On July 13th, I went to CSUSB Toastmasters and there weren’t that many people who attended. The advisor asked if I would like to do a speech because she didn’t know if more people were going to show up.
I told her I didn’t have anything prepared, but I decided to do it and within 10 minutes I came up with a speech and the title was “My Favorite Things.” I decided to speak about my favorite music artists, who are Nas, The Pharcyde and Blu & Exile and how they had a positive influence on my life.
My eighth speech was about being comfortable with visual aids, but I didn’t have my computer or tablet to show pictures. I had the album covers from the artists listed above on my phone, and while I was speaking I showed the audience the images, then explained why and how each artist had an influence on me.
For instance, I talked about how I related to Nas’ song “One Mic.” While Nas was rapping, he changed his vocal tone from high to low throughout the song and that was how I was feeling when I was in the hospital at 14 years old.
I heard The Pharcyde’s song Runnin’ during a transitional period in my life when I was transferring to California State University, Long Beach. I was looking for music that was different, and at the time I was listening to a lot of Lupe Fiasco. I saw an interview with him and the name “Pharcyde” came up.
Their song Runnin’ was about bullying, knowing yourself worth and how important it is to be yourself.
I also talked about my experience with Blu & Exile, and how I came across them by accident after talking to a friend on Facebook. Shortly after finding out about the duo, I bought their album, “Give Me My Flowers While I Could Still Smell Them.”
I connected with Blu’s lyricism, which is like poetry and Exile’s beautiful atmosphere of beats. The song I liked the most off the album was “More Out of Life.” Blu explains that we all are looking to improve our lives, and that he’s trying to save his soul through the music he creates.
After my speech, the advisor and everybody else who attended the meeting were impressed with how good my speech was, and that I came up with it in 10 minutes. They all gave me constructive criticism and said I needed a longer intro and I should have snippets from the songs I talked about.
Since I was put on the spot and wasn’t prepared for my eighth speech. They are giving me another chance to do my speech over again. I already created a short PowerPoint with the music embedded in it to help tell my story.
When it’s time to re-present my eighth speech, I will be ready (to get a preview of my speech, check out my Music page).
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