Our friends at IvyPanda reached out to us to tell us about an article they wrote. They specifically thought our audience would benefit from reading what they had to say about “filler words.” We couldn’t agree more…. Do you have an article you want to see? Have you written something you think our audience will benefit from? Contact us! We’d love to hear from you!
Continue reading “Guest Blog – Filler Words in Speech (part 1)”
It’s on every ballot. Whether you compete online or in person, it's one of the subtle speaking skills that an untrained listener will intuitively understand without necessarily knowing what to call it. Some speakers are just more pleasant to listen to as they speak, and you can learn to be one of them!
When you hear the term ‘vocal variety’ what do you think it involves?
What kind of variety could you get out of your palette of primary colored paints? Lots, right? How do you get that variety? By mixing in various amounts, obviously! While it may not be quite as intuitive, the same principle applies to your voice and its qualities. You can mix and match these to give a variety of results that make you more auditorily pleasing to your audience. A novice speaker is going to be concerned with writing a speech and memorizing it and getting it delivered. A not-so-novice speaker can begin to deliver it well using more vocal variety.
I know it sounds crazy, but are you ready for fall!? There is something exciting about the planning process that I absolutely love! Therefore, I thought you might like a hint as to what is in store through Lasting Impact!
Online Speech Club –
Meet with students from across the country learning together the Art of Communication. Lead by Heather Neumann, the Ms Frizzle of the competitive speech world. This one semester club will meet weekly, and teach valuable lessons to implement into Speech and Debate. Each student will perform and have a speech ready by the end of the semester.
Interp Club – NEW
Grow your interpretive skills with this new innovative club. Students will grow through a variety of experiences- cold reading, monologues, play reading, prose, and much more. Students will also be preparing an interpretive piece used for competition. This club will meet weekly, first semester and is lead by Heather Neumann.
Apologetics Club –
Come and grow and figure your out how you would answer questions of your faith. Weekly meetings include elements of learning how to compete in Apologetics, but mostly diving into how one would answer such questions as explain the meaning and significance of the trinity, why does God allow evil, etc.
Limited Prep Club –
Who couldn’t benefit from learning to think on their feet better. This unique club will explore the elements of putting together your thought process. The main focus of this club will be Impromptu Speaking, but other Limited Prep events will be covered.
Debate Clubs –
As always, Lasting Impact! plans to offer both beginning and advanced Debate Clubs for both Team Policy and Lincoln Douglas Debate.
The Debate Circuit –
Yes! The Circuit will be back! Weekly rounds via Zoom to help your cases get refined. There will also be an outrounds included. The Circuit starts late Sept and ends before Thanksgiving.
Junior Opportunities –
Speech and Debate doesn’t need to start in High School. Lasting Impact! will also be offering Order in the Court again with Julie Romeo, Beginner Speech – for students ages 9-12, and Debate Readiness with Amy Eichholz.
In addition to all of these fantastic clubs we have a plethora of information for families, club leaders, and coaches. We are putting together NEW worksheets and videos to help simplify the teaching process. We are excited for what the 2021-22 has in store! Whether you are online or in person, Lasting Impact! aims to have the resources you need to succeed! Registration will be opening up SOON! Space will be limited.
Don’t forget Summer Camps are right around the corner!! Contact us if your club wants to have the Lasting Impact! Team come your way!! Please contact us if your have any questions!!
I like the Dictionary.com definition of timing:
“the choice, judgment, or control of when something should be done.”
I like this definition because of these words: choice, judgement, and control. These words emphasize that much of what we call timing as it pertains to public speaking depends strictly upon the speaker. The speaker chooses how to control the tempo to direct the responses and reactions of the audience.
There are actually several angles to consider when discussing pauses and timing as they apply to becoming a good public speaker.
One of the requirements of our Lasting Impact! Coaches is that they engage in tournaments, practice rounds, judging, etc. Really understanding the culture of the season! Yes! It can change from year to year! Take this year for example! Ha! There has never been a year quite like it! Check out, Emalyn’s latest experience…
Continue reading “This Season – A Piece of Cake? By: Emalyn Sharp”
Do I love thee? Let me count the ways... It seems only appropriate to have a cheesy Valentines post heading into the weekend. The question is simple- Do you LOVE your speech? If the answer is ""no" it usually shows and you should definitely read on...
Have you been to a tournament or two and are feeling like you aren’t quite prepared? Don’t fret, you aren’t alone! Most teams have an aff case they are comfortable with by this point, but often going neg can feel daunting. Luckily, the interconnectedness of this year’s resolution means that with a collection of general briefs, you can feel prepared to debate against cases you haven’t even heard of before!
To supplement and spur on your research, the Lasting Impact team has released a Booster – collection of three general briefs and one neg brief covering key issues affecting many if not most of this year’s cases…
Continue reading “Need a MidSeason Boost?”
No one likes to feel judged, but how can you be a winner, unless you have judges who weigh your performance against a set of standards? Do you know how many times I’ve seen students look ONLY at the ranks on the ballots and then toss them aside? I’ve also seen students discount a ballot because “it was only from a community judge” or “that guy didn’t know anything.” These are not mature responses to ballots.
Ethos is a difficult word to understand and even more difficult to effectively apply to your own efforts as a speaker. It’s a not-so-novice item for certain! Let’s see if we can begin to understand it a bit, and how we can apply it to Speech and Debate... and ultimately beyond!
Lasting Impact! is going to run a new series in 2021 called Impact Tips! Today’s tip comes from Caleb Sampson. He’s running an LD Workshop next week to help you bring your A-game to your Lincoln Douglas Debate. The workshop will discuss the relevance of this year’s NCFCA resolution and the proper use of philosophy, legislation, case law, historic examples, logic, and analogies. This is a Workshop LDers don’t want to miss! In fact, if you sign up now, we will throw in the Lasting Impact! LD Guide FREE. Sign up HERE or keep reading to see his Impact Tip!
What is the most essential yet underappreciated application in Lincoln Douglas Debate?
In 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas faced off in a series of 7 debates about the issue of slavery in the United States. While both men were esteemed politicians and policy makers, these Lincoln Douglas debates didn’t focus on the intricate details of legislation or the ins and outs of constitutional law. Fundamentally, these debates focused on the values of Americans and the underlying philosophies that led the American People to those value systems.
The most essential yet underappreciated application in Lincoln-Douglas Debate is philosophy…
Continue reading “Impact Tip! Don’t Forget Philosophy in Lincoln Douglas Debate By: Caleb Sampson”
Happy New Year! Now is the time to keep moving forward!! That’s right- if you sign up for one of our Winter Warm Up Workshops today or tomorrow- you will receive a FREE Coaching Session with the coach of your choice! Choose from…
More Winter Workshops may be added in the weeks to come- but now is the opportunity to jump on this offer! Simply order a Winter Workshp and you will receive a FREE Coaching Session (coaching session must take place this winter/spring 2021 season). Go to the SHOP under OnLine Classes to sign up, or click HERe, or click the links above. Remember, Workshops are recorded at no additional charge.
If you are competing in Speech and Debate this year, the likelihood of you competing online is HIGH. Some people may think, "no big deal," but I strongly advise to walk in (to your bedroom and virtual room) prepared!! Sign up for the Lasting Impact! Online Prep Workshop HERE. We will be covering 20 items that we hope you are considering with your online set up- the difference between virtual and in person, how you debate, how you judge, positioning, and more! The workshop will be recorded and is included in the price! Don't take my word- read Kristi's article, she has taught online, judged online, and her son has attended school online. Listen and read her understanding on how you need to think about your online environment...
We didn’t foresee COVID-19, or the shut-down that ensued in its wake. We CAN however see that the tide has perhaps taken a permanent turn toward more online communication. There are certainly trade-offs, but the paradigm IS shifting. Employees and students ARE seeing that they can be productive in a remote environment, and in many cases, they are enjoying the very flexibility that has always marked the home school community. I think we can safely say that a percentage of college instruction, office meetings, sales negotiations, etc. will continue to stay online for the foreseeable future. While some of that programming may shift back, you are likely going to have to learn to be powerful and compelling as a communicator in the online format. Even the not-so-novice speaker has a learning curve here...
You must be logged in to post a comment.