Public Speaking Problems #4

If you’ve missed the first three installments of this topic you can find them here (one, two, and three). Today I’ll be talking about another bad practice in public speaking. It’s an easy idea (certainly not my own) and you’ve all experienced the other end of this all too frequent occurrence. Do you remember sitting in a classroom, listening to a professor speak about some topic, when they finish talking about what they’d prepared but try to talk on endlessly about something you won’t even be tested on and isn’t really related to the topic of the day? That’s what … Continue reading

Public Speaking Problems #3

This is the third installment of my reflections on public speaking (here are links to one and two) and I’m going to talk about stories today. Stories are amazing little things that help us frame the world around us. They typically explain the “why” of an event through a logical construction of events. Why did the jar break? Because my little brother broke it. Why did he break it? Because he was angry. Why was he angry? Because our mother punished him. Why did she punish him? … and on and on. Public speakers are a peculiar blend of storyteller … Continue reading

Public Speaking Problems #2

Last time I started talking about problems with speeches and public speaking in general and now I’m going to tackle some of the main issues and simple solutions that will help you with your speech. As I said last time I recently attended a public speaking event as a member of the audience and had difficulty following the speaker for a variety of reasons. While the speaker was a professional and was certainly educated about the topic they were still difficult to follow. Why was it difficult to follow this excellent speaker? What could have improved the situation? I will … Continue reading

Juicy Hollywood Tidbits – June 1, 2007

David Hyde Pierce Admits to His Sexuality I believe it was David Hyde Pierce who, when once asked about his sexuality, said, “My life is an open book, but don’t expect me to read it to you.” That was a good answer – I mean, I think we all knew the answer, but this week, David officially allowed his partner’s name to be mentioned. An interview online at CNN.com has the line “Pierce got to Los Angeles in the early 1990s when his partner, actor-writer-producer Brian Hargrove wanted to write for television.” Now some might still say that is a … Continue reading

ADHD Symptoms Get Clearer as a Child Ages

Does your child have ADHD, or is he just “active”? This can be a difficult question to answer if your child is a toddler. As your child ages, however, certain symptoms of ADHD become easier to identify. This could be why some children are not diagnosed as having ADHD until they reach junior high. Symptoms of ADHD include an inability to sit still for long periods of time, a difficulty with being quiet, a tendency to have problems focusing on a specific task, with following directions, and with listening to a person that is speaking to the child who has … Continue reading

Aesthetic Presentation

When I was in grade school I remember loathing presentation day in school. I didn’t hate it because I was afraid to present (I wasn’t) or because I thought it was boring (I don’t think I did). I loathed it because some student would inevitably bring in a huge piece of poster board that they’d spend hours writing all over in every different color. That’s not so bad, you say. You could be correct. Most of the time, however, it really was that bad. The single thing that got under my skin like nothing else, the thing that drove my … Continue reading

Some Signs That Your Child May Have ADHD

ADHD is something that you have probably heard a lot about. A quick Google search will bring up tons of articles that mention ADHD. This is a neurobehavioral disorder that has become rather well recognized by doctors, educators, and the general public. As such, you may have heard a lot of information, and a lot of misinformation about it. How can you tell if your child might have ADHD? There are some signs that could indicate that your child may have ADHD. However, since many of these symptoms are something that a child who does not have ADHD may experience … Continue reading

Speech and Debate in Homeschool?

I was bopping around the Internet this afternoon and stumbled across a site where the concern was raised that homeschool children aren’t introduced to the concept of speech and debate. Um, hello? Would this dude like to take on my twelve-year-old, or even my six-year-old? Kids come with a natural ability to debate. This is why parenting is so hard sometimes. And as far as speech-making goes, lemme tell ya … my kids could talk any professional debater into a corner and make them cry. But the question did raise a good point, which is that there are some aspects … Continue reading

A Completely Changed Life

After reading some of the forum posts by tmwhalens, I thought I’d share a story of lives and one marriage that has had more than the usual problems and every day hassles to overcome. Ron Brookman says when he first married he says ‘it was for all the wrong reasons.’ It was more about keeping up appearances and trying to subvert and hide his homosexuality. Ron had two children with his first wife. The marriage was dysfunctional and unhappy. After she left him, from time to time he visited places in search of a homosexual relationship. This was despite the … Continue reading

Politics 101: More on McCain’s Platform

This is the last and final blog on McCain’s position on various issues. For those of you who are thinking that I highly favor the candidate–well, I’m not saying. But I will say that I will give equal blog time to the other candidates as well. I think it’s important to have a good overview of each candidate and their positions on various issues before you can make an informed choice on who to vote for. *Strict Constructionist–This is perhaps one of the most glaring differences between McCain and the other “major party” candidates. A strict constructionist philosophy essentially means … Continue reading