I love you so much, Aaron. A million thanks for this. As I listen to you, I realized that you have the inner gift in speaking. May your voice be heard more. Dont stop speaking, the world is hungry for your words.
Thank you kindly. I wish I could say the idea was originally mine, but I got the idea from another Toastmaster by the name of Andy Dooley who used it for one of his district contests.
Being a quiet person and having recently joined Toastmasters, your words were just what I needed to hear, Aaron. Clever speech, brilliant delivery! Wish you all the best for your future endevours! :)
This really touched me, i have heard words that have broken me from closed families, friends, colleagues and a boss. and I have also heard little words from strangers that stick with me, that motivate me, that keeps growing and struggling to become the better part of me. Thanks, Aaron, I just stumbled upon your videos but they are inspiring me and motivating me. God bless you.
Thank you for your kind words, Tawakalt. I am very glad to hear that this speech touched you. The reason why I choose to do what I do and make the videos I make is because I know there are others out there like me who need to hear it like I did in the past.
Hey Aaron It was a pleasure meeting you at the Toastmasters yesterday (6/26/18). Once again this was a great speech 🗨. I can relate to this about being a quiet person back when I was growing 👆. 👍
Hello Hung thank you. I am glad I can be an inspiration to you. It just takes practice and patience. Keep finding those who inspire you and learn from them as I have and still do.
Wow Aaron (not sure if you remember me from competing in Malaysia), an incredible performance clearly not fully rewarded by the "speaking gods" but I digress. The bottom line is, you presented a simple yet powerfully memorable message that no one who's heard it will soon forget. Very well done on your unique approach and outstanding presentation. Bravo!!
WOW hey Sylvia! Long time no see. I definitely do remember you from KL and your story that you shared about your meeting with Maya Angelou. Sorry for taking so long to reply. I hope everything has been good with you.
Hi Aaron, great to hear from you. All is well with me and I hope the same with you. Hopefully, our paths will cross again in the near future. Cheers for now!
Thanks. You can change the world. The ability to speak is a powerful gift. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Lights (ultimately). The best gift ever given to mankind is the Living Word Which became flesh and died for us so that we might have everlasting life. When we wait on His love, our fears our cast away and we gain control over ourselves. Thus our voice will have a wonderful influence on those who hear us. Blessings
(extremely late reply) Thank you, Jerry. Indeed, I rather be efficient with my words that way when I do say something, people will know that it's quality.
"Leave a lasting memory using as few words as possible and strive with every fiber of your being to avoid being the type of person who rambles on and on with no end in sight more likely than not causing more listeners to sit and think of themselves, oh my goodness can somebody please make this stop." -57word title
Aw man!...Well think of it like this, it was a few extra seconds of awesome 😀....but seriously these are the growing pains of the contest that everyone goes through . Hopefully you can take those lessons learned this time and apply them in the international contest next year. Just keep going.
***** Yea I was actually speaking according to what I've prepared but all of sudden a few amazing words pop up in my mind so I just spoke it out... but those few words got me disqualified of over time ..sigh. Well thanks a lot for your reply 👍😀. I'm learning how to keep track of my time now by having a gaol to complete my speech within 6-7 minutes.
Amazing speech Aaron! Loved every bit of it! I'm a Toastmaster too and I hope I learn to speak with the grace and confidence you posses! Keep it up! Lots of love from India!
Thank you Aaron. I resonate so much with your story. All throughout my life, others would tell me to talk more, say more, be more outgoing, and so on. I seemed to find this video at the right time, as I'm slowing starting to accept that I'm naturally quiet. I've been in Toastmasters for about a year and a half now, and it is challenging at times, but I do sense the feeling of confidence increasing gradually. I can now refer back to this speech and remember that even though a person is quiet, being a great speaker is absolutely possible. Thank you for your inspiration. You did a wonderful job :)
Thank you for the kind words Desiree. One thing that truly surprised me was the amount of people who felt the same way as I did. I am very glad to have given this speech and that you could connect with it.
Wow, I love your speech. Several stories made up a whole speech and each of them was related to your topic. Your pause and stress are so appropriate that can really trigger the thinking!
(extremely late reply) Thank you for the insight, Fei. I am glad that you liked the speech. All the elements you mentioned were definitely planned so that it could have maximum effect.
@@publicspeakingmentor Thank you for your kindness to reply to each of the posts! And this response gave me another chance to retrieve the memory of watching it three years ago! I have not graduated from university then! Anyway, thank you again for bringing us such a marvelous speech! Hope you all good! Stay safe!
I was at the convention so I already heard your speech live. But watching this here has given me the chills all over again! Great poise, humor, and inspiration! Amazing job!
Very well done!! Whew, I'm glad I've stumbled into your video, I was able to write my speech for my icebreaker.. that is, in two weeks!! Oh by the way, "very well done" is understatement, not even close! Way awesome!
(sorry, late reply 🙂) Thank you for the kind words. The contest is subjective in the end, I was thankful for the 2nd place win then. I did come back and win it 3 years after this though.
Did you take down the video of your practice session for this speech? I am a teacher and had posted both your practice version and competition version for my class, but now the practice version is private. Could you please set it as unlisted or post a link to it here? Thank you.
Haha...he was required to read that with a straight face to not appear to favor me or the speech over the other contestants. However, I will say is straight delivery actually made it better in my opinion. :)
Hi Paul (bit late of a reply so sorry if you already have your answer) They did give us permission to post it, they just asked us to not monetize it. We signed a document during the finals briefing.
u got disqualified that's messed up. you could've been world champion with that speech shame. but that's life. chin up . next year you'll do it. I believe in you.
Haha it wasn't as bad as it seemed. I clocked in around 7:13. I just stayed on stage so long that it seemed like it was really close. In all of my practices that is around the time I always finished (and I practiced with pauses and laughter in mind) so I knew I had enough time.
Wow You are a pro! I didn't give my speech enough breathing room when I practiced, so I had to skip one paragraph on the spot just to finish on time. Still, I hit around 7:23 LOL
Hello, I'm Maddie. I am having a really hard time trying to get confident in front of a high school crowd. Especially because they're my age, and it's the whole school. How do I get more relaxed on stage?
Start by #1 Practice, #2 Practice in front of a mirror and giving yourself eye contact, #3 Practice in front of your family, friends and pets. Those closest to you tend to be the toughest crowd. If you can do it in front of them, the HS crowd will be a piece of cake.
Hi Maddie. Firstly sorry for reading this so late. I hope that your presentation went well. However everything that Patrick stated is absolutely correct. I will add that it is very beneficial to audio and video record yourself speaking and listen/watch to the recording. This helps you identify what you need to work on personally and it also helps you internalize/memorize your speech just like your favorite songs.
No this was for the World Championship of Public Speaking. It is a 6 round contest every year where participants prepare speeches with a time limit of 5 - 7 minutes long.
Hi Derick, there is no way for sure knowing why I was placed second but I am extremely confident that it was not due to the title. In fact had I not had that title, I doubt I would have placed 2nd. Sometimes the difference between first and second is only a matter of luck and subjection.
His speech title is really funny and if the contest chair had introduced him normally, the audience would have been carried away by it. So, I think the chair has intentionally increased the pace of his words to avoid the halo effect in audience's mind. Anyway, the speaker gave a simple message with an effective delivery style..
(Extremely late reply) Thank you for the comment. I never thought about him reading the title for that reason. That's a good insight. Appreciate the kind words.
(Extremely late reply) In honesty, it was likely because he didn't want the audience to react in the middle of it the way they did. Behind the scenes he was always kind spirited about it.
