Humorous Speeches
- Cell Phone Rudeness: The next time you see someone meandering down the road while talking on their cell phone, read this. A popular speech!
- The Cheese Cutting Contest: A tale that really stinks.
- Dawn of a New Century: A reflection of a passing century…the 21st Century.
- How to Give a Memorable Speech: Follow these tips to give a speech your audience will never forget.
- iPodland: A magical place iPod lovers like to go.
- Left Out: Can a poor baseball player become a hero? An award winner!
- A Life in T-Shirts: You can learn everything about a man from the shirts he keeps in his drawer.
- Not Enough Dog Poop: Something some psychologists are lacking.
- Revenge of the Nerds?: Feeling like you’re becoming a nerd? You’re not alone. An award winner!
- The Right to Bear Bears: Feeling angry? Don’t grab an Uzi, grab your teddy bear. An award winner!
- The Seven Words Revisited: What the #@$% happened to those #@$%*&! words you can’t say on the #@$%*&! television!
- What Was He Thinking?: Critical lessons we must all learn from the Don Imus case.
Informative Speeches
- Avinu Malkaynu: What do Jews and Christians have in common? Something very important.
- Bad Books: Why bad books are good. An award winner!
- Don’t Believe Everything You Read: Don’t be a sucker for an urban legend. Learn how to identify the truth.
- The Evaluation: Why open-hearted communication is more effective than violence.
- Friendship: What does it take to build friendships that last?
- I Have a Secret!: My two cents on a popular spiritual book.
- It’s Good to Feel Bad: Is it ever OK to feel vengeful or angry? Find out how such negative emotions can help you.
- Play the Ball, Not the Player: This tip from a soccer coach will help you score your goals in taking on controversial subjects without alienating club members.Also read “Make Your Club a Safe Zone” for further thoughts on this issue.
- Rule of Threes: Tell your listeners once, twice, and three times to make your speeches easier to remember.
- Survive College by Being Flexible: My advice to some junior high school students about how to succeed in college.
- Three Keys to Effective Evaluation: If your evaluation has these three attributes, you can help anyone from Little Leaguers to Toastmasters.
- Throw Britney to the Lions!: What does Britney Spears have in common with ancient Rome?
Inspirational Speeches
- Another Mountain to Climb: What keeps people pursuing their passion for decades?
- A Basket of Magazines: An award-winning speech about relationships between fathers and children.
- Bound: An important lesson I learned from a harrowing experience. An award winner!
- Don’t Proselytize Me: I gave this as a test speech for a number of Toastmasters speech contests this fall.
- The Eagle in the Chicken Coop: A twist on the well-known self-help tale.
- Edgar, The Brave Evaporative Cooler: A modern-day folk tale about a residential cooling system.
- A Good Enemy: Enemies have benefits for nations and individuals. Find out how. An award winner!
- Manhattan 2002: Lower Manhattan 11 months after the attack on the World Trade Center.
- The Power of Your Words: My final Toastmasters speech tells why your words have power and how to use it.
- A Winner Never Quits?: Is it really true that quitters never win? An award winner!
- Winning from Losing: A 1993 speech about how to learn from losing.
Icebreaker Speeches
- None of Your Business: A different approach to giving an icebreaker speech.
- Shy: How I overcame my shyness.
Specialty Speeches
- A Wedding Toast
- Eulogies
- Barbara Stern (from 1992)
- Sheldon Stern (from 1986)
Thoughts and Articles about Public Speaking
- Contest History: What are speech contests and why are they helpful? I explain as I show you my contest history.
- Creating and Using Evaluation Forms: How to create evaluation forms that generate useful feedback and valuable marketing information.
- Make Your Club a Safe Zone: On second thought, there are benefits to avoiding controversial speeches in Toastmasters clubs. See my letter to the editor that was published in the February, 2001 Toastmaster magazine.
- Resources for Public Speaking: A handout I gave at an Orange County STC meeting in 1996.
- Why be an Area Governor: Why Toastmasters should consider taking on this important role.
- Why People Get Nervous and What to Do About It: You can overcome nervousness in speaking when you understand why it happens.
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