Online Speech Workshops This Week!! Sign Up NOW!

Don’t forget these workshops are coming to you LIVE this week! Characters, Illustrated Oratory/Expository, After Dinner Speaking, and Storytelling! There is so much to learn in the exciting world of Competitive Speech! Whether you want to add to your speeches this year, or planning ahead for next year! These four workshops will be packed with valuable information from our amazing Lasting Impact! coaches. Get all the details below… And Sign Up Today!!

Creating Fantastic Characters with Heather Neumann

Date: Fri. Feb. 9

Time: 10:30 am CT (Approx. 1.5 hrs)

SIGN UP HERE

Are you wanting to take your characters to the next level? Learn how to develop a deeper understanding of your characters. Participants will be guided through an analysis of their interpretive speech, specifically for their characters. Each participant will be given Heather Neumann and Kristi Eskelund’s character worksheets. We will also have guest speakers to give examples of “pops”, voices, facial expressions, etc.

Heather Neumann has been coaching for years… Teaching students to look with in themselves to create well developed characters.

All About IO/Expos with Anna Johansen

Date: Fri. Feb. 9

Time: 1:00 pm CT (Approx. 1.5 hrs)

SIGN UP HERE

IOs and Expositories are intimidating. Most competitors are overwhelmed by the idea of building boards from scratch—coming up with ideas and figuring out how to make them happen in real life. How do you make a stained-glass window? How do you make a 3D staircase? How do you make a sinking Titanic? In this workshop, we’ll take you from the basics (like materials, magnets, adhesives, and straight edges) all the way to the finishing touches (like themes, aesthetics, interactive pieces, and show-stopping features). If you’ve ever considered doing an IO/Expository this workshop is a great way to give you the practical tools to make it happen.

Anna Johansen is a speech and TP coach in the Chicago area. She also writes, edits, and coaches for Ethos Debate. Anna is currently pursuing a double major in English and History, and hopes to continue teaching and writing long-term. Whether it is through editing others’ work or creating her own, teaching the tools or using them, she wants to pass on a love of speaking and writing and communicating to everyone she comes in contact with.

After Dinner Speaking with Aj and Heather Neumann

Date: Sat. Feb. 10

Time: 10:30 am CT (Approx. 1.5 hrs)

SIGN UP HERE

After Dinner Speaking is hard! How do you write a speech that is informative, impactful, and perhaps motivational, yet funny? ADS is so much more than just telling stories. Learn how to create or add depth to your After Dinner Speech. And don’t forget your delivery! We will teach you what you need to know to make your ADS shine!

Aj Neumann qualified to Nationals both years NCFCA offered After Dinner Speaking. He won Regionals, had many first places at tournaments, and in 2015 got 3rd place at The National Championship. Aj is passionate about ADS and he can’t wait to share what he has learned through his experiences.

Storytelling with Abbey Lovett

Date: Sat. Feb. 10

Time: 1:00 pm CT (Approx. 1.5 hrs)

SIGN UP HERE

In this workshop, Abbey is going to go over why storytelling is important in all styles of competitive forensics and communication. She’ll talk about the science behind storytelling, how you should use it in speeches, and how you can become a powerful storyteller. She will give you practical tips and tricks that you can take into any aspect of your life to craft powerful stories.

Abbey Lovett has been involved with competitive forensics for over eight years and has gained three national champion titles. In her time both as a speaker and a coach, she has learned that the most powerful way to communicate important ideas is through storytelling. Abbey has studied storytelling for years and is excited to share with you what she has learned.

All workshops will be done through Zoom, an online meeting forum.

Cost:

$5 per workshop for members of Lasting Impact!

OR

$20 per workshop

photo by- Hannah Seymour

Being a Communicator for Christ by: Abbey Lovett

What does it mean to be a good communicator for Christ? So many organizations, speech and debate leagues, coaching companies, etc all share a mission statement along the lines of “training up communicators for Christ”. But what does that actually mean? Join Abbey Lovett as she explores what this means… Abbey is a National Champion speaker, has created her own communication consulting firm- Lyceum Communications, and on top of all that- she coaches for Lasting Impact!… Remember there is still time to sign up for Abbey’s Storytelling Workshop (part of the Lasting Impact! Workshops Series)… For more info. CLICK HERE.

Continue reading “Being a Communicator for Christ by: Abbey Lovett”

Sign Up Now For Online Speech Workshops in February!!

Our first Online Workshop (Apologetics) in December was a huge success! We are excited to share so much more with you! Thanks to technology coming February 9th and 10th we will be offering 4 more online workshops- Characters, Illustrated Oratory/Expository, After Dinner Speaking, and Storytelling! There is so much to learn in the exciting world of Competitive Speech! Whether you want to add to your speeches this year, or planning ahead for next year! These four workshops will be packed with valuable information from our amazing Lasting Impact! coaches. Get all the details below… And Sign Up Today!!

Creating Fantastic Characters with Heather Neumann

Date: Fri. Feb. 9

Time: 10:30 am CT (Approx. 1.5 hrs)

SIGN UP HERE

Are you wanting to take your characters to the next level? Learn how to develop a deeper understanding of your characters. Participants will be guided through an analysis of their interpretive speech, specifically for their characters. Each participant will be given Heather Neumann and Kristi Eskelund’s character worksheets. We will also have guest speakers to give examples of “pops”, voices, facial expressions, etc.

Heather Neumann has been coaching for years… Teaching students to look with in themselves to create well developed characters.

All About IO/Expos with Anna Johansen

Date: Fri. Feb. 9

Time: 1:00 pm CT (Approx. 1.5 hrs)

SIGN UP HERE

IOs and Expositories are intimidating. Most competitors are overwhelmed by the idea of building boards from scratch—coming up with ideas and figuring out how to make them happen in real life. How do you make a stained-glass window? How do you make a 3D staircase? How do you make a sinking Titanic? In this workshop, we’ll take you from the basics (like materials, magnets, adhesives, and straight edges) all the way to the finishing touches (like themes, aesthetics, interactive pieces, and show-stopping features). If you’ve ever considered doing an IO/Expository this workshop is a great way to give you the practical tools to make it happen.

Anna Johansen is a speech and TP coach in the Chicago area. She also writes, edits, and coaches for Ethos Debate. Anna is currently pursuing a double major in English and History, and hopes to continue teaching and writing long-term. Whether it is through editing others’ work or creating her own, teaching the tools or using them, she wants to pass on a love of speaking and writing and communicating to everyone she comes in contact with.

After Dinner Speaking with Aj and Heather Neumann

Date: Sat. Feb. 10

Time: 10:30 am CT (Approx. 1.5 hrs)

SIGN UP HERE

After Dinner Speaking is hard! How do you write a speech that is informative, impactful, and perhaps motivational, yet funny? ADS is so much more than just telling stories. Learn how to create or add depth to your After Dinner Speech. And don’t forget your delivery! We will teach you what you need to know to make your ADS shine!

Aj Neumann qualified to Nationals both years NCFCA offered After Dinner Speaking. He won Regionals, had many first places at tournaments, and in 2015 got 3rd place at The National Championship. Aj is passionate about ADS and he can’t wait to share what he has learned through his experiences.

Storytelling with Abbey Lovett

Date: Sat. Feb. 10

Time: 1:00 pm CT (Approx. 1.5 hrs)

SIGN UP HERE

In this webinar, Abbey is going to go over why storytelling is important in all styles of competitive forensics and communication. She’ll talk about the science behind storytelling, how you should use it in speeches, and how you can become a powerful storyteller. She will give you practical tips and tricks that you can take into any aspect of your life to craft powerful stories.

Abbey Lovett has been involved with competitive forensics for over eight years and has gained three national champion titles. In her time both as a speaker and a coach, she has learned that the most powerful way to communicate important ideas is through storytelling. Abbey has studied storytelling for years and is excited to share with you what she has learned.

All workshops will be done through Zoom, an online meeting forum.

Cost:

$5 per workshop for members of Lasting Impact!

OR

$20 per workshop

 

Experiencing The Art of Communication By: Abbey Lovett

Abbey Lovett is one of our Lasting Impact! Coaches. She will be hosting an Online Workshop Feb. 10 at 1:00 CT on Storytelling. It will be part of our Online Workshop Series- Storytelling, Illustrated Oratory/ Expository, After Dinner Speaking, and Creating your Characters. More information coming soon to sign up for the online workshops!! For now, enjoy Abbey’s article on The Art of Communication… Be sure to check out her video too!

Continue reading “Experiencing The Art of Communication By: Abbey Lovett”

Judges and Cell Phones

I was recently at a speech and debate tournament- almost 300 competitors, three days of competition, students from across the country gathered together to give their best. During each day of the competition I heard of situations involving  judges with cell phones. How could this be? During judge training judges are clearly asked to silence cell phones, not to text, or to take phone calls. Perhaps it is early in the competition season, and judges need to get back in the groove?! However, I thought I would give a friendly reminder that judges…

Continue reading “Judges and Cell Phones”

Speech and Debate Tournament Series – A Novice Perspective (part 4)

 

I asked a couple “novice” friends, in other words, a beginning speech students, to recollect on their first year. This was their very first competitive experience with Speech and Debate (not counting junior tournaments). This was their experience and perspective on the tournaments they participated in their first year…

Continue reading “Speech and Debate Tournament Series – A Novice Perspective (part 4)”

Practicing your Speeches… Ideas for Purposeful Practice

My husband is a high school boys soccer coach. He has been coaching for over 20 years. Though out his years coaching, he teaches his players about the importance of how they practice. They must approach a practice as if it is just as important as a game. The same is true for Speech and Debate...

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Lasting Impact! Reflection on 2017… And Looking Ahead…

So many things to be thankful for this past year… 2017… Our first full year of Lasting Impact! We feel like we accomplished so much in just one little year!! Yet, we have so much more to do! We feel blessed and honored to come along side the many families, coaches, and clubs helping to make an impact in the Speech and Debate community. Here are just a few of the highlights from 2017… Continue reading “Lasting Impact! Reflection on 2017… And Looking Ahead…”

Sure-tested Ways to Memorizing Speeches

Recently, at Club, I gave the assignment to my returning kids to have them come up with their favorite way to memorize speeches. Everyone who has participated in speech and debate for more than a year or so, has their own particular way they prefer to memorize. I was amazed by the variety of responses! Some kids are able to memorize quite quickly. Others may struggle.

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Speech and Debate Tournament Series- Fundraising (part 2)

In our last article we discussed the costs of a typical Speech and Debate Tournament. I know quite a few families that budget their season and each year they do fundraising to pay or help pay for their costs. Below is an article written by one of our competitor interns that fund raises for their tournament expenses- travel, registration, clothing, etc.

Continue reading “Speech and Debate Tournament Series- Fundraising (part 2)”

Drama, Drama, Drama!

I believe the strength of your speech can be linked to the strength of your script (what you have created for competition). However a Dramatic Interpretation is far more involved and has much more depth to be based on script alone. For a great Dramatic Interpretation or a dramatic Open, Duo, or even Original Interpretation to be created, there must be rich content from which to grow. When looking for a script, piece of literature, or play there are several considerations to think about:

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