12 Days of Public Speaking Christmas

Earlier this month, I was the master of ceremonies for a corporate holiday party. Rather than randomly selecting tables to take their turn at the buffet, I asked for twelve volunteers (maximum one per table). Each of them sang one of the Twelve Days (a version customized for the company), and thus earned their table an early visit to the buffet. It worked out even better than I had hoped.

Inspired by the success of that activity, I offer you the Twelve Days of Public Speaking Christmas.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, the presentation gave to me:

• Twelve figures of speech;
• Eleven poignant phrases;
• Ten timely gestures;
• Nine meaningful quotes;
• Eight laughs from humor;
• Seven smooth transitions;
• Six “um”-free minutes;
• Five metaphors;
• Four simple ideas;
• Three major points;
• Two stories told; and
• A message in the speech!

This worked out very well at a Toastmaster event where we sang the “On the twelfth day of Christmas, Toastmasters gave to me…”

Try out this song idea at your next Christmas event!