Toastmasters at CSUSB: "Little Brother's Keeper"
On Aug. 2nd, I completed my eighth advanced manuals (18th overall) speech for Toastmasters at CSUSB. The objective for this speech was to “Make Them Laugh,” and my speech was entitled, “Little Brother’s Keeper.”
I decided not to record this speech because it’s not about me, but about my little Brother. During the 2008-2009 school year, my Brother was a student at California State University, Los Angeles. After class, he decided to visit my parents on a Thursday. My parents live in Victorville, and he arrived at 2:30 pm. Shortly after he made it to my parents’ house, he had to drive back to Los Angeles and pick up my Uncle from a rehab facility.
My Brother was mad that he had to drive back to LA only hours after arriving in Victorville. When he finally made it to the rehab facility, he saw my Uncle flirting with the security guard. My Uncle also had three big shopping carts full of bags that packed the car. When they pulled out of the parking lot, they were surrounded by a swat team because they were looking for somebody in the area.
My Brother didn’t return to my parents’ house until 9:30 pm. The next morning, my Brother left at 6 am and arrived at his dorm at Cal State LA at 8 am, and he realized the rehab center was only blocks away from his school.
I concluded my speech saying, “This story still gets his Brother mad, but to me, it never gets old hearing about this beautiful story.”
My evaluator said this was one of the nicest speeches I’ve done, because the audience got a chance to know me a little bit more. While speaking, she said I was extremely relaxed.
What made my story the most effective was that the story got worse as it went on, but it was humorous at the same time.
She also gave me constructive criticism saying that I could've been more descriptive about how hot the day was, and it would have been more dramatic to say how many miles my Brother had to drive round trip from Victorville to LA.
While delivering this speech, I felt relaxed and I didn’t over think what I wanted to say. I believe I performed well, and I completed the objective because I had everybody laughing while telling this ridiculous and humorous story.
* On July 31st, I checked my LinkedIn profile and I saw in my timeline that somebody was auditioning for the show “Shark Tank.” I decided to apply via e-mail and shared my entrepreneurial business “CalmandStrong.” I’m sure the show gets millions of submissions, but I decided to apply because there is a good chance that I will be the only contestant talking about connecting my experiences and realities of being two-time cancer survivor and hip amputee to the digital world of the inFAMOUS videogame franchise and superhero Cole MacGrath.
* To check out my PowerPoint Presentation about how Hip-Hop artist Nas, and the inFAMOUS videogame franchise help tell my story of being a two-time cancer survivor and hip amputee, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L51lC_mmkuM
* To check out my inspirational speech “The Connection,” about how I defeated cancer twice and was inspired by the inFAMOUS videogame franchise and superhero Cole MacGrath, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zQ2xvCoxw0
* While at Toastmasters on Aug. 2nd, I met a guest who is an above the knee amputee. I approached him and said I’m a hip amputee. I gave him one of my business cards, and I hope to see him again when we have another meeting two weeks from now. I believe I could help others who have been through similar situations as me when I speak about my experiences and realities of being a cancer survivor and becoming a hip amputee.
* To check out my accomplishments through photos, click here: http://www.calmandstrong.net/photos
Disclaimer…
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Evelynveere, C. Toastmasters at CSUSB. Digital image. Facebook. Facebook, 15 Aug. 2015. Web. 3 Aug. 2017. https://www.facebook.com/CSUSBToastmasters/photos/a.540946182614991.1073741825.540945422615067/952732084769730/?type=1&theater