I was thinking the same thing.... its always amazing to me when I realize how much a quilt is loved by some of the nonquilters when its a gift

I agree... I was told long ago (by a toastmaster!) that people think in 3's.. And to open with a strong statement framing your 3's.. fill the middle chunk of your speech walking thru 1, 2 & 3.. then close recapping all 3 points.

Tell them, tell them again and then recap what you told them.

I agree with KISS, TMI and being wary of talking in 'quilt talk' to non-quilters. The great thing is you'll be talking about a subject that you know intuitively = FUN!

Good Luck!

So glad you (and bcsews) asked, I'm wondering, too!

Ahh, thank you Kassaundra! Never heard of a Boomerang swap - must something about it coming back to you.

I am the type of person who likes to see examples. Perhaps bring in cardboard templets, scissors and a tiny needle to show what grandma used. Even a example of a newspaper quilt pattern offered in the sunday paper. Then how they carefully hand pieced each block to make a quilt.

Then pictures or real tools of the trade now. I say pictures, because and safety factors or missing tools. Perhaps pictures of cutting mats, rotary cutters, specialty rulers, a die cutting machine, sewing machine with built in stitching designs for quilting, a programmable long arm quilting machine on a motorized table (these even have a built in camera underneath to keep tabs on the stitching) and types of specialty quilting threads. Even for the bottom bobbins to help with stitch perfection. Then the fabrics have really gotten wonderful in thread count and design. I think it is because there is so much information on the web about the cultures and regional preferable designs. Those were never available back in grandma's day. The web sights that have different patterns from grandma's is a biggie too. Even the fabric manufacturers have free patterns to download. Also quilt shows as a source of the new inventions for our choice of hobby. These all contribute to the internet information available to the today's quilter.
One last thing available to us... U Tube.

Yes, you send an f8 of your fabric for each of the other Boomers, everyone makes you a block w/ your fabric and some of theirs, and return the finished blocks to each person. We have a fearless leader and send her the fabris and the finished blocks she sorts them and sends them back to each of us in a group. The postage for this swap format is a little more (4 mailings) but we have so much fun it is worth it. (each mailing is a little over $7, and it is over a 3 ish month time so not to bad)

One illustration I've used for a quilt is an Oreo cookie. Everyone knows that an Oreo has 3 distinct parts, as does a quilt, and the different center thicknesses of said cookie are a whole lot like batting. It's a useful easily understandable illustration without going into too much detail at first. I was giving a series of 3 interactive chats with the same group. I started with that and branched out. Also had cookies as the handout. Helped some of the audience understand the distinct layers in a quilt.

A cousin wanted to know about something about quilting so I showed her what fat quarters, jelly rolls, layer cakes, charms looked like. She was fascinated.

Best book EVER for speaking or getting your idea/topic presented, https://www.amazon.com/Say-Six-Exact...in+six+minutes.

Say It in Six Minutes. Very easy read a not just for saying it in six minutes. The format can be condensed to say it in less time or expand to do a full blown speech of an hour. Not just for speechifying; but for communicating. Easy and fun read.

Not sure this will help but, I am amazed that doctors and some nurses have no idea what a quilt is. I have said I spend a lot of time making quilts and I get a blank look.

you're going to do great! remember: tell em what you're going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you just told them! i like the idea of modern quilts added too.