Past Green Speeches

I joined Toastmasters back in the beginning of 2008. The first goal of the communication track is to complete the first 10 speeches in the Competent Communicator manual. I chose green related topics for seven of those speeches. Here they are:

"The Enemy of the Human Race" (4/2008) - About the damaging effects coal mining and coal plants. This speech was my second speech. I had recently learned about mountain top removal coal mining so I was very upset by it. I think it showed in my passion. But overall it was probably a real downer for the audience and not enough of a call to action.

"Blinded By The Light" (5/2008) - To convince the county board of supervisors to adopt a light pollution ordinance to save energy and save our view of the night sky. This one was mostly educational. It probably got too technical. I went into the types of outdoor lighting and all of the factors that go into whether lighting is good or bad. Mostly dry. I actually did take this speech to the board. But nothing has come from it so far.

"In The Kitchen???" (1/2010) - About worm composting and my experience with it. Educational. Most of the club never heard of worm composting and were amused by the idea.

"Plug It In, Plug It In" (3/2010) - About existing and future electric vehicles. I tried to address some of the myths about electric vehicles and how they can save you money. I tried to make this one more upbeat and exciting. Some of the vehicles I discussed then are finally out. Some never made it or are still in the works.

"Watering From Down Under" (4/2010) - About my first season experience with sub irrigation container gardening. Mostly educational. The pictures were nice but there were probably too many.

"Sustainable Choices" (4/2009) - Reasons for making more sustainable choices when making purchases. This speech was probably too serious and partially a downer.

"Follow The Green Brick Road" (5/2010) - To inspire the audience to take action by greening their homes. Included a handout with many actions to take. I included things I have done already. I tried to include fun ideas like including the kids or to try to start a competition with neighbors. However I think I was not as successful with this one as I had hoped.

Next time I'll get into what types of speeches I'd like to do in the future.

About this Blog

EcoToast. Why that title? Well, if you read my profile you know I'm a toastmaster and I'm interested in green issues. I thought it might be a good idea to write my thoughts for speech topics and maybe get some advice. I prefer to talk about things I am most interested in which would be "green" issues. 

By the way, I think the word green is used way too much now. I suppose that happens to a lot of buzz words in our society. Almost all of the blog titles I could think of with the word green in it were already taken. So that's why I switched to trying "Eco".

Also, If you want to improve your communication and/or leadership skills, I highly recommend joining Toastmasters. Go to www.toastmasters.org to find a club near you.