Wednesday, 23 May 2012
This afternoon, I gave my tenth speech in Toastmasters. This is notable because the initial book that all new members start with, Competent Communicator, contains ten projects – each focusing on a different aspect of public speaking. So, now I’ve finished the book, becoming the fifth member of the club to do so. I’ll get an award in the mail, along with two books from the advanced communicator series.
Here’s a list of the ten speeches I gave, along with the project name, date, and a brief explanation:
1. (The Ice Breaker) “Four Unique Events,” 20 December 2010
This 4-6 minute speech is intended to introduce yourself to the audience. I selected four unique things from my life and talked about them. The events included performing a wedding ceremony and Isla’s homebirth.
2. (Organize Your Speech) “What Happened to Pluto?,” 26 January 2011
In this speech, for which I was allotted 5-7 minutes, I discussed how our knowledge of Pluto changed over the decades since its discovery in 1930, and why astronomers no longer categorize it as a major planet.
3. (Get to the Point) “My 20 Year Quest of Trying to get Downhill” 23 February 2011
Here, I displayed a list of all the films directed by Alfred Hitchcock and I described my attempts to view them all. This was my worst speech – I wasn’t prepared well enough and I even forgot about 30 seconds worth of material. And though I though the title was quite clever, my evaluator said he found it confusing.
4. (How to Say It) “Firestorm,” 23 March 2011
In this speech, I gave a brief history of the Great Hinckley Fire of 1894, based on my visit to the Fire Museum the previous summer and the book Under a Flaming Sky.
5. (Your Body Speaks) “A Short History of #1,” 13 July 2011
This speech was about Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. I explained its purpose, and how it changed through the years, especially in the 1990s during the dearth of in-store singles and how the charts have been revitalized since the rise of digital downloads.
6. (Vocal Variety) “The 100,” 10 August 2011
Here, I discussed one of my favorite books, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, by Michael Hart. I offered up some info on what “influential” does and does not mean, and I showed a list of the top ten and gave some reasons and opinions on the list.
7. (Research Your Topic) “Who are Our Most Successful Presidents?.” 12 October 2011
For this speech, I talked about some conversations my son and I have had about what percentage of US Presidents successfully completed their terms in office. By “successful,” I mean they did not die or resign.
8. (Get Comfortable With Visual Aids) “A Backwards Speech,” 25 January 2012
Segueing nicely with the meeting’s theme of “a Backwards Meeting,” I talked about my fascination with palindromes, and the word fun people have had with them. I also showed a clip from my interview on Oprah. Details about this speech – which received a standing ovation and which my evaluator proclaimed “best speech” ever, can be FOUND HERE.
9. (Persuade with Power) “Love Birds?,” 22 February 2012
This was probably the most difficult speech for me to work up, primarily because I had such a hard time coming up with a topic. I ended up talking about the pros and cons of feeding wild birds via feeders in your backyard. At this meeting, we had a contest for best speech and, of the eight speeches, mine won (and, no, I did not vote for my own speech).
10. (Inspire Your Audience) “SMiLE,” 23 May 2012
Today, I tried to ‘inspire my audience’ by telling them first about my friend Rhett Sutter and his love of music and, in particular, Brian Wilson. I then switched gears to talking about Brian Wilson and his struggles with depression and drug abuse, and how he finally finished his long-delayed opus, SMiLE. I wove anecdotes about Rhett throughout, and spoke of his work on his third solo album, which he never completed due to his untimely death. I used Brian’s and Rhett’s experiences to inspire everyone to accomplish something worthwhile in their life and to not put it off. I ended by saying that finally, only after Rhett died, did I give Brian Wilson’s album a listen and that, in the end, Rhett was wrong – I didn’t like the album, I loved it. It made me smile.