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! This is part 2 of their article…
Continue reading “Filler Words in Writing”
We are in full gear of the 2024 Tournament Season! Are you reading those ballots and feeling like you just need a little more push, edge, or inspiration!? Join a Lasting Impact! Club for all of the above, including GROWTH and fellowship! Second Semester Clubs are geared for the competition! Our coaches are actively involved in tournaments, judging, watching, understanding the elements of Speech and Debate, and what trends are trending. Are you looking for a little more this season? Sign up for one or more of the club below…
All clubs will be recorded, if you can’t make it. But as always, you will get the most out of being present! Tell your friends! Head to the SHOP and sign up NOW! Looking for more individual growth? Sign up for a one on one Coaching Session or a Script Assessment HERE. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Hey there, fellow speech enthusiasts! Ahoy! You might be wondering why I sound like a sailor navigating the high seas. Well, embarking on your speech journey in Speech and Debate is not so different from setting sail. And one of the places we can find ourselves lost in the sea is when we are asked to choose a topic! So how do you find the perfect wind to carry your ship (or in this case, your speech) forward…
Continue reading “Navigating the Sea of Speech Topics”
If you have ever spent hours writing a speech only to have it be wordy, factual, or even like an essay, this platform checklist is for YOU! It can be tricky to clearly and concisely convey your points in an exciting way without the so-called “meat”, main points, or the body of your speech being lost. Heather Neumann has created step-by-step guide (and the worksheet/handout is even included in the Speech Grab and Go Guide - HERE), you’ll not only be checking off each box but wowing your audience and judges! Heather has taught and coached thousands of students, including Ted Talk speakers, she knows what a good speech looks like and how to keep the audience’s attention! Perhaps going through this list you will realize what your speech is missing…
Whether taking a High School Speech class or preparing to compete in Nationals, choosing the right speech topic can seem daunting. Topic possibilities are endless, ranging from persuasive platforms to abstract interps! The thousands of choices swirling like a storm through your mind or scribbled on your notes may make your head spin, but they don’t have to. Using these principles will provide you with a step-by-step map for any situation, always resulting in the same destination: success. Don’t allow yourself to rush through or be intimidated by, what Heather Neumann calls, The Exploratory Stage…
You have probably heard me before talk about this part of your Speech and Debate Journey… welcome to the Exploratory Phase - the time when you should be exploring ideas, options, cases, even books (please tell me you aren’t only using a search engine)! Honestly, this is one of my favorite times - I have stacks of books scattered around my house, coaching appointments are made up “idea generating sessions”, the TV, radio, newspaper could give me a lead on the next best idea! So why is it that so many people struggle with this Phase!!?
While you are in the Exploratory Phase… you need to do just that - EXPLORE! How else are you going to decide what you want to talk about for the next 4-10 months (you think I am over exaggerating, but I’m not). In order for you to make progress… you actually have to put in the work! Here, I’ll help- I will break it down in a little check list for you to decide if you will be able to sell your idea to your future audience…
The season for contemplating speech topics is upon us, and as camps, clubs, and the start of a new year of Speech and Debate competition approaches, one dreaded question will swirl amongst them all.
What are you giving a speech on?
Continue reading “Don’t Be Afraid To Think Outside of the Box by Emalyn Sharp”
This week a friend called. She needed some ideas for her club kids who are working on platforms. They’ve discussed having a thesis. They are writing, but there is not a lot beyond that to do with those speeches during club meetings right now. Here are the ideas I shared with her to help kids build platform skills before they have a platform speech prepared:
This week starts our series of Workshop Wednesdays!! An opportunity for you to grow and dig deeper into some of speech and debate categories. One of our fabulous coaches, Isabelle Clausen, will kick our week off with Digital Design – a great overview of how to make your speeches digital for Digital Presentation or Expository. Next, she will explore Persuasive Speaking. Not quite sure you want to sign up? Isabelle will give you the reasons to try these Platform Speech Categories…
Continue reading “Going Digital AND Persuasive Speaking – for Speech and Beyond”
We have been told over and over "the hook" is one of the most important elements of your platform speech. I've even heard it say that the first 45 seconds will determine whether or not your audience will be drawn in. Now I grew up in Wisconsin in a hunting and fishing family. When I first heard about "the hook", I thought well, that's funny... because when I used to go fishing with my dad, it was kind of boring?! You cast, and you wait... and wait... and wait. And more times than not, there was a lot of sitting. You see, what you put on your hook will determine how long you wait. We don't want to make your audience wait too long.
Recently, I was reminded about a certain type of fishing my dad did in Northern Wisconsin- musky fishing!! You cast, and your reel it in, you cast and your reel it back in... did you catch anything? Ah-ha! That's it! We want to be musky fishermen when we are speaking. We want to hook our audience... and reel them in.
It’s that time of year—time for writing, re-writing, and honing speeches for competition. As an avid fan of the platform speech, I wrote and delivered nine platform speeches in four different platform categories during my years in speech and debate competition. By the end of it all, I’d learned that quality speech-writing takes an intense cognitive and emotional investment, somewhat akin to Churchill’s description of blood, sweat, and tears. We all can benefit from the encouragement of those who have been there before. So for all you hard-working speech writers out there, here are five pro-tips to aid your master process:
The importance of a theme is something I state often.
As my good friend, NCFCA TP Champion and coach, Rebecca Frazer said, "Good communication is practically always thematic. Your favorite movies are your favorite movies because they leave you with strong, central feelings. Every round strategy–aff or neg–must be centered around a strong theme. Stating a value in a case does not make it thematic, nor does stating a negative philosophy. Some of the best values I have ever seen in debate are so obvious that they don’t even need to be labeled–every argument the team makes ties back to a clear idea that they value. Please don’t let your judge leave the debate round wondering, “Hmm, so I wonder what was really important to them?”
The same is true for Speech. You want your audience to remember you- as well as what you have said, or performed. How?! This can be done by having a theme! A theme can be an underlying topic or recurring idea in your speech. Your memory is powered by your brain, which is full of emotions. Those emotions can be triggered by impacting the audience through a theme. Think about it- a judge will listen to 8 students give a speech for 10 minutes each... That's 80 minutes of speeches! You want to be sure they remember you! How can that be done?
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