"This was Anita’s 7th speech with the goal of researching her topic. Anita chose to talk about loneliness which may seem unusual for someone as vivacious as Anita, but as she spoke, it was easy to see how this affects everyone at some point in their lives."
Before you read further, watch her speech here
Q: What made you choose loneliness as a topic?
This was actually a blog post on my website and one of our members suggested it would make a great speech. It escalated from there. I also felt this would apply to entrepreneurs because we all have to renew our contacts and friends as life moves forward.
Q: This was your 7th speech. How have you found your journey so far?
I’ve always made an effort to make sure that each speech is better than the last. This speech in particular was inspired by the 2011 world championship speaker in Toastmasters (Jock Elliott - “Just So Lucky”), but when I look back to now, I’ve taken a lot of breaks in between, but I’ve found that every step I’ve taken, I’ve put all my effort into it to make it progress and make it a next step up for myself.
Q: What tips would you like to give when it comes to writing a speech?
1. When it comes to finding your topic, make sure you are passionate about it. I’ve written a few speeches where I’m thinking “This is so boring, I don’t even want to speak about it”. So make sure you are passionate. It could be something like “Tying Your Shoe Laces” but if you love tying your shoe laces, you could really get intricate in the details of how that works, and secondly make your speech sound different. A lot of the topics we hear are not new to us, so it is essential to make your speech sound unique and different.
Q. How did you find the audience tonight?
They were great. They were laughing at jokes that I hoped they would and I felt like they were coming along for the ride so, yeah, they were great!!
"Anita and I have served together (on the executive) a couple of times, so I can vouch for her dedication and rock solid commitment in doing the best she can, every time. Her 8th speech is going to be a "world class" presentation, and I hope you will be there to witness it.
Feel free to email Steve Matthews any suggestions or questions regarding our blog at info (at) myvetc.ca.