Warning...entering the laughing zone!!!

The Toastmasters speech contest saga has come to the end of the road...Kyle (pictured here w/ his wife Genaveve) and I have been competing and winning our speech contests this Fall and we both earned the right to compete in the District speech contest in Eugene, OR on 11/17/07. This is the final stop for both contests (Table Topics and Humorous Speech)...this is akin to the SuperBowl. Okay...its not quite the same level of fanfare, but for me it was quite nerve wracking. It was the first time I had a wireless microphone and 50 to 60 person audience expecting me to be FUNNY!...Kyle and I did not place in our contests, but we had a good run at it. There were 9 contestants in each contest and the top 3 get recognized...the remaining 6 are left in suspense. We both got lots of support from our Toastmaster Clubs in Beaverton, OR during this process...some of my friends even listened to my speech 4 or 5 times to help me fine tune my "Freedom Traveler" story. Below are three videos for your viewing pleasure and "edjumakation" on our respective contests:

• Table Topics Contest - Toastmaster (aka emcee) Robert Killen, warms up the crowd and explains the intracies of impromput speaking (running time: 5 min 55 sec.) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XfZXVoxMHI
• Kyle's Table Topics Speech - just like those game shows on T.V. when you yell the answer from your couch from behind the remote control, Table Topics is on the spot Q&A...here's your topic...you have 1 to 2.5 minutes...GO! (running time: 2 min 46 sec.) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_Jmc_5SSU4
• My Freedom Traveler Speech - A friend of mine walked up to me after my speech and said, "Steve, I had no idea you were funny!" Just goes to show you, the Indiana boyz have a funny bone :) Be patient with the video...my speech starts at about 20 seconds in...there's a moment of silence between each speech to give judges time to mark their ballots. (running time: 7 min 39 sec.) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiMaclYfgI

I have read that holding laughter in is not healthy...just let it out...go on...LAUGH!!! Even if its at my expense...