“I went through four hours of hair and makeup to listen to this bull—t?” This was Steven Tyler, complaining about the background noise at the USS Midway location for the San Diego auditions. He’s said some crazy things as a judge on American Idol. He also said something in an interview that was so brilliant…
“What did you think of the speech contest?” is the question I hear most often right after the World Championship of Public Speaking. I believe that some people wonder what I saw from my perspective, some are looking to validate their views, and some may be wondering what they didn’t see. Perspective is the value…
There’s always proof of the value in your message–if you know where to look. Every year in the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking, there are tens of thousands of speech contestants, and each of them has a story behind their journey. This year, one story behind a semi-finals speech blew me away. I was…
The speech contest is a timed event. Contestants are given five to seven minutes, with a leeway of thirty seconds. Anyone who goes over 7:30 is usually disqualified. In my case, however, there was a timing light malfunction. The contest rules state that if there is a malfunction the contestant will get thirty extra seconds.…
Yes, I had two designated coaches, and a lot of “unofficial” coaches. My first coach was Dave McIlhenny, a Past District Governor and District speech contest winner. I wanted help from someone who had won before. When you want to learn something, who do you go to for help? Dave guided me through the District…
Let’s define “practice.” I believe you cannot “practice” by yourself. You can only “memorize” when you are alone. We present differently when someone is watching. I practiced my speech twenty-two times (including once at a prison club). A CEO I now coach recently told me that the best thing I’d taught him was that creating…
Unlike many of the champions before me winning the contest was not my initial goal. No one from my district had ever won before, so I did not even fantasize about going all the way. The reason I decided to compete was because of my mentors and the lessons they taught me. At the time…