I'm speechless. Literally. http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820 Mikiki Hello my fellow NaNos . . . (Or whatever we call ourselves, I'm still new) So, school speeches are coming up this term and I'm practically dead when it comes to having a good idea for one. I can write a story with the sequels all planned out and everything yet I cannot write a 3-4 minute speech. Sadness... Anyways, I want something that will stand out, like a really good idea that has probably never been used before. Well, that's asking too much, really all I'm looking for is unique. Animal abuse and puppy mills and stuff aren't quite what I'm looking for, but they do make a great speech. (You know, if they weren't used by about a third of the school.) Also, it has to be a convincing speech, not an informational thing. It has to be like I'm convincing the audience, not telling them about something. Last year I did, "Slang is good". I talked too fast because I was a little nervous, so I didn't make it to round 3. If anyone could help me, it'd be great and amazing and everything in between. I loved writing my speech last year because I could be pretty creative with it, and I want the same this year. Thanks! Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:58:28 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1110852 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1110852 TheDreamAuthor Well, I just recently did a speech about NaNoWriMo itself for a Public Speaking class. Or rather, I did a demonstration speech about how to write a novel in a month. It actually went really well, and no one else in my class did something like that so it stood out. Maybe you could try doing something like that? Good luck! Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:56:05 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1111264 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1111264 CountryGirl13 Here's a touchy subject, but one that could work: human trafficking. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:20:32 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1111336 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1111336 Horselover150 How about one on nuclear energy? I just wrote an argumentative essay on whether nuclear engery is safe or not. You can be extremely convincig on it. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:26:28 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1111529 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1111529 Angryman I rather like the idea about doing a speech on NaNoWriMo. Seriously, ever since we are little kids, everyone tells us to us our imaginations and be creative, but honestly, few jobs really allow one to be so creative. NaNoWriMo is getting us used to the feeling of being creative with a deadline, so we understand what writing stories for a career feels like. You may want to try making your speech on that. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:33:27 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1111555 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1111555 Earthsick Uh-huh, I'm also for a NaNoWriMo speech. Other than that, I remember during my time at school we once visited one of those speech contest things and one girl talked about female genital mutilation in african countries. That's also an important but difficult topic. I don't know if it would suit your age group though. Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:35:51 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1111798 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1111798 Webgoji If I understand you, you're not writing an informational speech, but one wherein you are trying to win the audience over to your side. First, don't do easy. Emotional topics like abortion, puppy mills (as you said) or political views are so . . . yawn. (Having been in Toastmasters, I know how sick people get of hearing those topics . . . you could get kicked out in my group for using emotionally charged topics like that.) So you want to convince your audience of your view on some topic they normally don't think about. Others above are mentioning NaNoWriMo. That could actually be a good subject as you could present why National Novel Writing Month is a great thing for the art of writing. There are plenty of authors that disagree and you can find their writings online as a counterpoint. Your speech could address their claims and dispute them, showing evidence of how they are wrong. (Or, if you think they are write, you can present evidence in their favor . . . BOOOO! hehe) Of course it's all my opinion as fuzzy with lint as it is. :P Good luck fellow WriMo! Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:26:45 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1112491 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1112491 Lydia_Ember I agree with doing something others wouldn't think about. In high school Spanish my senior year, I did a speech about why the teacher should drop the speeches altogether. I brought attention to the fact that no one really put any effort into them, anyway. I got a good grade on it, but we still had to do the other two during the year. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:45:22 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1112515 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1112515 golfgal08 Professional curiosity--which side did you argue? Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:05:43 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1112620 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1112620 Horselover150 I argued against nuclear power. Now hold on a minute and let me explain why. I live in Japan and last March we had a massive 9.0 earthquake that caused a tsunami that caused massive destruction up North of us. A nuclear reactor was damaged and since then the said reactor has been leaking contamination and radiation into the ocean, air, and onto the land. It has caused a lot of food cotamination, and it has brought to light the fact that we don't completely know the affects of radiation on a human body. Also, nuclear scientists have no idea what to do with the spent nuclear fuel rods! The media has labeled nuclear fuel as "Safe, clean, and efficient", but it isn't "Safe, clean, and efficient" because we have humans involved. Humans make errors. If you want to look up a few nuclear accidents, here's a few: Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, SL-1, and Fukushima. Nulcear reactors are constantly having problems, they aren't safe, and we don't know what to do when the nuclear fuel rods are used up. Look up nuclear energy on Wikipedia, there is a good long article on it. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:07:45 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1113065 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1113065 whitedove Hee hee. I like Lydia's. But, as for arguing for NaNoWriMo, I expect most of your classmates won't care enough about writing or be familiar enough with the two sides of the argument to really follow that short of a speech on it. If you want to, you could continue on the language theme though. Like, once I managed to convince a bunch of my friends that language standardization (standardized spelling, grammar, etc.) was an artificial stagnation of an normally organic process that will eventually produce a language gap in between formal works and the vernacular, and was, therefore, a bad thing. (Basically it will be like when everyone were writing academic works in Latin, even though no body spoke Latin at home any more, because they are forcing us to use English in a way that is not commonly used anymore for formal works. A language is defined as any collection of words and phrases that any fluent speaker of that language could understand, and so grammar should be what people use rather than what people are forced to use. Like how you are taught in school that you should say "with whom?" even though nearly every native speaker will say "who with?" in everyday conversation. I was told over and over in school that it is typical for someone who learned English as a second language to speak it "better" than a typical native speaker, but since language is defined by it's native speakers, that should not be physically possible). In light of that, AIN'T IS A WORD BECAUSE EVERYONE IN THE ENGLISH SPEAKING WORLD KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS AND CAN UNDERSTAND IT WHEN IT'S USED!!!!! Anyhow, I just think a good speech would be one that your classmates and judges would already have some familiarity with since three minutes isn't enough time to set up the background of the argument before trying to make it. PS I also convinced my friends that there are no less than 5 distinct grammar systems in common usage amongst native speakers at the moment. I can't remember the exact number I came up with, but it was at least five. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:17:03 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1113749 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1113749 golfgal08 I've actually worked in the nuclear industry for the last three and a half years, so I know a fair amount about nuclear safety. I'm not going to turn this into a debate about nuclear here, but there's a lot of misconceptions about nuclear power, and a lot if it is media-biased towards fear-mongering. I hope you don't mind if I PM you with more information. Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:26:10 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115005 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115005 Mikiki I love all the ideas - these are going to help me a lot. I'm thinking that the NaNoWriMo topic for a speech would be a good idea, but maybe more of the general creative writing topic. Sadly creative writing isn't everyone's interest, or at least not the interest of many, so any ways I could maybe touch-up the general topic of creative writing / NaNoWriMo and make it more complex and interesting? Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:38:31 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115322 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115322 Horselover150 No problem, I would be glad to discuss it with you over NaNomail. Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:09:07 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115808 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115808 Steampunk avi8or E-books versus print books. Some arguments could be E-books save trees/ are bad because people can easily copy and paste and steal another author's work. The last one really annoys me and I bet it would be an interesting point since I don't think a lot of people know that is happening. Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:56:05 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115937 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115937 Angryman I still like how Ray Bradbury put it in Fahrenheit 451: a book is not just a bunch of pages with words on them, it's something that you can feel. I refuse to buy an e-book, especially seeing the quality of electronics today. Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:04:04 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115962 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115962 Horselover150 Yeah, e-books save trees, but what about all of the carbon emissions and toxic wastes created when you manufacture the elecetronics on which to read the e-books? No, I'm not against electronics, but I'm just pointing that out. Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:05:42 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115968 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1115968 Itzika How about the fact that with eBooks you only produce as much waste as is necessary for the number of books being read, and the waste is cumulative--i.e. not produced per book but per eReader? And I haven't looked into it, but I would bet money that there are plenty of emissions and toxic wastes coming from the factories producing print books. Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:53:09 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1116500 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1116500 Angryman I'm not against electronics, either. I'm just against the fact that no one seems to build anything anymore that is designed to last longer than 5 years. Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:28:51 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1116593 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1116593 whitedove Well, here's a topic for you: Is "saving trees" really a good thing. (Stay with me a moment) The trees being cut down to produce paper are not, despite what the media has been known to say, coming from old growth forests. No one in the right mind would ever use those kinds of trees for paper 1. because they are worth considerably more as lumber for houses and furniture and 2. they actually make TERRIBLE paper. All of the trees being used for paper come from tree farms, where large segments of land, sometimes hundreds of acres, are planted with row after row of a fast growing tree like the North American Pine (I don't know what they use outside the States). These are divided into about 10 groups, each group a year younger than the last. When the oldest group reaches maturity, it is cut down and saplings from the farm's nursery are planted in their place almost IMMEDIATELY (I think some places let the land lie fallow for a year because the trees will be healthier if the ground rests, but it is only for a very short time). For the decade or more that these trees are growing, they are maybe not as pretty as a wild forest, but the differences stop there. Animals can use the farm as a habitat, the trees convert all that carbon dioxide from making electronics into oxygen, it breaks up the wind reducing storms, and covers the ground with a nice, dark, uneven surface that has been known to keep the micro-environment cooler (ie reduce the effects of global warming in that area!). And, when the trees are cut down, new ones are planted in their place (ones that got a certain amount of size on them in the nursery) so the environment there really doesn't notice it. UNLESS making new paper becomes unprofitable because everyone is buying recycled or refusing to buy paper products like books and paper towels. Then those farms go the way of all of the farms that once surrounded the city of Savannah. They are sold off to be made into housing developments (many of houses of which are empty: thank you crashed housing market) and many of them are cleared to make them more appealing to the developers who will (might) buy them. Because of this, there are a number of enormous lots in and around Pooler, GA (a suburb of Savannah) that had been forested for years and years that are now nothing but dirt and a few shrubs (pines can grow in sandy, clay-y soil that few other plants can survive in). Trees farms currently keep tens of thousands of acres almost constantly covered in trees in the US, and for every one that dies because people are trying to "save the trees," hundreds, even thousands of trees are cut down, sold off for cheap, and the ground left dead and empty. Maybe it will eventually become a field or, maybe in a few decades or more, it will become a forest again, but it could be forested now! It could be guaranteed to be forested for those decades we are keeping are fingers crossed will see the natural return of the forest. It could be protected from any possible development (do we really need another Wal-mart or K-mart? Really? And we have more houses than we can use!) by there being a tree farm there now! So if you want to keep your world forested and green, use new paper people! Buy all the books you want! Print everything you want to print! Use all the paper towels you want and SAVE THE FREAKING TREES! Ahem. Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:17:33 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1117453 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1117453 Mikiki xD That was pretty amazing! I like that topic, actually, because it's extremely unique and it's not an obvious topic, because instead of siding with the obvious good side, (like, 'Puppy Mills are Bad) I'd be siding with the 'bad side' and actually convincing people into something that they probably will not believe in. I actually might use this one, because now I'm thinking about whether saving the trees IS actually a good thing or not. If it's worked on me, it must work on the judges, too. :D Thanks! Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:49:52 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1118828 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1118828 Dragon Gal That... was amazing, whitedove. You make excellent points that I doubt most people consider. So... print books save the trees, eh? I'll remember to argue that point. Good job! On topic, Mikiki... I would go with something you're passionate about, and I hear you on the speaking fast because you're nervous. I hate public speaking, too. By the way, I love your avatar! Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:17:49 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1119431 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1119431 Anne Lessing Oh man, now I know what I'm going to do for my informational speech!! Why didn't I think of this before...thank you for the idea. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:46:41 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1124596 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1124596 whitedove Pleased to be of service. :) Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:32:18 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1125231 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1125231 Mikiki Hehe thanks xD I'm alright with speaking in front of a lot of people, but I subconsciously talk too fast, so much that I have to focus on speaking slower. Gah :P Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:33:19 -0800 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1127715 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/life-after-nanowrimo/threads/49820?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1127715