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@@smithyj6552 seems like it did though… putin and zelensky were never friends

This is a great topic!

@@justincooperspeech thank you!

Thanks Anika! I think a good story for this should come from your personal life. Is there a time you can think of where you perpetuated the problem you're addressing?

Thank you! Do you also have any ideas for a funny hook/AGD?

Thanks! This is a good question and one that a lot of students struggle with - my suggestion is to ask yourself why you are doing speech & debate (or any of the other activities). If the reason is anything along the lines of "it will make my parents / teachers / friends happy," rather than because it is something you personally want to do, then you are better off quitting. No one will be disappointed if you are honest with them. It is good practice for having tough conversations as well. If you find yourself passionate about all of these activities and want to pursue all of them, you can prioritize and dedicate more or less time to each without fully quitting. For example, if you like tennis and piano more than speech and debate, but want to do all of them, then you can try dialing back speech and dedicating more time to the other activities. You don't have to go "all in" on every activity to reap the rewards of participating. Oratory is a great activity in that you can put in as much or as little as you'd like and still benefit. For example, you can spend a couple of evenings this fall cranking out a draft for your oratory, and then on weekends you're free, compete with that speech and don't worry about trying to win every tournament. Hope that helps!

@@justincooperspeech Ok thanks a lot

Thanks! This is an interesting topic, and my gut reaction is that it is a bit too vague as it stands right now. "We don't know how to live" can mean lots of things. Based on your description, going the direction of "we no longer value freedom" could be much more focused. The analysis of philosophy you provide here is really interesting and could provide a good "make em think" source. I would caution against SOLELY talking about this topic in terms of theory though - make sure you connect it all back to real world examples of health, safety, relationships, and wealth. Hope that helps!

@@justincooperspeech Thank you so much, this really helped!

Thanks Ava! I think this is a very interesting topic, and one that fits the three criteria of a good topic. I wonder if it's too concrete - perhaps think about using the epidemic of eating disorders as an example of a more abstract topic, such as "we are obsessed with control." Hope that helps!

I think all of these could work great! I would go with the one where you have the highest potential to self-implicate. Do you have any stories for each of these topics from your own life that demonstrate the harms of the topic? The one with the strongest self-implication is your winning ticket. Hope that helps!

Thanks! This is a great question, and there is no "one size fits all" answer to it. Three things come to mind as the biggest separators between "good" speeches (could make the final round at a local tournament) and "great" speeches (could make the final round at a national tournament): First, the speaker has a much clearer "speech persona" in great speeches. Often times, I'll see "good" speeches that check off all the boxes, but I could just swap in and out any old speaker and get the same effect from the delivery. The more unique a persona is, the more memorable and specific the speech becomes. Second, a "great" speech has something about it that sticks with the audience beyond the walls of the classroom. Maybe it's a really fascinating "make em think" source, where the audience genuinely learns something new and can view a topic in a new way. Or perhaps their "make em cry" source genuinely makes the audience tear up. If you give the audience something to hold onto after hearing your speech, you will have a better chance of being remembered. Third, great speeches often tell great stories. This is both a content and a delivery mechanism - the speaker who tells better stories will perform the best. A great story is one that connects with the audience on a deep level, has "twists and turns," and help the audience reflect on their own lives. Hope that helps!

I am sensing a theme of the "middle" in both of these - why not connect them; "We no longer value the middle." Your AGD can be funny stories about being forgotten as the middle child (assuming you are based on the topic idea) and you can include "make em think" sources about how we favor the extremes of our beliefs (e.g. our convictions). Anything that's "down the center" or a comprise is quickly cast aside. Hope that helps!

also maybe the idea that we fear confrontation, I could bring p the "delulu" culture that was very popular

Thanks! I really love the masks idea - "We no longer value authenticity" I think is the way you'd want to frame it, but our masks can be a great metaphor to introduce throughout the speech.

@@cindychen3449 my first question would be what is the problem you are addressing. Is it that we no longer value risk taking? We are obsessed with safety? We think risks are always bad but in reality they can be good? Once you have a clearer problem to address in the form of a thesis statement, you can include this story in your solutions section as your “transformational story” about someone who embraced risk and benefitted from it. Check out my video on the oratory solutions section for more details. Hope that helps!

@@justincooperspeech thank you so much, this is very helpful for me!

@@yonasamare6159 these are all great and any would work well. Something I noticed is a similarity that the first and last topic ideas have - You seem to be very interested in how as we get older we’re told to “grow up” and “act our age,” forcing us to lose the qualities that make life magical as kids. I think this is a profound direction to go, and I would spend some time crafting a clearer thesis statement incorporating this idea (perhaps “we think growing up is always good, but in reality it can be bad”?). Since you kept on this theme a few times, I am sure you have some personal story or connection to the topic - embrace that and include it in the speech! Hope that helps

@@justincooperspeech Hello, if I send you my speech, could you help me revise it? I could send it to your email if you have the time and permit it.

@@yonasamare6159 i would pick one of those, or combine them into a singular idea. “Creativity” and “Individuality” are different ideas, so to cover both of them would make the speech feel a bit disconnected. Great use of the topic template though!

I think you are trying to use logic to justify your answer, but how we react as audience members is subconscious, which the second opening line placates to better

@@zhenruigu3921 i like almost all of these (“insensitivity” needs more fleshing out as right now it feels like just an idea and not a thesis statement) - with that said “we no longer value honesty” is a very relevant topic with great large-scale and personal examples to boot. In our politics, media, and relationships this is a problem and has become even more so in recent years. Hope that helps!

@@yonasamare6159 I’m not exactly sure what the problem you’re addressing is, so I would start by having a clearer thesis statement (try using one of the topic templates!) - If you are talking about negative attitudes from Africans towards African Americans, then I would say most of your audience is not a part of the problem and likely not the solution (unless they are African). One thing you can do if you still want to talk about this problem is to use it as an example of a broader, more abstract topic. Hope that helps!

@@eh7598 we are obsessed with self improvement is a great topic!

@@theav1an786 awesome!! Congrats

Thank you! I don’t believe you need an official implications section for two prong - just include your personal story (or the climax of your speech) at the end of your second point. You can walk to a new part of the room if you’d like to demarcate where that section begins, but you don’t need to include it in your roadmap. A fourth “implications” It’s a little confusing for the uninitiated, plus audiences / judges tend to remember and resonate with groups of three better. Ps - I will have much more advanced oratory content coming out soon, but just wanted to take a break from it for now because there is so much speech content I want to cover and only so much time in the day. Over time you will get all the ultra advanced nuggets

@@justincooperspeech thank you! i look forward to seeing that content later on!

@@astridshowers4445 best of luck!

@@AokiZeto use that anxiety as fuel to rehearse extra hard before you have to speak. This will get easier the more you do it. Hope that helps!

@@maxeatscereal i think gun violence is too broad and too concrete. First, you need a clear thesis statement to tackle. Remember the five topic templates from the video! “Gun violence in america” is a topic but not a thesis. Second, I would try sticking to an abstract topic. If you want to tackle gun violence, you can use it as an example in your speech. Hope that helps!

@@PearlKeough thanks! I think this is a good start - my advice would be how to make this topic more abstract and use racism as an example of a broader topic rather than the topic itself. This feels a little too concrete for me at the moment and could alienate a lot of your audience right upfront.

Three things: 1 - This is your first tournament. It’s not going to be perfect. My first speech tournament I was absolutely horrendous. I was supposed to speak about the economy and instead talked for 4 minutes about Spongebob. It’s going to be ok - the important thing is that you try to get better each time. 2 - Use this experience as fuel to practice even more next time. My guess is you did it once or twice kind of from memory, maybe with stumbles here and there or a couple quick glances at your paper, and said “Ive practiced and have it memorized.” Now you know for next tournament you need to practice even more. I guarantee if you come to the next tournament 100% perfectly memorized and rehearsed, your nerves will ho away. 3 - For the rest of today, maybe bring a notecard up with you with the main bullet points of your speech so if you get stuck, you can look back as a quick reminder.

@@justincooperspeech thank you very much

@@AnishaGupta-r1d hey! I think of the three topics you outlined, you went with the most compelling option. I like that you are trying the inverse, as it makes your topic more unique, but im not sure if close-mindedness is exactly the opposite of understanding others’ perspectives. I think a better way to phrase it might be “we are obsessed with our current beliefs.” I like the stories you have outlined above, but I would challenge you to find more explanatory sources than just stories. For example, look into Dave Cullen and Confirmation Bias - that is a great place to start for explanatory sources for this speech. Hope that helps!

@@justincooperspeech Thanks so much!!

@@river.of.sorrows thanks! I think for the topic of “saying sorry” / “apologizing” you are conflating three distinct topics - “we dont know how to say sorry” implies we are a society that doesn’t apologize effectively. “We no longer value saying sorry” (which you wrote almost verbatim in your comment) implies we don’t say sorry enough, or don’t carry the weight of apologies (e.g. when we apologize it’s half-baked). I think the topic you’re describing is “we are obsessed with apologizing” where we have been conditioned to apologize for everything, even if we don’t mean it or shouldn’t apologize at all. All three are great topics, but I think to get the most out of this topic you should be specific in which direction you want to take the speech. I would also recommend watching my video on topic selection for more depth on what I described here. Hope that helps!

@@justincooperspeech This helps so much!! Thank you

@@IsaiahYetter i feel like you are combining two topics: “we no longer value love” and “we don’t know how to say i love you” - both are great topics but make sure you have one specific topic!

@@justincooperspeech thank you for the input. Also, do you proofread speech’s? If so I would love to send you mine after I write it up?

@@IsaiahYetter yes! Feel free to visit my website justincooperspeech.com - you can purchase a speech review and I’ll give you extremely in depth comments on your draft

@@ipissed thanks!

I would say continue reading your speech OUT LOUD last thing before bed every night and first thing when you wake up every morning. Then really challenge yourself to try to recite as much of your speech from memory as possible. I've always found the best time to practice your speech is in the shower because you physically cannot look at the paper as you rehearse. This will force you to use your memory as best as you can without any fallback. If you continue to test yourself regularly and read lines that trip you up, you will have it memorized sooner than you realize - you just have to trust the process and put in the hard work of truly testing yourself!

Thank you.

I think this is a good start for a topic but it doesn't have a clear thesis. What is the specific problem you are trying to address? Is it that we don't know how to be ourselves? Is it that we are obsessed with other's approval? Is it that we think changing ourselves is always good but in reality it can be bad? Be specific and make sure you use the three criteria of a good topic to pick the right one - I think the more unique you can be with this type of topic the better. We've all heard "just be yourself" before - maybe it would be more interesting to go in the other direction and say "we think 'being ourselves' is always good but in reality it can be bad." You can talk about how much the "be yourself" narrative gets pushed, and in doing so we ignore the importance of improving ourselves. The point is there's lots of directions you can take this topic, which circulates back to my original point - you need a more specific thesis statement! Hope that helps

I would recommend starting by watching some of my videos on writing original oratory - I have longer ones that take you through the entire process of writing an oratory from scratch as a complete beginner. They are under the "how to write an original oratory" playlist on my channel page. I would also recommend watching as many oratories on youtube as you can (particularly ones from national final rounds) and ask yourself what you like or don't like about each speech, and see which elements you can incorporate into your speech. That should get you a great start, and is completely free! If you want to go more in depth, feel free to visit my website - justincooperspeech.com - where I have low-cost eBooks on different steps in the oratory writing process (topic selection, structure, intros, etc.) and post more regularly. Once you have exhausted this list of free / lost-cost options, I would say the next most important thing to do is practice your speech in front of people! If it is your first time doing oratory, learning how to engage with the audience through delivery is far more important than writing the perfect speech from the get-go (I have many videos coming out soon about speech delivery!). After you have some experience under your belt, feel free to submit a speech review request to me, also on my website on the "coaching signup" page, and I will give you extremely detailed feedback on your speech! Hope that helps

@@marsanabriaesquivel2289 good luck!

I would use the BGS to improve the logos/ethos of your point moreso than the emotional appeal of it. The goal of the two background sections is to prove that this thing you're talking about exists, not so much that it's a problem quite yet. That is where your ascending tricolon has the most utility. For the topic "we are obsessed with consumerism," a good place to start for the ascending tricolon might be a line like: "While our fixation on commercialization might seem harmless, when we commoditize our health, relationships, and convictions, we're left with a dystopian world where love, politics, and basic human rights can be bought and sold for the right price."

@@justincooperspeech Thanks so much!

Best of luck!

@@GoofyAhhEdits6969 thank you! The main points of your speech are the body points you use (e.g. “causes and effects” or “the macroeconomic and personal effects”). I go into it a bit in this video but check out my video on OO Structure to really get an in-depth look at the body points

Good question! I would say it doesn’t have to be a perfect match, but if it’s completely unrelated the audience may be confused why you included it. The goal of the swag line is to get the audience pumped for your speech so giving them a sprinkle of what’s to come is best practice

Yes great idea! A "Complete Guide to Extemp" is in the works

I think all three of these are interesting ideas, but not quite topics yet. You need a clear thesis statement. "A society stuck scrolling" and "laughter is not always the best medicine" sound nice but what do they actually mean? Be specific and feel free to use one of the topic templates I provided. I just don't fully understand the topics so it's hard for me to give advice. The last one I believe does not meet the "that's so true" criteria... I think since COVID we've been pretty okay with social isolation. Work/school from home, constant texting/social media, etc. makes it so we never have to interact with people in real life ever again... As far as using the words of another orator, I think it's fine and even great to take ideas you've seen in other oratories, transform them to make them your own, and use the transformed idea in your speech. You definitely cannot just plagiarize other speeches though.

Thanks a lot for the insight. ​@@justincooperspeech

Absolutely can do, great idea!

My gut tells me a macro-micro speech could work really well here. For macro there are clear examples today and throughout history of how we've used numbers to dehumanize populations (e.g. The Holocaust, and the Nazis tattooing Jews with numbers at concentration camps). I believe there's a quote by Stalin that goes something like this: "One death is a tragedy, but a thousand deaths is a statistic." For micro, I'd encourage you to explore how we use numbers to determine our own self worth. For example, colleges and businesses distill potential candidates down to numbers (e.g. SAT score, GPA, etc.) to define their "worthiness," and we often measure our own success by the numbers that represent us (e.g. our net worth, our height/weight, etc.).