Ideas to help build a Tall Tales speech ...

I came across a post that was comparing two types of virtual worlds - gaming and non-gaming - and found the following quote that sounded like it could be applied to a Tall Tales speech ....

Games have at least three advantages other virtual worlds don't. First, many games, and most social games, involve an entrance into what theorists call the magic circle, a setting with simplified and knowable rules. The magic circle saves the game from having to live up to expectations carried over from the real world.

Click here to read the whole article and learn about the other two advantages that games have over other virtual worlds.

If you think about it, isn't a Tall Tale speech sort of like a virtual world? The speaker takes us to this world and shows us around, hopefully something interesting happens and then it gets resolved (perhaps unexpectedly) and everyone's happy. If you have played a computer game with a "virtual environment" you can see where there are similarities to a Tall Tales speech.

How can you use this to build a better Tall Tales speech? Try practicing your speech with your eyes closed. Visualize the virtual environment that you are trying to describe. Use your practice time to immerse yourself in this world so that you know it "inside and out". This way you will have a strong "feeling" for the environment and when you describe it as part of your speech, it will be easier to remember and, most likely, more vivid for the audience.

Give it a try!


Dates to remember....

Spring Club Contest deadline: by March 17th

Area Contest deadline: April 7th

Division A Contest: Wed, April 11th at 7:30pm, Wooster School Library, Danbury, CT. Hosted by WestConn Toastmasters.

District 53 Contest / Leadership Summit Conference: May 19th in East Hartford.