Game of Thrones


Hey everyone, we decided to have some fun in our last meeting and used Game of Thrones for our theme.

For those of you who are obsessive fanatics of the TV series as some of our members are *cough Ms Secretary*, you will know that it combines stunning visuals and compelling story telling that kept fans glued to their TV screens every Monday night.

In fact, the show has all the ingredients for a great speech, especially for projects that involve story telling.

1) Multi Dimensional Characters

Characters that are multi-dimensional like Jaime Lannister, for example, keep the audience guessing on their next move.  Fans of the show loathed him for his "I don't give a f***," attitude in the beginning, especially when he nonchalantly pushed a 10 year old Bran Stark off the tower after the young boy witnessed something he shouldn't have.

But as the show progressed, we see him displaying different sides of his character.  We realize that maybe he is not such a bad guy after all, yet which side he's playing for still remains unclear.

2) Weave Your Story Line into a Masterpiece

The show combines several stories that are interconnected yet independent.  Characters are connected through a complicated maze of family, friends, circumstances and events.  Your speech can be multi layered and tightly connected at the same time, so that even though you are talking about a few different things, the audience has no problems seeing how the threads connect together and create the big picture.

3) Keep your Audience Guessing

What makes the series stand out is that you never know who the central characters are unlike other typical TV shows.  You think that someone is the hero but then they die and then you think it's someone else and then they too die.  Nobody is safe.  A word of advice: only do this if you are confident that your story is interesting enough to keep your audience hooked.  Otherwise it gets frustrating and people start tuning out.

4) Take your Audience into Neverland with your Words

Have you read the books that the show is based on?  The books are written from the first person perspective, by the way.  The author, George RR Martin used very descriptive words that takes the reader on a very intimate journey into the psyche of the characters.  In order to do this, words play a very important role.  The words you use in your speech can enchant, hypnotize and paint vivid pictures of epic battle scenes, deep emotions and even describe the taste of chicken pot pie if used correctly.  Plus, in a speech, you have the advantage of using your tone of voice to add to the effect.

What a fun night!  Valar Morgulis


If you would like the opportunity to hone your public speaking skills as well as learn leadership skills, join us for our bi-monthly meetings on every 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month.  Our meetings start at 8pm.  For further information please contact us at gurneyhydrotoastmastersclub@gmail.com or refer to our Next Meeting page for information on our next meeting.

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