Reddit mentions: The best public speaking books

Hi! Debate teacher and Speech & Debate coach here. I'm headed to bed, but I will try to remember to get back to this tomorrow; I will gladly share the resources I use/have used.

I sincerely hope you will consider coaching in addition to just teaching debate classes. The forensics world is a massive micro community full of incredibly bright young people, and watching them work through the challenge of developing cases, speeches, and performance pieces (and watching them get and apply feedback from judges on weekends) is incredibly rewarding.

In the mean time, check out the ebook The Book of Bad Arguments by Ali Almossawi and Well Spoken by Erick Palmer.

The National Speech and Debate association also has oodles of free resources (and TONS more if you get an annual membership, which you ABSOLUTELY should if you're going to coach, even if you have to fundraise for it and even if it depletes your team account. Having the resource package membership is worth its weight.)

Shoot me your email address and I'll send you a lot of the paperwork I've developed over the past 6 years. Welcome!

The first mnemonic every EA learns is "Time For Prune Juice". To remember the four cardinal virtues: Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence and Justice.

Try Mullen Memory.

As has been pointed out before, masonic lodges were set up for the Memory Palace work. You can just stand in the lodge room, think of the normal path you circumambulate in, and use the memory palace technique along that path to memorize the key words you need for a lecture as a series of little picture-stories at each locus.
There are also memory apps used by actors like Script Rehearser that will let you drill multiple times per day whenever you find yourself with a few minutes of down-time. Its use is jurisdictional.

Rick Smith's system has worked for a lot of British masons: Five minutes when you first wake up memorizing one new sentence and linking it to the previous's days line. Review 4 times through the day about two minutes each time with an app. Don't even try after 6pm. Next morning try sentence again. If recalled, move to next sentence. If not, work on same sentence again.

2nd stage is working on large groups of the memorized sentences together. Usually another week.

3rd stage is working on presentation and "not being boring."

It's much easier to approach a sentence a day at about 15 minutes spread over each day, than trying to cram it all in too fast. I found his short book worth reading to learn his memory system, even though the actual rituals are a bit different than the US. (He carefully avoids spoilers that would reveal any masonic secrets, so it's perfectly safe to read even for non-masons)
There are also many memory triggers worked into the lectures, and to a lesser degree the proficiencies, including rhyme (you’ll notice “apron” is almost always followed by "mason"), alliteration, but also assonance, consonance, a fondness for alphabetically ordered wording, and other letter relations between words. Discovering them is one of the pleasures of study.

A discussion we often have with EAs is how is a “secret” different from a “mystery”? At first they seem to be used interchangeably, but they aren't. Studying this difference in the proficiency is rewarding.

I would imagine Amazon could get it to you more quickly than you will find it here. I took the liberty of looking it up for you and you could have it by tomorrow if you order it soon and pay the extra shipping.

Also, you're a student, which means you should qualify for Amazon Prime for half price, which would give you free two-day shipping and cheap one-day shipping. It's pretty nice.

I'm going to suggest a book that can absolutely be used for critical thinking and work perfectly in conjunction with the scripture stories they are learning (and also the fake manual stories). The book is called a guide to philosophical inquiry and leads participants (generally used for kids aged 4-17, although it's useful for anyone IMO) through critical thinking skills using stories and "story thinking". I have used it in my special ed classes to help my students "see" concepts, rather than just be expected to have instant understanding. I just really highly recommend this book and the concept of incorporating philosophical inquiry into critical thinking skills. :) http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-If-Storythinking-Handbook/dp/1441118144

Yup. If OP was half as smart as he thinks he is, he'd already have read Popkin's The Reasoning Voter and understand the latest research on the matter.

Instead, OP's running around insisting on intelligence tests to vote, a la Jim Crow.

What do you think OP? Should you be excluded from voting for voicing an opinion without having read any background empirical research on the opinion you're espousing?

This was the book http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Guide-Public-Speaking/dp/0312400780. To be honest, we didn't really use it.

This book?
https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Guide-Public-Speaking/dp/1457670402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482442966&sr=8-1&keywords=Pocket+Guide+to+Public+Speaking

https://www.amazon.ca/Freemasons-Handbook-Toasts-Speeches-Responses/dp/0853183368

Check it out "Masonic Toasts, Speeches, and Responses" by Beresiner.

The Freemasons Handbook of Toasts, Speeches and Responses https://www.amazon.com/dp/0853183368/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_HkK1BbCAWSZA9

and
The Art of Public Speaking 12th
https://www.amazon.ca/Art-Public-Speaking-Stephen-Lucas/dp/0073523917

Can you get me this book? https://www.amazon.com/Inventing-Arguments-Brief-ebook-dp-B00U0CHB2I/dp/B00U0CHB2I/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1549235860#customerReviews i would need this today.

Reading a couple relevant chapters from a reputable critical thinking textbook (edit: changed link to better book after consulting lecturer) may really help you here. I did a course on it in first year and while I don't remember a whole lot, it was -at the time- absurdly edifying. Of course you know about it, but seeing it visualized and testing you in it's "syntax" I guess, is super useful.

Dismantling arguments into components can really knock the fire and wind out of them, instilling a sense of assurance in yourself in clearly articulating exactly where you disagree and why, and that can neuter a lot of the anger and frustration.