List of people I may talk about and adjectives to describe them:

  • Dad: funny, role model, similar personalities, look up too, always there, dependable, quick-witted, easy-going, teacher, generous, hard working
  • Ashlie (cousin): similar personalities, funny, favorite cousin, always there, literally the same person as me
  • Mr.Mason (high school teacher): mentor all throughout high school, funny, similar personalities, helpful, kind, selfless

Quick Outline:

Intro: Set the scene/introduce my dad

  • Introduce the scene/my dad of it being at his 51st birthday party and thank everyone for being able to make it.

Body:

  • Jokingly talk about how we first met
    • It was 2 o’clock in the morning on May 18, 2001 and that’s when I first met my dad (my birthday)
  • Recall a funny story
    • Riding a quad and I see a deer and he doesn’t see it and it was like 10 feet from us
  • Talk about how he’s always there for me and how great he is
    • The nicest and most selfless guy I know

Conclusion: Sum everything up

  • Thank my dad for how great he is and explain how thankful I am to have such a tight father-daughter bond

Dry Runs:

#1: https://youtu.be/Hz9yZJvjWLM

#2: https://youtu.be/xglD5-txk1s

Final Outline:

Introduction: Hi everyone, I would just like to grab your attention for a few moments to take the time to give a big happy birthday toast to the person we are here to celebrate today… my dad.

3 main points:

  • As most toasts begin I will explain to you all about the time my dad and first met
    • It was a cool spring morning in May of 2001  
    • I don’t remember that day too much but I know for sure he does especially because I believe he has been up for the past 12+ hours waiting to meet me
    • And since that day my dad has been my role model, hero and most of all, my best friend 🙂
  • My dad is the most helpful, hardworking, and most of all funny guy I know
    • He never fails to make me laugh even when I am upset or mad 
      • I specifically remember that whenever I was upset as a kid he would look at me right in the eyes and say “don’t smile” “common stephanie, don’t smile” 
      • And no matter what I would always end up laughing and be instantly taken out of my bad mood
      • Even now that I am older he still tries to do the same trick on me and it still works
    • He is the most hardworking person I know 
      • Every since I can remember my dad has never just sat around and done nothing
      • When I was really young my dad worked as an IT guy, then he sold real estate, then he owned his own construction business, and now he works for IT again  
      • And in between working his normal job he is also always doing stuff around the house or working outside
      • Seeing him always working and striving to succeed has pushed me to want to be just like that when I get into my career 
    • My dad is also always there for me no matter the time or place 
      •  I specifically remember a time when my dad came to my rescue
      • It was junior year of high school and it was recently after I got my licence when I was driving to school and heard a loud sound coming from my car
      • Being naive I turned up the radio and continued to drive to school 
      • About 3 or 4 minutes before I would have gotten to school I finally decided to pull over because my car was not only making a sound but also not driving correctly
      • I immediately called my dad and ended up waking him up to see if he could come help
      • He came to help as soon as he could, taking into account that my dad doesn’t live in the same town my High school is in so he was about 20 minutes away 
      • And once he got there he immediately changed my tire on the side of the road… in the snow 

Conclusion: At the end of the day I know that my dad will always be there for me no matter what. From teaching me how to ride a bike, to teaching me how to drive, then to fixing my car whenever it brakes, he will always there I know will continue to be there. I am so thankful for the father-daughter bond we have and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without him. Happy birthday dad, I love you!

Reflection (Journal #15):
I personally really enjoyed writing and presenting speech #3. Being able to speak on behalf of my dad really made it easy and made me feel more comfortable while I was speaking in front of the class. I also think that this speak was much better than my others in regards to feeling more confident as well as making more eye contact and projecting my voice better. As we have been doing more speeches and getting the hang of practicing and knowing my strengths and weaknesses my speeches have gotten much better. The one thing that I am still having trouble with and know that I messed up on this speak with is the timing. I always end up talking really fast even if I don’t mean and I really try to slow myself down, but it never seems to work. In connection with that I think that it caused me speech to come in under the time it was supposed to be, which was three minutes. I personally think that toast speeches should be shorter, but I understand that I should still be meeting the time requirement for my speeches. Overall I think that this was the best speech yet this semester and it was definitely the one I felt most confident while doing.