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 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.
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...
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!
Ever caught yourself feeling unprepared for the upcoming season or generally in need of speech and debate resources? You’re in luck! From clubs, coaching, and mentoring to downloadable pdfs, Lasting Impact! has you covered! If you’ve ever wondered what the resources Lasting Impact! offers are, look no further! Lasting Impact! is available for all to enjoy, however membership does have privileges. Why do we offer a membership? Lasting Impact! is a community, think of it as a giant club! We have members all over the world. A few of the membership benefits are- receive discounts on coaching, clubs, and classes, as well as free access to our video gallery and the recorded workshops. Membership is ONLY $35 for the year!! As a Christmas and New Year’s BONUS you can use the code MEMBER5 for $5 off!!! If you don’t want to be a member but want to be up to date on what we offer, be sure you SUBSCRIBE to our website and give us your email on the right hand side of the HOME page.
In addition to the over 400 articles (and counting) posted at the Lasting Impact! site written for Speech and Debaters, in mind, as well as parents, coaches, and club leaders, here is an outline everything available in the lastingimpact.info SHOP (think Christmas gifts)…
Continue reading “Lasting Impact! One Stop Resource”
If we are going to talk about YOU as a speaker (and we are!) then you need to begin to know what your perspective is on the things you are going to talk about. Perspective in your point of view.
Let me break that down:
Your – influenced by your own experiences and encounters and background, etc.
Point – the direction of your thoughts
of View – the way you are looking at things
See, your perspective is yours. As you move beyond the ranks of a novice speaker, you will stop writing and saying the things you think other people want you to write and say, and you will begin articulating your very own thoughts, gleaned from your very own experiences, based on the things you encounter with your very own senses. You will share perspective with other people, but unless you can identify something as your own perspective, you will not be a genuine and authentic speaker...
“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.” Apparently, Mary Poppins had never signed up for a Speech and Debate Tournament!! Ah- the STRESS!! First there is IF you are going to sign up… Are your parents making you? Are your speeches written? Do you have a case yet? Just breathe! Let us be your guide… your own little Mary Poppins to help you navigate the task set before you. How to survive signing up for a Speech and Debate Tournament…
Yes! We have done it again… added another resource to help guide you through this 2020-21 Team Policy Debate Season. This is for any TP student, parent, coach, club leader, or even judge who wants to get a better understanding Team Policy! If you want to quickly wrap your brain around TP this season in either NCFCA or Stoa- this Guide is for you!
The Lasting Impact Grab and Go TP Guide provides a succinct and thorough basis for Team Policy Debate. Perfect for both competitors and coaches new to Team Policy, the guide covers basics such as stock issues, plans, harms, advantages, definitions, and more. For those wanting a deeper dive, the Guide also offers aff/neg strategies and research tips, laid out in a clear and accessible manner. Complete with an example Stoa Aff case, NCFCA Neg brief (from the Lasting Impact TP Sourcebook), and NCFCA general brief, this Guide will equip students with a thorough understanding of how to approach and compete in Team Policy Debate in a skilled and godly way.
Table of Contents include…
About the Book
About the Authors
Definition
Definitions Summary
Definitions Brief (NCFCA)
Definitions Brief (Stoa)
Plans
The Stock Issues
Topicality
Inherency
Significance
Solvency
Advantages & Disadvantages
Evidence
Advocacy
Case Backups
Brief Writing
Sample Case Structure
Sample Case (Stoa)
Sample Negative Brief (NCFCA)
General Brief: The European Union
Debate Terminology
TP Tips and Tricks
Prep Time
Speaker Positions
Presentation
Evidence Preparation Strategy
Voting Issues
Choosing Your Partner
Partner Questionnaire
Tips For Writing A Good Ballot
Grab the Guide and Go HERE. Don’t forget to also check out the 2020-21NCFCA TP Sourcebook HERE. Lasting Impact! loves being able to support your speech and debate journey, wherever you are in the journey.
I could say it a thousand times: Adaption to online tournaments will be essential for the upcoming debate season! Raise your hand if you want to try out online debate for the first time at an actual tournament with check marks or at-large points in the balance? No hands? I agree.
The speech and debate world is undergoing a huge shift to try and balance speech and debate while protecting people’s lives. This shift is towards online debate. As students, we can choose to either resist it and just hope that something changes, or embrace it and learn to adapt. I am with most of you in that my initial gut reaction to online debate was: “Yuck!” Yet, after participating in several online tournaments, one of which was hosted by Lasting Impact!, my perspective has entirely changed. I believe that online tournaments provide a more than viable way to continue speech and debate in the Covid era.
Lasting Impact! is offering a chance to prepare for these online tournaments in the form of their Fall Circuit. It starts Sept. 28, 2020. Go to www.impacttournaments.com for more info or to register. In the meantime here are some expectations that you can have for this circuit and future Impact Tournaments…
Continue reading “Expectations From an Online Tournament from Lasting Impact! By: Thaddian Burson”