Basic Speech Projects
Competent Communication
BSP#1 -The Ice Breaker- "Fast Forward", Oct.26,2005, ON Semiconductor
My very first speech that I thought went very well. Comments from the evaluators were very motivating. The guest evaluator (Lt.Goverenor Gina Mapua) thought that I ought to be evaluated as CTM already. Wow! Thank you for the kind words!
BSP#2 - Organize Your Speech - "The Devil's Gardens", Jan. 25, 2006, ON Semiconductor
A long overdue speech because our TM meetings are so few and far between. My evaluator was a past District Champion Elaine Aviola. She found the topic arcane yet quite interesting. Yes, I was always interested with National Geographic and Discovery Channel types of topics and so I found this.
BSP#3 - Get to the Point - "The Devil's Gardens", Feb. 18, 2006, Bureau of Customs (test speaker)
I delivered the speech as a Test Speaker for the Evaluation Contest portion. It's my first time to speak in other than our club and I was impressed with the number of good toastmasters attending the contest. I think many of them liked it and felt it was more of an advanced speech (Research Your Topic).
BSP#4 - How to Say It - "Fueling the Cooking", Mar. 15, 2006, ON Semiconductor
The title sounds so funky, but heck I liked the topic. It's about the outdoor stove also known as the "Superkalan" that we bought and find so useful and practical for our cooking needs. And so yes I was excited to talk about it. Some of the audience wanted more of the mundane aspects though like ROI and technicalities.
BSP#5 -Your Body Speaks- "Let's Go Swimming", May 17, 2006, ON Semiconductor (Clinic)
My first stab at a swimming topic. I've researched and gotten so much material that I had to cut so much out from the speech. And the result still had more stuff in it. No formal club meeting for this speech. It was done at the office clinic!
BSP#6 - Vocal Variety - "Learn-to-Swim", May 18, 2006, Kimberly-Clark Phils.
It was my first time to club-hop or attend a club outside of our own. Wow, what a truly enthusiastic bunch! I had to intro my speech with "Think Summer" because it has started to rain already and I was wearing a flowery-printed shirt.
BSP#7 - Research Your Topic - "Because It Is There", May 25, 2006, Kimberly-Clark Phils.
I could've used a previous project here but opted not to. I wanted a fresher topic to talk about. What fresher could be than the news of the first Pinoys to reach the Everest summit. These Pinoys were big in the local headlines just the previous weeks. I learned so much just reading about adventure treks to Mt. Everest and fascinating stories about Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.
BSP#8 - Get Comfortable with Visual Aids - "The Devil's Gardens", Jun. 1, 2006, HSBC (Demo)
This time I dusted off and reused an old speech. As this project particularly required visual aids, it gave me a fresh view and chance to research more. I spent much effort working on the visuals which I thought were excellent. I even created some of my own, drawing the Chuyachaki as described. It was my first time to use visuals in a Toastmaster speech and found it a bit awkward as I was already used to speaking without them. It was also my first to deliver in a demo meeting.
BSP#9- Persuade with Power - "Jewels at the Podium", Jun. 27, 2006, ON Semiconductor
Here's my first speaking project about speaking. The title is a play on a recent Korean tv novela entitled, "Jewels in the Palace". I thought the topic was very relevant and appropriate for the audience. The audience was made up of technical people who were there for a series of workshops on improving presentation skills. Many of them were surprised and inspired by the speech.
BSP#10 - Inspire Your Audience - "In the Eyes of a Child, a Vision of Hope", Jul. 4, 2006, ON
I've been a World Vision child sponsor for several years and giving this speech to inspire was a gamble. Not many have heard of World Vision so I wasn't so sure how the audience would take it. But I was prepared and the visual aids included the letters of correspondence with my sponsored kids, picture folders and testimonials. I was so moved in my telling the Starfish Story that my voice quivered for a second or two. But did I inspire them? I think so. A few did inquire further regarding the World Vision program.
Updates:
- In April, 2007, Jerilyn Viray (now Dimaculangan) decided to sponsor another child from Word Vision after reading this speech. The child is a10-year old boy from Negros Occidental.
- In March 2008, Maria Ana Dichoso, who was in my audience when I delivered the speech, sponsored a 7-year old boy from Palawan through World Vision.
Advanced Speech Projects
The Entertaining Speaker
ASP#1 - The Entertaining Speech - "That Extra Mile", Aug. 9, 2006, Kimberly-Clark Phils.
This is the story of my unforgettable first trip to the United States and the confusion that happened at the airport. I had fun reliving the experience. It also had its share of dramatic moments especially when I read the heartfelt letter of commendation given to the American driver who helped me out from a very difficult situation.
ASP#2 - Resources for Entertainment - "That Extra Mile", Sep. 6, 2006, Diageo Phils.
I practiced this speech in preparation for the 2006 Quartethlon in the Prepared Speech Category. I focused on the speech as Jim Bradley's story rather than my own. Hence it was Jim's story that I was telling here. It was a close call though. Luckily the evaluator considered it for this speech project. Again, the speech had its jaw-dropping effect on the audience.
ASP#3 - Make Them Laugh - "Motel 101", Nov. 6, 2006, Kimberly-Clark Phils.
Here's the part two of my entertaining speech. These are the events that occurred after the airport incident. It describes the funny and awkward moments for a newbie traveler in a motel in a foreign land. Yes, it did elicit smiles and laughter from the audience especially with my gestures. I could have made the questions about motels a bit tamer though.
ASP#4 - A Dramatic Talk - "A Christmas Ride with my Kawasaki Girl", Dec. 12, 2006, Philips
This has to be one of my most memorable speeches. I knew eversince that one day I'd be delivering a speech about my daughter's (Sandra)'s bout with the Kawasaki disease. And this was it. My eyes welled with tears everytime I rehearsed the speech. I modified the setting a bit to fit the time (Christmas). The timing was right as the club's company (Philips) was having their Christmas Party. And so I tweaked the speech title - really cool yet cryptic. The audience' eyes were all glued to me. I'm certain I noticed a tear or two in the audience who were mostly parents.
ASP#5 - Speaking After Dinner - "Breaking the Ice", Feb 16, 2007, ON Semiconductor
This is the last speech that I would be delivering for the ON Semiconductor Club before it folds-up. Up to this point, none of the Club dues have been renewed and there were no talks of having them renewed. We were still reeling over the resignation of active and supportive toastmasters. I wanted to welcome and motivate the new guests to the club with this speech and so my simulated setting was welcoming new guests to the club after a club dinner. Many liked the speech and delivery. But after almost 2 weeks mulling over the speech and procrastinating, the evaluator said he felt the speech did not meet the objectives. What do you think?
ASP#5 - Speaking After Dinner - "My Message on Your Wedding Day", May 10, 2007, ACT-Henlin
Feeling disappointed with my first attempt at the Speaking After Dinner project, I scrapped the topic altogether and wrote a new piece about an imaginary event. This would be the first of my "kwentong-kutsero" series which I really enjoyed delivering because they have hilarious twists. One way to immediately connect is to use a member of the audience as a prop as I did here. How did my prop-person feel? She was thrilled! This would be my first speech in the new club as an official member and not as a club-hopper. My old club couldn't sustain itself and just faded away. I'm happy with this new beginning.
The Professional Speaker
ASP#1 - The Keynote Address - "Focus on your Goals", July 4, 2009, ACT - Bellevue Hotel
This is the inaugural speech I gave as club president during the club's induction ceremonies and 5th anniversary. A video slideshow which I created was presented after this speech.
ASP#2 - Speaking to Entertain - "That Extra Mile", Aug 10, 2006, ACT-Gloria Maris Restaurant
For this speech I reused the entertaining story but added a few more subtopics to further lengthen the speech. This speech project's time duration was 15 to 20 minutes. This is a relaxed speech as I didn't have to rush through it. Delivered in a community club, it was my first time to speak in a restaurant setting. These lengthy speeches are a challenge coz you could quickly lose your audience if you don't use enough body movements, gestures and vocal variety.
Storytelling
ASP#1 - The Folk Tale - "Noah's Bird", May 17, 2007, ACT-Henlin
Despite its funny title, this speech did talk about the Biblical Noah. I tried a risky yet novel prop here. My daughter Sandra folded paper into something that looked like a puppet. I used these simple paper puppets to describe the other characters, a crow and a dove. Vocal variety was also there to show how the crow got its hoarse voice. Yeah, I actually mimicked a crow's voice! The speech would've pleased an audience of children with the puppets and all, but my audience received it well also.
ASP#2 - Let's Get Personal - "Traces of Talent", Aug 9, 2007, ACT-Henlin
The speech was about a conversation I had with my daughter, Celeste, over at dinner time that revolved about career choices. The title is actually the chapter of a book on personal and professional development. The topic is easy to digest with the subtopics having individual anecdotes and so it was easy to follow. The anecdotes gave me much room for body movement and gestures.
ASP#3 - The Moral of the Story - "The Secret of Padre Burgos", Aug 16, 2007, ACT-Henlin
Here's another of my "kwentong-kutsero" speeches. Padre Burgos in my story was an old Italian priest. To add authenticity to the discourse or dialogue between characters, I mimicked the accent of our parish's Italian priest, Fr. Luigi. I didn't have time to record and listen to my voice but I thought I did well. I really love this piece. The audience were naturally intrigued by the title which very well suits the speech topic.
ASP#4 - The Touching Story - "You're Still You", Aug 29, 2007, Kimberly-Clark Phils.
This is one of those seriously delivered speeches. I thought my opening with a paper money bill to discuss intrinsic value was very good. I've had this anecdote, complete with gestures, props and all, for quite a while. I took it from one of those forwarded "inspirational" chain emails. I thought the anecdote matched the speech's topic. There was conflict, but for its redeeming value, the audience wanted / expected a confrontation in the end. Hmmm, like your typical Pinoy soap opera?
ASP#5 - Bringing History to Life - "A Palette and a Plate", Sep 13, 2007, ACT-Henlin
Most historical figures I've seen mentioned for this type of speech projects are War Figures. I suppose wars are those events in history that are mostly documented especially when keeping the legacy of victories. But I chose a different route and went into Arts (painting). For this, I made up an elaborate story about the great Filipino Painter, Juan Luna. The supporting embellishments I wrote are so believable that the finished speech looked and sounded like a mini-play. The gestures and Spanish accent I attempted to portray the arrogant Spanish waiter were received well. This is definitely one of the best I've written and delivered.
Speaking to Inform
ASP#1 - The Speech to Inform - "Why Put it out There?", Oct 11, 2007, ACT-Henlin
Internet and blogging would be the theme of this speech. As I've been familiar with these topics, I might as well talk about them. Would the audience be interested? You betcha! A few already expressed interest even before. I realize though that the title is not the least indicative of the topic which is "why publish on the web?".
ASP#2 - Resources for Informing - "Blog Basics: Layout", Oct 18, 2007, ACT-Henlin
Jumping off from the internet and blogging theme, I wrote this piece to discuss the details of blog layouts. Since it was difficult to abstractly talk of a physical layout, I used printed visual aids from a sample blog to discuss the main components of the blog's layout. I also went into the definition of some blog terms like widgets (windows gadgets), site statistics counters, etc. The audience found it educational.
ASP#3 - The Demonstration Talk - "The Eggbeater Kick", Nov 8, 2007, ACT-Henlin
I returned to a familiar theme for this speech project and that is swimming. I had wanted to demo the backstroke but my sore left shoulder prevented me. And so I spoke and gave a demo of the most efficient treading technique called the eggbeater kick. As it was impossible to really show it, I showed a video clip to show all the parts of the kick working together. This demo entailed plenty of gestures and specific body movements which the audience found entertaining if not amusing.
ASP#4 - A Fact-Finding Report - "Drowning Prevention", Nov 15, 2007, ACT-Henlin
Thanks to a nice article from the Philippine Pediatric Society, I was able to talk of drowning statistics that otherwise may not be available. It's tough to get relevant and updated numbers. Although I could have, I chose not to show visuals as I only had a few statistics. Here's one speech where the conclusion tied effortlessly with the introduction.
ASP#5 - An Abstract Concept - "Food for the Dead", Nov 23, 2007 - Cummins (Demo Meeting)
This project was a tough nut to crack. It took me quite a while to finally choose among several topics: "what if Jose Rizal wasn't captured and escaped to Cuba", "Tomorrow's Jobs", "The 4th Dimension" and this one. And I wasn't so sure if the topic was abstract enough and would qualify. But hey, it's the District Governor herself (Gina Mapua) who evaluated me and gave me a "go!". All Soul's Day was only a few weeks ago and so the timing was excellent! I connected with the audience when I described my son Renz's birthday party at age 5. Again, here's one speech where the Conclusion ties up beautifully with the Opening.
Interpretive Reading
ASP#1 - Reading a Story - "The Legend of Bandung Bondowoso", Apr 10, 2008, ACT-Henlin
Here’s a speech I thought I wouldn’t be able to deliver as expected. I was hesitant and was even late at the meeting due to the props and editing. But, boy, was I happy I did give it that night. The freshness of the material was made more relevant with our recent trip to Jakarta, Indonesia during the Holy Week of 2008 for our 20th Wedding Anniversary. I thought the intro was just perfect. I felt I was sharing with the audience (like some sort of a “pasalubong”) a unique cultural experience from the world’s biggest archipelago, Indonesia. I’m so glad I used the Wayang Kulit puppet that my daughter Celeste created as part of a school project (thanx Che!). It created a nice segue from our Jakarta trip onto the story itself. Finding a suitable legend was the challenge. Most were short or had shallow plots and won’t fit the 8 to 10 minute duration. Some didn’t even have dialogues. The version of the Legend of Bandung Bondowoso I chose was just right.
ASP#2 - Interpreting Poetry - "The Raven", Apr 17, 2008, ACT-Henlin
I'm not much into poetry although I wrote some simple poems in my elementary years. While growing up, I once saw on TV a rendition of this poem by the actor Vincent Price and I was spellbound. His voice, more than the images, is still fresh in my mind like it was yesterday. For this delivery, I sought the assistance of a guest to tap a spoon on a bowl so mimic the tapping of the raven on the window pane. That sound effect gave me positive feedback from the General Evaluator. One guest had this quizzical look in his face as I started with the introduction. He probably expected me to dive right into the poem. But I wasn't distracted 'coz I knew this project well.
ASP#3 - The Monodrama - "The Green Goblin's Invitation", May 8, 2008, ACT-Henlin
I was a bit hesitant with the project at first coz most examples I’ve seen were characters from bland English and American literature – hmmm, not exactly my liking.That was until I found one where the character was Superman’s father, Jor-El.And so I wanted to portray a movie character that the audience would be familiar with.The Spiderman’s arch enemy, The Green Goblin from "Spiderman the Movie" was him!His character wasn’t necessarily loved, but boy, did he have stage presence!From the applause, I’d say, this one’s a real gem of a keeper.
ASP#4 - The Play - "The Little Prince", August 21, 2008, ACT-Henlin
Gosh, I didn't realize that scripts to many modern plays are copyrighted. And these include "Little Orphan Annie" and "The King and I" which I so wanted to deliver. This set me back a little until I found "The Little Prince". A widely known children's book, I had the evaluator worried when she thought I'd be telling it in a manner that was for kids. But this book's message is so timeless that I think it's the adults that should really learn from it. My hoarse vocal characterization of the fox made my throat a bit sore afterwards.
ASP#5 - The Oratorical Speech - "Ninoy's Undelivered Speech", September 18, 2008, ACT-Henlin
I can't really think of another speech that I'd deliver other than that of Ninoy's. I particularly loved the speech he delivered in the U.S. about a President (Marcos) robbing ("robbing" is supposedly Japanese for "loving") the Filipinos and a First Lady who was robbing them more. Absolutely brilliant! I wanted to give the aura of a Ninoy Aquino in the speech and so I fashioned and wore an effective prop to resemble him somewhat. The audience liked it very much.