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Braille in Modern World



Original speech date: June 13, 2016

Project: Competent Communication #7 (Research Your Topic)

CC #7 took a while to finish, as I wanted a topic that requires proper research. I gave an updated speech at the Area K73 Speech Contest, where I focused on using the entire stage and making hand gestures. I present this updated version.

 

Thank you, Mr. Toastmaster, and thank you everyone for coming to the Area K73 Contest—instead of going to the ACL, which is actually a lot more fun! In all seriousness, I'm very excited and grateful to be here with you today.

My talk is titled "Braille in Modern World." I wanted to learn braille after visiting Adam this March. Adam's my best mate in Kentucky, and he had just joined Toastmasters thanks to me. So I had to see what his club is like. Linda, the club president, gave a speech that day, and the first thing you'll notice of her is that she is blind. She was reading braille to give her speech. Well, that day, she was my superhero.

After I came back to Austin, to learn braille, I read several books and articles, and interviewed two state organizations here in Austin: the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, located on 45th and Burnet, and the Talking Book Program, at the Capitol building in downtown. Surprisingly, the more I looked into braille, the more I realized its diminishing role in the modern world. I want to take this time to address the issues.