180: MMM - On Talking to Walls (An Ode to High School Speech)

Hey everybody, and welcome to This Moved Me, a podcast about creating talks that move the world. Episode 180, Talking to Walls: An Ode to High School Speech. Let's see if I can do that really speechy. On Talking to Walls: An Ode to High School Speech. Was that good and speechy? With me, your host, Sally Koering Zimney. Together with some fabulous guests, we will have a casual conversation about the art of public speaking. Because a good talk can move the world. And it'll be fun. Yeah, I would think making alien cows meaningful, that's not a small task. I love your giggle. Wow. Oh my gosh. So wait for everybody to figure out the alphabet. Happy Fourth of July, movers and unspeakers! It's Sally. I am here with another episode, another little mini Moved Me here on this Independence Day. I am currently sitting in— it's not actually July 4th when I'm recording this, surprise, surprise. I'm sure you guys figured that out probably, right? But while I'm recording this, I'm like in a tiny little box, so hopefully it doesn't sounds so weird and bad, and there's like lunchtime happening right outside, so it might be kind of a loud, noisy episode, just an FYI. 'Cause as you know, I mentioned this a few weeks ago, we're moving and the podcast studio that makes me sound, you know, better than this, it is shut down. It is in a box somewhere and it's gonna be a while before it's up and at 'em. So here I am in this tiny little box, and all of a sudden, of course, as I start recording, it gets really loud out about and around me. So hopefully it's not too bonky noisy, but I, I'm really excited about today's episode because it has just brought back some great memories for me. So a few weeks back, uh, in kind of mid-June, was the National Speech and Debate Association's national tournament down in Florida. And for those of you who don't know, maybe you're new to this move to me, new to this whole speaking journey. Well, way back in 1995, which is, hey yo, the previous millennium, I was awarded the national championship of original oratory, which at the time felt like I was winning Miss America. I mean, At the big moment, you know, there's 6,000 people in the auditorium. You get flowers, you get a lei, you get this huge trophy. And I started crying, like really, as if I was being crowned Miss America, because it was really unexpected. I don't know, I just didn't think that it would ever happen. Though, I mean, can we just agree, I think we're probably all on the same page, that that winning National Championship of Original Oratory is way cooler than Miss America. Just my opinion, probably. Okay. But no, truly, it is a huge honor, and it was something that I had really been working towards and working really, really hard for, uh, with the help— and of course it couldn't have happened without the incredible coaches that I had and some of the best in the country. So I have been taught by truly the best coaches in the country. And a special little side note, standing next to me at the time, taking second place, was my teammate and my friend. So it was this really big, sweet, surreal moment and one that I will never, never forget. And sometimes when my husband's feeling especially proud or he just kind of wants to show off a little bit or something, I don't know, it, it, will come up and he'll tell people, "Well, Sally won nationals in oratory." And he'll say, "And by the way, it's the same award that Oprah, Tom Brokaw, and Shelley Long won." And aside from feeling a little embarrassed because, oh my gosh, that was a long time ago and it's really not relevant anymore, I have to correct him and say, "Actually, Andy, Oprah took third to Shelley Long." I mean, how cool would that final round have been? It would have been amazing. But that same year, Oprah did take first in drama. So I always feel like I have to clarify. And people's reaction, it tend to be one of two ways. First of all, most people have no idea what on earth oratory is or the national championship. So, but every once in a while when this comes up, and it doesn't come up a lot, but every once in a while when it comes up, around people who were in speech themselves, they get it. They get the significance of it and what a really special thing that it is. And so when that happens, we end up really communing and delighting over the phenomena and the culture of high school speech. It is a really special thing, difficult to describe, and It's an activity that for me literally laid out the path that I took in front of me. And it is why, and I feel like I can attribute so much of what I do now to the foundation that was laid for me in my high school speech years. And so in honor of the thousands of competitors who trekked to Florida this year, and who head to the national tournament every year and who spend their January through May and sometimes June waking up early on Saturdays and going and doing this really unique activity. I wanted to write a little ode for you. Speech. Speech geeks. Where you at right now? Probably on a bus doing tongue twisters. Betty Botter bought some butter. Talking to walls, pacing the halls, pouring our hearts out to quiet rooms with silent judges, working for the one, the one 100. The list goes up, trails down the wall in giant anonymous numbers, 26351 or 89454. Or 94309 if that's your number. Screams of delight, the thrill of the final round. If you're number 1, start it strong. If you're number 8, you gotta land it well. If you're speaking in between, you better make it memorable so you don't blend in. We put in more time than any sport. For a longer season to a less enthusiastic crowd. And why? Because we have a story to share, an idea worth spreading, which, by the way, we were saying long before TED. On a quest to do our very best, to compete against the very best and get a glimpse into what we're really capable of. Speech. You finessed my speaking and stage skills. You taught me to write and deliver a persuasive argument that matters. And you taught this clumsy goofball some poise. That is saying something. But way more importantly, you taught me that my job as a speaker is to show up, be seen, Speak my truth. Compete with integrity and joy. And know that you have done what you came here to do, whatever the results. My love to all of you speech geeks out there. I'm with you. Now, 2 years ago, I got to go and recognize my former coaches who were being named uh, as the original oratory category. They were renaming the whole category after them, which is just crazy. The Pam and Joe Wyckoff Original Oratory. Oh my gosh, it's so cool. And I got to judge the final round of oratory. It was so refreshing and heartwarming and just like soul-filling to be back around this crazy activity. And if you want to read the speech that I was so honored to give as I recognized them. You can do that and just hear more about that experience over on the website, thismovedme.com. And this week I got to watch a friend's daughter take second place at Nationals in dramatic duo. In fact, Josh Johnson, who has been on the show, his daughter took second place in duo and she was incredible, incredible. And I was reminded again of the, the just mind-boggling breadth and array of what happens in these tournaments and in these experiences and the stories that we get to tell and the just powerful experience of the work of putting it out there and then sharing it with others. So If you want to see this incredible duo that, that I just think is fantastic, I'm putting that over on the show notes so you can go find that over on the website. It's really incredible, so go watch that. So good. Okay, and a final reminder, in a few weeks I'm doing some Q&As, so send them to me. DM me on Instagram @thismovedme, send a message over on my This Moved Me me Facebook page, or you can hop on thismovedme.com and send me a quick note over there. I would love to hear from you. I will respond to as many questions as I can at that next Q&A in July, so get those over to me now, and whatever I can't get to, I will save for the future. But I will answer your questions, I promise you that. So I'd love to hear from you. All right, that's it for me. This moved me, movers, my um speakers. What is moving you? Talk to you soon. And if you've listened to the Speaking Truth series, you know this is that— oh, I'm gonna sneeze. Achoo! Achoo! Oh my gosh. Bless me.