich and unique history of each state is interesting and can be very rewarding. Learning about the nuances of the region will improve your research skills and bring life to your genealogy.” To learn more about this course, see our website. Research: U.S. Midwestern States Ancestors starts May 2nd. Register today!

New Course: Australian Church Records

The National Institute is proud to announce a new course added to our Australian Certificate Program. Australian: Church Records, authored by genealogist Shauna Hicks, examines religious resources that are available in Australia. Major emphasis has been placed on Christianity and the various church records available for the main Christian denominations in Australia. Parish records such as baptisms, marriages and burials and other lesser known church records are examined. Religions other than Christianity are also looked at briefly as Australia has been a multicultural country since the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. This course begins March 7th. Register today!

Updated Course: Writing Your Family History Book

Is it time to take all of that family history research you’ve been working on and start writing? Recording interesting family stories is essential if you want future generations to read your family history book. Our new course, Writing Your Family History Book by researcher and author Lisa Alzo M.F.A., will help you do just that. This course will help you write the story of your life or of your ancestors’ lives. Techniques for researching the facts, remembering the events, writing the text, adding visuals with graphics or photographs, and finally reproducing your book will all be discussed. To learn more about this course see our website. The next offering of this course begins February 1st.