19. Speech Breakdown: The World Champion of Public Speaking 2019 - Aaron Beverly
Sep 3, 2019
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Aaron Beverly, the 2019 World Champion of Public Speaking, captivates with his engaging storytelling and powerful message of acceptance. He shares insights on the balance between humor and authenticity, cautioning against inside jokes that risk alienating audiences. The conversation highlights the art of effective storytelling, emphasizing vocal variety and physical demonstrations to enhance engagement. Listeners gain a deeper understanding of how themes of acceptance and unity resonate through powerful narratives.
Aaron Beverly's winning speech illustrates the importance of storytelling techniques and relatable humor to engage the audience effectively.
The competitive nature of public speaking emphasizes strategic choices in language and delivery to meet specific contest expectations and emotional resonance.
Deep dives
The Context of Competitive Speaking
The podcast discusses the unique nature of competitive speaking as exemplified by the World Championship of Public Speaking, highlighting how specific criteria and rules shape the delivery of speeches in this context. Aaron Beverly's winning speech, titled 'An Unbelievable Story,' serves as a case study of how a speaker must align their presentation to meet the expectations of the judges and audience alike. This competitive environment pushes speakers to be cognizant of factors such as language use and storytelling techniques to effectively engage their audience. Understanding this context helps listeners appreciate not only the content of the speech but also the strategic choices made by the speaker to fulfill contest requirements.
Storytelling Techniques and Engagement
Beverly's story unfolds during a wedding ceremony where he is tasked with protecting the groom's shoes, setting a vivid scene that invites audience immersion. His use of humor and engaging phrases, such as referring to a bridesmaid as 'the ominous smiler', enriches the narrative and captures the audience's attention through relatable imagery. The podcasters analyze how Beverly effectively builds tension and rapport by repeatedly emphasizing his commitment to the mission of protecting the shoes while also injecting personal reflections on cultural differences and acceptance. This combination of comedy and personal anecdotes not only makes the story entertaining but also relatable, showcasing the power of storytelling in public speaking.
Underlying Messages and Audience Connection
The climax of Beverly's speech reveals that the central theme is one of acceptance across cultural divides, a message that resonates deeply amidst divisive sentiments in contemporary society. The podcasters commend the way Beverly masterfully intertwines this message within his captivating story, methodically guiding the audience to the realization that acceptance should not be seen as an unbelievable concept. The audience's enthusiastic reaction at the speech’s conclusion emphasizes its emotional impact, demonstrating the effectiveness of engagement through heartfelt storytelling. By concluding with a powerful call to action, Beverly inspires listeners to embrace diversity and foster connections, reinforcing the speech's relevance and importance.
Woohoo! We're up to episode nineteen of The Presentation Boss Podcast! Your hosts Kate and Thomas are experienced not only as speakers, but as presentation coaches. They love finding the strengths and weaknesses in a presentation and explaining why they work or need to be considered. Today we're having a close look at the 2019 World Champion of Public Speaking.
Each year this public speaking competition is held, culminating in the final in August. This year that final was held in Denver, Colorado, which Kate and Thomas watched live online. As with all contests, there are specific criteria and time that speakers must aim for and within the confines of this arena, we thoroughly enjoyed this speech by Aaron Beverly of Philadelphia.
What You'll Learn
• The differences between commercial speaking and contest speaking
• The risk of including an inside joke
• How and where to start a story when used in a speech
• An example of how posture and physical demonstration can assist humour
• Use of effective repetition and simple language
• One of the big indicators that an audience has enjoyed a presentation
Mentioned In The Show
• Aaron Beverly: An Unbelievable Story at the WCPS in 2019 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmj1LBJu_Ss
Resources and Links
• Email us! podcast@presentationboss.com.au
• The Presentation Boss Podcast: https://presentationboss.com.au/podcast/
• Presentation Boss on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/presentationboss/
• Presentation Boss on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/presentation-boss
• Kate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-norris/
• Thomas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-krafft/
Quotes From This Episode
• "It's important to view any speech within the context of what it is trying to achieve"
• "I'm interested in this presentation"
• "It's clear he's got a very refined presentation"
• "Immediately get your audience somewhere and somewhen"
• "Which shows that the audience is into it"
• "I think this is a perfect example of what engagement is; it is wanting to listen, wanting to know what comes next, feeling something"
• "I think the right person won the contest on the day"
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