top of page

Prelude: CalmandStrong: The Connection

Updated: Jun 14, 2023

From my last blog, I said my next Toastmasters speech was going to be about my experience with the Debbie Chisholm Memorial Foundation (DCMF) when they granted me my wish of having a $2,000 shopping spree at Best Buy in 1999 when I was 14 years old. I decided that it didn’t make sense for me to talk about DCMF for this speech objective, but I will talk about my shopping spree in another speech.


My next speech is “The Entertaining Speech,” and the objective is to entertain the audience by relating a personal experience, and organize an entertaining speech for maximum audience impact.


My Second Advanced Speech (16th speech overall), is entitled, “CalmandStrong: The Connection.” My speech is going to be about connecting my experience and realities of being a two-time cancer survivor and a hip amputee to the digital world of the inFAMOUS videogame franchise and superhero Cole MacGrath.


I’ve done many speeches about this topic before, but I’m confident about this speech because the PowerPoint I created goes perfectly with the words I’m going to say. During my past speeches, most of my evaluator’s have said I had too many words within my PowerPoint.


I’ve been studying and perfecting my craft over the last few weeks, and when I speak to the audience, my PowerPoint will only have pictures and videos. For instance, the pictures displayed will be from when I was diagnosed with cancer at 14 and 17 years old, when I became a hip amputee, and the images and videos from inFAMOUS bridge the gap between Cole and myself.


To check out pictures from when I was diagnosed with cancer, click here: http://www.calmandstrong.net/photos


I feel most confident about this speech because I know the material because it’s my personal story, and I’m also using a video from inFAMOUS that I haven’t used before. For example, within the introduction comic book cutscene from the original inFAMOUS, Cole spoke about his origins and how he dealt with being forced to control electricity.


In the past, I’ve only showed pictures explaining why I have such a strong connection with Cole. I feel the inFAMOUS introduction video, along with my Darryl and Cole comparison picture will help the audience understand my deep connection with the inFAMOUS videogame franchise and Cole MacGrath.


My “CalmandStrong: The Connection” speech will be next Wednesday, and I’m going to record it and put it online next Friday.



To check out Cole’s origin story from the original inFAMOUS, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqzGkombrdc&t=1s


To check out a preview of my PowerPoint Presentation with my inFAMOUS Music Montage, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L51lC_mmkuM







* This week, I received a post card from Loma Linda Children’s Hospital Volunteer Services wishing me a happy birthday.


* On May 25th, California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) is having a Spoken Word and Poetry event called, “Speak Yo Truth.” I’m excited to participate in this event because it will be a new audience who have never heard my story before. I’m going to perform my “CalmandStrong: My Connection” speech, and I will find out if my story is powerful enough to touch people emotionally.

Update:


* On Tuesday, May 23rd, I received an e-mail from the American Cancer Society: Relay for Life and I was invited to attend another event they are having this Thursday, May 25th. The event is Cancer Awareness Night at the San Bernardino Fair. I have a bit of a dilemma because the Spoken Word Poetry “Speak Yo Truth” event is also on May 25th. I’m leaning more towards attended the Relay for Life event, because I’m already going to perform a speech for Toastmasters at CSUSB tomorrow, Wednesday, May 24. Be on the lookout for my next speech video this Friday, May 26th.




Disclaimer…


I do not own any image and video content from the inFAMOUS videogame franchise.


No Copyright Intended. All image and video content is copyright to their respective owners. All content is property of Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), developed by Sucker Punch Productions.

0 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page