Bush Whacking # 3

Purpose: Every speech must have a general and a specific purpose. A general purpose is to inform, to persuade, to entertain, or to inspire. A specific purpose is what you want the audience to do after listening to your speech. Once you have established your general and specific purposes, you’ll find it easy to organize your speech. You’ll also have more confidence, which makes you more convincing, enthusiastic, and sincere. Of course, the better organized the speech is, the more likely it is to achieve your purpose.

Objectives Organize the speech in a manner that best achieves those purposes. Ensure the beginning, body, and conclusion reinforce the purpose. Project sincerity and conviction and control any nervousness you may feel. Strive not to use notes.

(Sit a teddy bear on the lectern and turn sideways to it so you are talking to it.)

You know, it's been a great three months of dating you.  I....just feel like we're in different spots in our life.  You deserve better than me...someone who can love you the way you should be loved.  I am standing in your way and there is someone waiting out there for you.  

Oh my gosh!!!  Don't you just want to slap this girl!  Instead of telling him how she really feels she is playing with his emotions.  Tell the poor boy you are just not that into him.  Stop beating around the bush and say what you really feel.  

Fellow Toastmasters, how many times do we do this similar thing...beat around the bushes of our lives?  How many times do we choose the easier path because it is more convenient? 

The phrase "beating around the bush" came from an old hunting technique? Hunters, especially those hunting boars, or wild pigs, would beat at bushes and trees to get boars to run out of their hiding places. This was safer than confronting them straight on, due to the razor sharp tusks. Beating around the bush saved hunters from being injured by dangerous animals.  In this case it is a helpful idea.

But what if that boar was having a child.  Or going back to school.  Or getting your finances in order.  Or finally working off those holiday pounds.  Would we want to hide behind our computers, or our games, or our TVs? 

What are the boars in our life that we do not want to confront straight on?  What dangerous animals are we hiding from?  What tasks are we putting aside because we are too scared of the risks…or the time… or the effort we would have to put in?

There are many reasons why a person might choose to beat around the bush. Most commonly, it is done when a topic that needs to be discussed is unpleasant. In my breakup example, if a young woman has decided to break up her long-term relationship with her boyfriend, she may not come right out and say "we're through." That would be like attacking a boar.  She is more likely to discuss taking her life in a new direction, showing weaknesses of their current relationship, or sharing benefits from moving on from their life together. This allows her to more gently bring up the subject, and may even get her boyfriend to initiate a conversation about breaking up before she does.  In this case it benefits her without crushing him.  But sometimes, slow deaths are the most painful.  You can get straight to the point without being offensive.  It’s hard, but it’s possible. 

Another time that someone may beat around the bush is when they are asked a question that they don't have a good answer for. An alcoholic may resort to beating around the bush if he or she is asked about the amount of alcohol they regularly drink. A compulsive spender may do the same when asked about his or her finances. This avoidance technique attempts to answer a question without giving a direct response.

Avoiding getting straight into a discussion about something important can have negative consequences, especially in the workplace. Not being able to get right to the point when discussing major business moves can make employees appear unprepared for a meeting. Parents have a harder time teaching their children discipline when they beat around the bush.  Couples who cannot openly discuss problems may have a hard time staying together. While there are times that tactfully beating around the bush may be appropriate, it is generally better to be able to come right out with the matter at hand, instead of trying to indirectly hint at it.

Think about how many relationship problems could have been avoided by coming out with the problem instead of hacking at each other until both are hurting.   We understand why people beat around the bush...to avoid sticky situations, or to prevent people from being hurt.  But how many times does beating around the bushes of our lives prevent us from really feeling something special.  Or hard.  Don't we become stronger people because of the hard things or special events we go through in life?  Do we really want to avoid them then?

How much better will it be at the end of our life to say to our loved ones, “I have lived a fulfilling life?  I have said things that needed to be said.  I have done things I have said I would do.” 

Instead of avoiding the boars and dangerous animals of our lives, let's tackle those life-taking beasts.  Let's take control of our lives and charge right through the bush...come what may.  Let's climb those Mount Everests, of our lives...whether that means taking the jump to mending a relationship, going back to college, chasing an impossible dream job, or even taking that 1^st piano class.  Instead of bush beaters, let’s be bush whackers. 

Mr. Toastmaster

Other resources:

There are many reasons why a person might choose to beat around the bush. Most commonly, it is done when a topic that needs to be discussed is unpleasant. For example, if a young woman has decided to break up her long-term relationship with her boyfriend, she may not come right out and say "we're through." She is more likely to discuss taking her life in a new direction, any personal changes she has experienced, or even the benefit of dating several different partners before marriage. This allows her to more gently bring up the subject, and may even get her boyfriend to initiate a conversation about breaking up before she does.

Another time that someone may beat around the bush is when they are asked a question that they don't have a good answer for. An alcoholic may resort to beating around the bush if he or she is asked about the amount of alcohol they regularly drink. A compulsive spender may do the same when asked about his or her finances. This avoidance technique attempts to answer a question without giving a direct response.

Avoiding getting straight into a discussion about something important by trying to beat around the bush can have negative consequences, especially in the workplace. Not being able to get right to the point when discussing major business moves can make employees appear to be unprepared for the meeting. Parents have a harder time teaching their children discipline when they beat around the bush, and couples who cannot openly discuss problems they may be having will have a hard time staying together. While there are times that tactfully beating around the bush may be appropriate, it is generally better to be able to come right out with the matter at hand, instead of trying to indirectly hint at it.

When someone is avoiding a topic of conversation by sidetracking or using other evasion techniques, it may be said that they are trying to beat around the bush. It is a way of saying that someone is avoiding a problem. It usually involves trying to indirectly work towards a subject, without coming right out with it.

Beating around the bush is called a figure of speech, or an idiom. An idiom is a phrase that cannot be literally translated in a way that makes sense. The meaning has to be taken figuratively. Idioms usually stem from a more literal translation of the phrase that used to be relevant in people's lives. The phrase "beating around the bush" came from an old hunting technique. Hunters, especially those hunting boars, or wild pigs, would beat at bushes and trees to get boars to run out of their hiding places. This was safer than confronting them straight on, due to the razor sharp tusks. Beating around the bush saved hunters from being injured by dangerous animals.

#2 Organize your Speech: Expeditionary Learning

Objectives:

Create a strong opening and conclusion. Select an appropriate outline which allows listeners to easily follow and understand your speech. Make your message clear, with supporting material directly contributing to that message. Use appropriate transitions when moving from one idea to another.

#2 Organize your Speech: Expeditionary Learning

A teacher really is a special calling.  There are many reasons why I love teaching at Venture Academy.  Three reasons really explain why I accepted the job.  I have liberty to create my own curriculum, the school focuses on service, and it is a hands-on approach to learning.

When I was a student teacher in Las Vegas, I remember when I was finally able to take the reins of the classroom, lessons, and planning.  I had taken weeks of my precious dating time to plan a fabulous unit on health.  I planned engaging work with a celebration of learning at the end, where they shared the work they had completed.  Everything turned out great. My assessment from my cooperating teacher at the end of the unit although was very disappointing.  The only critique I can remember from that meeting was that I did not stick to the lessons laid out in the book.  She pointed out the chapters of reading I had skipped to include this unit.  She stressed how important it was to stick to the curriculum.  I felt frustrated that she disliked my creative energy.

Instead of teaching at a school where they scripted what I needed to teach, I searched for one that would allow me to create my own curriculum.  When I interviewed at Venture, the director introduced me to Expeditionary Learning.  Instead of teaching random topics sporadically throughout the year, like what I was doing in Vegas, teachers choose topics that are locally connected to students.  For example, some of our past expeditions have been the Transcontinental Railroad, Bird Migration, or the one we are currently doing, the Wasatch Mountains.  Students have one science expedition and one social studies expedition each year.  That subject is then taught in depth for 12-16 weeks.  The Language Arts and Math classes support what they need to know to accomplish tasks for completing projects in expedition.  Instead of letting the curriculum drive the teaching, teachers drive the learning. Teachers spend months and months building workshops around Expedition topics.  We are “Master Googlers.”  It takes a lot of work, but in the end we feel ownership in what we teach, because we created it.

The second reason that I love Venture is that it fosters service within our school and local community.  Two years ago, the 3'rd-5th grade teachers including me, taught about the Ogden River.  In our expeditions, we always have a culminating product to prove our learning.  We always strive to make the audience as authentic, or real as possible.  My class chose to create a book that not only talked about the learning that was associated with the Ogden River, but they provided information about its history and the new Restoration project being completed on it.

We found out that the Ogden River marathon was coming up and signed up to have a booth.  We sold these books and donated the proceeds to the Ogden River Restoration fund.  We wanted to reach out to more than just our school and to the people passing through the booths.  So the students created signs with facts about the Ogden River.  We placed them very strategically throughout their race.  While the runners sprinted through the Ogden Canyon, they saw a sign for every mile of their run.  The students loved sharing what they knew and being part of something bigger.  Serving others always makes you feel good, and students never forget that.

Lastly, Venture Academy has adopted a hands-on approach to learning. Reading textbooks and then answering questions...filling out worksheets...taking tests after they finish a reading assignment, this is the pattern of a normal school.  Ours is a special approach, one that fosters kid's energy and intelligence.  Kids love to be able to move around when they learn, to talk about it, and to share.  They love to experiment, to discover answers without it being handed to them.  We encourage that inquiry type of learning....and it is exciting!

For example, two weeks ago, we were talking about how mountains were formed.  We learning about how rocks are weathered and eroded, and how they go through a process called the rock cycle.  Instead of reading a textbook or completing a worksheet, I wanted them to experience a rock going through the rock cycle.  So we did a little experiment.

Rocks take thousands and sometimes millions of years to change into another type or rock, so we couldn't literally take a rock through the rock cycle.  But that didn't stop me.  We used crayons instead.  We shaved the crayon down into "sediment" and moved them into an aluminum foil boat.  We held the boats over a candle flame and watched as our sediments melted from the heat and pressure. When the new "rock" cooled and hardened, the state of the rock changed again.  This simple experiment was a hands-on approach to learn about the rock cycle.  No students were hurt in this process, and the learning was driven deep, deep enough that it will be remembered.   

I knew I made the right decision when I said yes to the job at Venture Academy. Yes to creating my own curriculum; Yes to a school that focuses on serving others; Yes to hands-on learning.  Loving what you do is pretty essential to any job.  People spend a bulk of their life doing what gets them by.  I get by…by doing what I love.  

Reflection of #2
I felt really scattered before the speech.  I was upset with Fred and we were rushing around.  I didn't get the Ogden River book and was frustrated I would be able to use it in my speech.  It was unpracticed.  My last week I had practiced for three weeks.  I thought about it more.  It was more interesting, although after you look at a speech for so long, you start to feel tired of it.  Then you change it.  Then you practice it many times and get tired again.

I was speaking the same day as Peeta and Shirley and they are very practiced,  and I knew I would not even compare.  But I did okay.  I still held on to the lectern  but I did leave it a couple of times.  I just need to memorize the speech and speak from my heart.  Believe in what I am saying.  See through the words, the stuttering, and the weaknesses within myself.

I never go directly with what I have prepared.  No speech ever turns out the way you thought.  But it always turns out better than one might expect.  I did slip up with a few words, but I persevered and even gave a few laughs.


Everyone commented on how they wanted to go back to school after they heard how excited I was about teaching.  They mentioned how passionate I was and how that showed.