PUBLIC SPEAKING EXAMPLE: Verity Price - Champion of Public Speaking

[@publicspeakingmentor]

Corrections to Analysis (Thank you for those who provide corrections): 1. I make reference to Verity saying "On his way to hospital" as being a grammar mistake because of the dropped article "the"; however, this is actually grammatically correct way to say it for those who live in English Commonwealth countries. It was just foreign to me as an American.

[@snehlatasingh7303]

Excellent analysis Aaron. I learnt the following: 1.Use more sensories: words which invoke visuals and emotions. 2. Make your speech relatable. 3. Stich your speech, there should be no loose ends 4. Use rhetorical devices and use "you" to make it inclusive

[@wordworks-expressyourbusin5690]

Wow Aaron, that was an excellent and thorough critique! Verity’s speech was full of subtle word choices, facial expressions and rhetorical devices that you brought to our attention. She won because all of those “tools” worked invisibly together in perfect concert. You unveiled the secrets… so we can learn from them. Thank you! What really amazed me was how she found an almost universal, inclusive theme that that transcends cultures (these fairytales, while Anglo-Saxon in origin are now international). You criticized a couple of linguistic quirks that I found delicious: references to “the shops” and “on his way to hospital” are specific to non-American English. I LOVED that she didn’t clean them out (perhaps on purpose). Just goes to show that Toastmasters is truly international. NB: Going to THE hospital or to THE university are Americanisms. (I’m American but I live in Europe) - Lisa Marie Gelhaus

[@publicspeakingmentor]

Thank you, Lisa. I am glad that you enjoyed it. I agree that there were many small things in the speech that made it very powerful when combined together. While there is always levels of subjectivity and personal opinions on approach, objectively this was an extremely solid speech in both wording and performance. Also I indeed made a corrective note on what I perceived as the dropped article. It is very interesting because it made me think that I don’t say I go to the school or to the church but I would say go to the hospital. Language is very curious indeed 🤔🙂

[@ruskylehowser2709]

"Going to hospital" is a standard way of phrasing it in many of the English Commonwealth countries.

[@publicspeakingmentor]

Ah I see thank you for that clarification. It was another case of cultural differences in wording.

[@GinaRoperCyberImage]

Saved - thank you very much I will watch this many times as there is much to learn. Being privileged to have heard Verity's speech from the earliest days to the final product I can only add that while improvements and adjustments were obviously made I knew this was the winning speech from the very first time I heard it. We ❤ you Verity and thank you Aaron I am a fan of yours too. DTM Cape Town, South Africa.

[@publicspeakingmentor]

Thank you, Gina! Diving deeper into the speech, I thoroughly enjoyed the choices that were made and the detailed thanking that went into crafting the speech. Definitely a more than worthy winner.

[@jeffspitzer5385]

I'm #80 woohoo! Let's hear more of this excellent analysis Aaron!

[@publicspeakingmentor]

Indeed you are, Jeff. Wow I wasn't expecting it this quickly, but given the season I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Thanks for the watch and the like!

[@izidrobsousa]

I was there (in the final as a contestant) and her magnificent speech hit me like a bus. :) @Aaron, great analysis!

[@publicspeakingmentor]

I appreciate the comment. Indeed, I really enjoyed reviewing this speech. Many great choices were made in the presentation and the wording.

[@GrowthClubOfficial]

Thank you for the analysis

[@shashankankeshwarapu2427]

Aaron, thankyou so much for the analysis 😊! Looking forward for many more. Also request you to please make a analysis video on Jim key 2001(No doubt) speech.

[@publicspeakingmentor]

Hmm interesting request. You don't usually see people talk about many of the 2nd place speeches from the past.

[@shashankankeshwarapu2427]

@@publicspeakingmentor yeah makes sense, but it is one of the best speeches in the contest history.

[@starztina]

I loved this. thank you for doing this, I learned a lot. i didn't realize there was so much to speech writing

[@AshleyChing-c3o]

Fantastic for you doing this Aaron!

[@AshleyChing-c3o]

You language and rhetorical q

[@EmperorKnives]

This was an amazing breakdown, Aaron. I was able to use some of the things you pointed out during this video as recommendations to win during our area contest. Hope to see more speech analysis videos in the future!

[@publicspeakingmentor]

That is one of the reasons why I make these videos, Jan-Ace. Congratulations on proceeding to the division level contest

[@sarikabamnote4699]

Thank you very much. Love from India

[@publicspeakingmentor]

My pleasure. Thanks for watching again.

[@GinaRoperCyberImage]

In South Africa (and from what I heard in many European countries) there were many instances of musicians and singers serenading (or performing) for their neighbours from their balconies and/or via the internet during hard lockdown at the start of the pandemic. Apparently not in the USA...

[@wordworks-expressyourbusin5690]

Agreed. The reference was not lost on me at all. (In Europe)

[@publicspeakingmentor]

Ahh I see. I thought that that was likely the case and the concept just didn’t hit me because I personally hadn’t seen it or experienced it. The only instance that I remember of something similar was that people were clapping pots and pans in recognition of the essential workers here in the states.

[@agustinadagnino3022]

Great analysis of a very moving speech! Thank you and I hope you do more of these. By the way, did you notice how she took advantage of being in a virtual setting? For example, when leaning into the camera to speak to the audience… I don’t think that would have worked as well in an auditorium. What are your thoughts on this?

[@publicspeakingmentor]

Thank you Augustina. I am glad that you found the analysis valuable. Utilizing the depth of the stage is extremely important in this virtual environment because you do not have the ability to move very far side to side. While I am personally not the biggest fan of moving and extremely close to the camera, it has been done by both champions over the last couple of years and many of the finalists. It cannot be discounted as an important aspect of virtual speaking.

[@kitleung5831]

empowering analysis, thanks

[@publicspeakingmentor]

My pleasure. Glad that you enjoyed it.

[@pramodmastercoach]

❤🎉😊good one

[@publicspeakingmentor]

@@pramodmastercoach appreciate the kind comment.

[@MZcreateBangla]

wonderful

[@fitpresenter2030]

So, you work in IT? Well-played, you love details! What do you think of the overall message? In the finals, we already knew from the previous speech that she had a husband, a child, and a neckerchief that she wears while picking up trash on the beach. At this point we have seen her speak in the semifinals, the speaker showcase, and looked her up on Facebook and KZbin before seeing this speech. Does the speaker have the luxury of pretending we don't know who she is? You called back to a previous speech in your winning speech. Kwong Yue Yang does it all the time. What do you think?

[@publicspeakingmentor]

Hi thanks for the watch and comment...I don't work in IT actually. I just like digging into quality speeches...As to your point about what the audience may already know, it's all a matter of if it is important to the story/speech that is currently being told. The way I used my allusion to my 2019 speech to 2016's speech, it was used an Easter egg joke for those who had seen me in the past; however, the line itself wasn't pertinent to the story and it never came back. In Verity's speech the references not mentioned could have been used to tighten the story in which she was telling and add more clarity/background to her character in the story. As a speaker, you shouldn't assume that the audience will know the context behind what you are saying especially if that context is central to what you say later. Now there are always exceptions, caveats and other considerations, but in this case the situation here was different than what Kwong and I did in our speeches.....As for the overall message, I think I made reference to it in the video, but it was simple, relevant, easy to understand and very relatable therefore top notch in my eyes.

[@fitpresenter2030]

@@publicspeakingmentor My mistake, I could have sworn I saw somewhere that you were an IT Project manager, something like that. You definitely love details. And shoes. After the semifinals, I predicted Verity would win the whole thing, and I have the Facebook message to prove it. Then I slept in on Saturday morning and logged in halfway through her final speech. I believe she was holding onto the refrigerator door when the video finally popped up. Then she pulled out her father's letter, and I thought, "Hey, this looks familiar!" In the semifinal speech she showed the memorial album for her mother and read from it. Perhaps a callback would be in order, but hey she's a worthy champion! She has definitely written the book on how to win a virtual contest.

[@beautyanimal5769]

I didnt feel that she was doing it naturally