NEW! The Ultimate Guide to Interpretive Speech

You asked for it… we have been asked for years to come out with a product just for Interpretive Speech! Here it is! Packed with photos, inspiration, tips, tricks, advice, worksheets, games, encouragement, and more. The Ultimate Guide to Interpretive Speaking will be your Guide to walk you though the process of an Interpretive Speech – finding a piece, picking a piece, themes, introductions, honing your characters, as well as tackling specific categories such as duo, open, dramatic, humorous, or biblical.

This is a great resource for students, parents, and coaches! Did you know, Lasting Impact! Has dozens of resources? Check out the SHOP for items such as Debate Guides, Sourcebooks, The Speech Grab and Go, Speech Games Book, The Limited Prep Guide, and more!

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It’s Not All Fun and Games When You’re Writing an ADS by: Katie Kellam

Sometimes, competitors are disappointed when they learn that the After Dinner category isn’t exactly the same thing as a stand up comedy routine. ADS is more than just a string of jokes, not in the least because most speech and debate leagues have a section on their ADS ballots for something like “merit,” “message,” or “impact.” Competitors often chafe at the fact that they’re being restricted in this way. After all, the only reason anyone wants to compete in ADS is because they want to be FUNNY! Leave the serious stuff for the persuasives! Right? These aren’t just empty complaints either – I’ve talked to many competitors who feel strongly that shoehorning a message into a speech where it doesn’t belong is little more than judge pandering. 

Continue reading “It’s Not All Fun and Games When You’re Writing an ADS by: Katie Kellam”

How to Get the Most from your Humorous Material

            Humor is important in communication.  Knowing how to use humor opens doors that no other skill can get through, BUT humor badly done is also worse than any other communication skill when it’s botched, so it’s awfully important to your ethos as a speaker to manage your humor well and mine all of its potential.

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Incorporating Humor in Speech and Debate

What is humor?

Humor happens in that luminous moment when two things don’t seem to be related at all, but then they come together in a way so unexpected that we laugh…or at least feel the delight of it.  It’s an insight that bubbles out: we feel joy when we see the connection or “get it.” That joy often comes out as laughter – delight escaping after the mental activity of making the connection.  

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