SpeakEasy is a documentary film about the fear of public speaking, and the 2008 Toastmasters World Championships of Public Speaking. Filmmakers Paul Galichia and Brian Weidling embarked on an almost two year journey – conducting hundreds of interviews about public speaking anxiety, and capturing every stage of the tense, highly competitive World Championships of Public Speaking.
We’ve met so many amazing people and seen so many interesting places on this continent, I think back and it seems a little surreal to have made such an odd, fascinating, arduous journey. Williston North Dakota. Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Erie Pennsylvania. Vegas. Homeless shelters. Angola State Penitentiary. Magicians. I’ll rattle on as we recount the adventure and get ready to release the film. We’ll have pictures and videos and blog posts and communities and message boards and Tweets and favorite links and all things public speaking…. and, of course, at some point soon, the film itself.
It’s just about time for the contest to start – if you’re participating or a fan of the contest, let me know if you want to blog about it on the site!! We can also start some threads on message boards. Go to “boards” and tell us what you think!
Happy speaking!! Let’s do this!
(This is the last LOLcat picture, I swear, but my sisters think the LOL cats are funny, and I love my sisters, so… please humor me!)
Anyone interested? It’s almost that time of year that the contest begins. We’d love to get some pictures, video, and stories from the 2010 contest.
If you’re a regular, or not so regular, reader of the site, please chime in!
I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention, but the 2009-2010 New Jersey Nets are on their way to becoming the worst basketball team in NBA history. They started the season 0-19, setting a record for the poorest start in league history, and have won 4 games since – which is sort of miraculous, because, I mean… they’re awful. So how does this relate to SpeakEasy? In our film, we have a small section (for now) about motivational speakers, and indeed the World Championships of Public Speaking could be looked at as an amateur motivational speaking contest. Most speeches are, at least, written to impart life wisdom and help the audience in some or another. And so, a motivational speaker has come to rescue the New Jersey Nets! Let’s keep track of it and see if it works! Can a powerful speaker help a team block out, hit open three pointers, make the extra pass, not turn the ball over, etc.? We shall see….
Michelle – one of our esteemed summer interns – is taking a class in public speaking. She needs some feedback on a practice speech she’s been doing. Please help her out and leave a comment! Also, feel free to add your own practice speech and get some feedback!
One of the things SpeakEasy really delves into – or at least we did in the last cut – is how closely strong leadership is tied to good public speaking skills. Yesterday, two pioneers, if you will, were in front of audiences to sell themselves and and push their agendas: Barack Obama and Steve Jobs. Obama’s State of the Union address showcased many of the trademarks of an Obama speech – strong posture, an air of authority, a booming, confident voice – regardless of his policies, he’s an excellent speaker to study just in terms of physical presence. Steve Jobs, on the other hand, has a physical condition that has left him weak, so he relied on humor, charming nerdiness, and confidence in his product – I thought his content was stronger than his delivery (he effectively ripped on the Kindle, for example). And he looks relaxed, casual, and friendly. It’s engaging. Either way, here are some clips from their speeches – a big day in presentation and public speaking.
Before we started the film, I never REALLY thought about public speaking. It definitely seemed… obvious is maybe the wrong word, but still just something to poke fun at or just simply experience with an “eh” and move on. Rarely would I notice a GREAT speech… especially in awards season.
Check it out – I loved Christopher Waltz’s acceptance speech at the Golden Globes…
Long enough blog post title for ya’? At any rate, we had a fantastic interview with Terry Mcgraw of McGraw-Hill publishing. Yeah, he’s a pretty big deal, and a huge fan of Toastmasters. If you work for his company, and you finish the first ten speeches of the Toastmasters program, you receive a thousand dollars. Good stuff. Here he is today breaking news about the Apple “tablet”.
Please help our good friend Eric Klein of Can-Do.org – he’s in Haiti right now, assisting in the relief efforts. He goes outside the red tape of the bureaucracies and makes things happen on the ground, getting tangible results. Please donate to his cause.
Loading ...
