New Speech Breakdown for the 2018 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, Ramona J. Smith! Each breakdown brings with it a new technique or perspective that differs from the rest, and that’s what makes them so useful if your goal is to become a better speaker or a better speech writer. There is a tremendous amount of insight in reverse-engineering a … Read More
Analyzing My Losing Toastmasters Contest Speech
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
Analyzing The Top 3 Finalists From 2017 Toastmasters Speech Contest
Today, for the 2017 Toastmasters Speech Contest, I’m doing something I’ve never done before… Normally, I break down ONLY the winning speech—you know, the one given by the speaker that gets the lucrative title, World Champion of Public Speaking.That’s obviously not a terrible idea, but there’s an unfortunate axiom for all things competitive, and that is…history only remembers the victor. Today I’m … Read More
Tactical Analysis of a Public Speaking Champion: Dananjaya Hettiarachchi
UPDATED Speech Breakdown for the 2014 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, Dananjaya Hettiarachchi.This is an incredible speech with a lot of interesting data. Each breakdown brings with it a new technique or perspective that differs from the rest, and that’s what makes them so fascinating and not to mention useful in becoming a better speaker or speech writer.There is … Read More
Tactical Analysis of a Public Speaking Champion: Jim Key
New Speech Breakdown for the 2003 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, Jim Key!Jim Key’s gave an exciting speech with a lot of interesting data. Each breakdown I do brings with it a new technique or perspective that differs from the rest, and that’s what makes them so useful if your goal is to become a better speaker or speech … 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
Speech Titles Matter! (3 Reasons Why!)
When I entered the Toastmasters International Speech Contest back in early 2015, I ran into a bit of a problem with my speech title.Here’s why:The title, Louder Isn’t Always Better, which isn’t terrible, didn’t do much for my speech besides exist.With the division contest just 2 days away, I practiced my speech at another Toastmasters club in hopes of some … Read More
The Truth About Filler Words [Ah’s and Um’s]
Ah. Umm. Uhh. And-so-uh-umm-hmm-urrr. Filler words. Evil filler words. Last week at a Toastmasters meeting we had a discussion about filler words and their role in public speaking, or more precisely, whether they should have a role or not. In Toastmasters, there is something called an “Ah Counter.” Can you guess what they do? I don’t want to insult your … Read More
Your Ultimate Walkthrough Guide For Overcoming The Massive Fear Of Public Speaking
Have you ever had to speak in front of a group of people? If so, do any of these sound familiar?Feeling physically sickButterflies in your stomach (like free-falling down a roller coaster slope)Feeling weakLegs wobbly as if they’re about to buckleEnormous pressure and stressTenseness in the neck and shouldersForgetfulness and difficulty concentratingLack of confidence and self-doubtSweaty pits and palmsDry mouthFear … Read More
Pain’s A Pal
I hated the feeling I got when I knew I was just moments away from having to stand in front of a room full of people and say…stuff. Public speaking. Scary to even think about, right? I dreaded doing it. I almost packed it in 7 months after joining Toastmasters (a sort of workshop dedicated to helping you become a … Read More
