Discover Your Element in Speaking

Original speech date: February 15th, 2016

Project: Competent Communication #10 (Inspire Your Audience)

At our 25th club anniversary and open house, I got to give an inspirational speech (inspired by Ken Robinson's "The Element") and tell a story about who I was, why I joined Toastmasters, and how Toastmasters changed me.

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Thank you for the kind introduction, Raymond, and thank you, Tobi and Beia, for representing Central Austin with me tonight. I really appreciate you guys.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Isaac and I have been a member of Central Austin Toastmasters for the past six months. As a certified mathematician, I can tell you that's a really small number compared to 25 years. But as your fellow human, I can also tell you that, in that time, a lot of things happened to me. The second biggest thing that happened? I quit graduate school. Toastmasters gave me the guts and a reason to quit.

The number one, biggest thing that happened is what I want to talk to you about tonight, and that is, I found my element in speaking. The element refers to a set of conditions under which something that you are passionate about and something that you are talented in come together.