Last time was a little different than the norm where we worked through the finalists from the 2017 Toastmasters International Speech Contest. It was in-depth and provided a boatload of useful data. Today we’re gonna continue the trend of deviating from the norm. And with that, today’s speech breakdown is going to be for my own LOSING SPEECH from the 2015 … Read More
Toastmasters Championship Speech Breakdown: Lance Miller
New Speech Breakdown for the 2005 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, Lance Miller!This was an exciting speech with a lot of interesting data. It is NOT like most of the winning speeches from the past few years–extremely unique. Full speech transcriptSpeech statistics (Word count, time of speech, title)LPM (Laughs Per Minute)Use of “You” focused words versus “I/Me” focused wordsFoundational Phrase … Read More
Dear Matty Public Speaking Advice + 3 Simple Steps To Prepare For Your Next Speech When You Don’t Have A Lot Of Time
I’m sure you’ve heard of Dear Abby, right? If not, look it up. It’s an advice column for just about all things life. I’ve decided to do my own version called Dear Matty (should be enough to keep the copyright attorneys at bay). Except, to keep it in line with Tactical Talks, the questions and advice will primarily deal with public speaking. It … Read More
How To Motivate An Audience To Action Using These 4 Methods
The beginning of your speech is important, but it’s not the MOST important.Sure, one could make an argument that it is. Since its main purpose is to win the audience’s attention in hopes that they’ll listen to whatever else you’ve got to say, I can see how the beginning could be considered the top dog.In the realm of what’s actually most … Read More
Toastmasters Judgement Day: My Final Speech
**Be sure to check out PARTS 1, 2, 3 of the speech contest journey** And now we’ve arrived at the District contest. Judgement Day! This is the last contest before going to the the big dance—the Toastmasters International Convention. That’s where the semi-finals and the finals go down.No pressure :/The preparation leading up to this level was intense. Apart from practicing my … Read More
My Experience In A Toastmasters Speech Contest – PART 3
**Check out PART 1 and PART 2 of the speech contest journey** Fierce competitors. Check. More audience members. Check. Larger venue. Check. More pressure. Absolutely.It had all the ingredients to send a guy to a psychiatrist.First, let me take a step back to the early morning. I was feeling the usual anxiety knowing I’d be competing later that day. I expected … Read More
This Is What It’s Like To Compete In A Toastmasters Speech Contest! – Part 2
Be sure to checkout PART 1 of the contest journey! The journey continues…Public speaking in general can be a trying time mentally and physically. A public speaking contest is more grueling.Just as it was at the club level contest, a place where I’d spoken countless times before, the Area contest cut me no slack; the extra mental pressure I put on … Read More
Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Speech Gets Dissected!
I’ve been seeing a lot of speech critiques lately. With the political chicken-wings flapping around, I guess I can understand why.One on Hillary Clinton. Another on Michelle Obama. And don’t forget about Donald Trump.Well, I’ve had just about enough of that! The only thing those kinds of speeches are good for is if you want to watch the same person debate … Read More
Public Speaking Advice That You Must Watch Out For
Advice and constructive criticism are supposed to make you stronger, right?The thing is, that’s not always true.People have a tendency to pass around what they like…with little or no thought to whether it fits the person they’re giving it to.I’m not a huge fan of visual aids, but I would never tell anyone not to use them. Some people would though.They’d say, … Read More
Tactical Talks – The Beginning!
First off, let me start out by telling you who this website is NOT for: It’s not for people who are perfect. It’s not for those who are oblivious to their internal thoughts and fears about public speaking or any other challenges that stretch their comfort zones. It’s not for those mythical souls who don’t fear public speaking…or claim … Read More