On 16th October 2010, Glen Long from Bloomsbury Speakers achieved an outstanding result in the London-wide 2010 Humorous Speech and Table Topics contest, coming second (out of seven) in both categories.
Congratulations on coming second in the contest, Glen!
Thanks Alex!
Where did you get the inspiration for your ‘Three Little Pigs’ story?
I can’t remember the exact inspiration but in general I do like the idea of putting a new or modern twist on a well-known character or story. You get a lot of context “for free” because people are already familiar with the basic setup and when it comes to writing the speech you’re not starting from nothing, you’ve got the original story for inspiration.
Run me through what your thoughts and feelings were in the moments before, during and after your humorous speech.
Well, I was the very last speaker so I had plenty of time to get nervous watching all the other speakers!
It might sound a bit strange but I actually relaxed a bit after I heard Adolfo Tunon’s speech (the ultimate winner). It was a very physical speech (about combining his passion for Toastmasters with his passion for running) which went down deservedly well with the audience and I remember thinking to myself: “however well my speech goes, I would be very happy to be beaten by that guy”.
When I was actually up on stage, I was quite nervous but it was also a real buzz. When I finished, I thought that it had gone down quite well, but I had a niggling feeling I’d left something out of the speech. When I sat back down and worked out what it was, I was quite annoyed with myself. But I don’t think most of the audience noticed.
You certainly deserved to do well. How can I be as funny as you?
Wow – how do I answer that? I think being funny is partly about having a brain that naturally works a certain way – looking for unusual angles and connections – but also just about spending time to explore a topic for comic possibilities.
I would say it’s also definitely worth running ideas or early drafts past friends and family, because what you find funny might not always work for other people.
You also came second in the Table Topics contest and you spoke on the unrehearsed topic of “Big Society”. What was going through your mind?
I was still on a bit of a high from the prepared speech contest and frankly eager to get back in front of the audience (it’s dangerously addictive!)
When I was walking up to the stage and the topic of “Big Society” was announced, the very first thought I had was of a literally big society – i.e. one with an obesity problem, and I thought I could probably get some comic mileage out of that.
I find Table Topics the most challenging part of Toastmasters because you have to think on the spot. How did you make it look so easy?
I would say just try to make a very clear decision about how you’re going to tackle the topic before you start to speak.
Don’t get too caught up in trying to come up with something clever or unusual because you only have a few seconds to think. Just go with the most obvious idea that comes into your head and commit to it.
Yes it’s true, some people can just start talking, discover a genius idea along the way and then tie it all together at the end, but most of us aren’t that lucky.
And don’t worry about being too obvious. What’s obvious to you isn’t always obvious to everyone else, so it’ll still seem fresh and interesting.
Will we be seeing you at next year’s contest?
I hope so! I’m hooked now and I’ll definitely be putting some thought into a speech for next year’s competition.
My friend is thinking of joining Toastmasters but finds the notion of speaking in front of others terrifying! Any words of advice?
Join! Your friend is exactly the sort of person that would benefit most from joining Toastmasters (and particularly from joining a very friendly, relaxed club like Bloomsbury Speakers!)
He or she will quickly overcome those nerves in a safe, supportive environment, speaking in front of people who probably felt the same way not so long ago. In my relatively short time at Toastmasters I have seen people make amazing progress with their speaking and have a lot of fun along the way.
Within a few weeks of joining Toastmasters, I guarantee that your friend will look back upon their previous terror of public speaking, and wonder what all the fuss was about!
(Interview by Alex Donald)
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