This is to be a resource for BRCC students and others interested in public speaking
This site is meant as a resource for students and any others interested in public speaking or student TV
F & F
F & F
Hands on for Hurricance Helene
3- Bad Boys, Bad Boys
2- Chloe's Favorite Rides
5-Pets and Politics but not Petty Politics
4-The Cat in the Hat Meets Mount Rushmore
7- Truth-Seeker
WE the People #2
8-How to do a Front Flip
9-Youth Toastmaster Sampling
The Gargoyle Bed
11-Dinosaur Voice Over
Parkland & Uvalde: A Final Word
13- Bucket List
14- Oh, My Cecelia
Here are three of the 17 students in that first Youth Toastmaster workshop that is featured in video #10 above, which is a Youth Toastmaster Sampling.
Before returning to his interest in teaching Youth Toastmaster workshops in 2025, Stan Coss taught four nine-week workshops for TMCS in video and speech and served as an adjunct instructor of public speaking for four years at BRCC.
1-Furred and Feathered: As a boy, starting at age eight, I had two important characters enter my life, one sporting fur and the other feathers. This is a spoken poem done in December 2024.
2- Hands on for Hurricane Helene: This pays tribute to the courage of survivors and the compassioin of volunteers for the Hurricane Helene's horrendous attack on people in Western NC.
3- Bad Boys, Bad Boys!: This gives an episode near the start of Officer Coss's 24-year-career in law enforcement. Back in the day, female officers were a rare but important element to keep the bad boys at bay.
4-Chloe's Favorite Rides- This is the story of Daughter Chloe in her pursuit of her favorite ride while learning to drive as a teenager, from the family car to her first chosen car to her going-off-to college vehicle.
5- Pets & Politics but not Petty Politics- A treasured family pet is contrasted with Putin in an allegory relating the novel Animal Farm with Ukraine.
6- The Cat in the Hat Meets Mount Rushmore- This is a tale of two Theodores, Theodore Roosevelt and Theodore Giselle (known as Dr. Seuss), and their one meeting together.
7- Truth Seeker- "In the criminal justice system, sexual offenses are considered especially heinous. Investigating these felonies are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit." (SVU) Detective Carol Coss was part of such a unit in Henderson County. Part of this is her story.
8- We the People on Gun Violence- Tyler Howell of UNC-C is no longer part of "We the People" to take a stand against gun violence. He was both a victim and a hero in a school shooting. This is a speech that encourages "We the People" to not just wait to be heard on this important issue. This is not an explanation of gun safety measures but a recounting of three sets of past responses to gun violence: two school shootings prior to 2020 in the U.S.; two mass shootings in Great Britain; Uvalde. The aim is that "We the People" make a response that is helpful to our children, especially.
9- How Do You Do a Front Flip? Heber was a good athlete, but, mostly, he was a great storyteller. He survived this lesson without injury, but viewers are advised to exercise extreme caution. This is from the Polk County N.C. TV News Network that claims no responsibility nor kinship with any part of its message.
This is the hero of
the Parkland Shooting, #13
10- The Youth Toastmaster Sampling is described in its own box above.
11- The Gargoyle Bed: This begins with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth, but it then focuses on gargoyles in history and in one close to home.
12- Dinosaur Voice-Over: This went with the simple title and no description and no special marketing but somehow racked up over 70,000 views on Youtube.
13- Parkland & Uvalde: School shootings are reviewed in some detail, but the Raleigh neighborhood murders by a teen are just touched on. The policing flaws are mentioned in two school shootings and in the jury trial. Policing that works and a hero are also praised. One word in three parts is offered as a resolution.
14- The Bucket List: This speech won an area contest for the International Speech Category that is to Inspire. It includes three stories; two are misses and the last one finally connects.
15- Oh, My Cecelia: Violins have always inspired strong emotions and even humor. This speech runs the gamut from Psycho's shower scene to Jack Benny.
Is Public Speaking to Remain a #1 Fear?
Jerry Seinfeld, in one of his comedy routines, said that most people at a funeral would rather be the one in the coffin than the one to deliver a eulogy. Public speaking is truly a fear that the high school curriculum doesn't often address since the senior project is no longer required. Hendersonville High School did offer Spch 231 with college credit in 2018, and North, East and West have that program at times with BRCC.
Former public school teacher Stan Coss taught English and video and public speaking courses in neighboring Polk County High School. But the public speaking part he really didn't learn with his MAT in speech at UNC-Ch. He learned it in joining and practicing with the local Toastmaster club starting in 2014. Toastmasters began in the basement of a YMCA in 1924 and became an international movement of about 300,000 members.
Consider This for
a Model Speaker
One model of public speaking is not a great orator or eloquent statesman or even a catchy motivational speaker. It is Michael Di Cerbo, who by age 85 had spent two decades teaching Youth Toastmaster programs to school children in Arizona. Teachers invited him to lead workshops in public speaking and leadership.
Di Cerbo said, “One of the major benefits of the program is the positive and constructive” feedback that “leads to an increase in self confidence. Parents often tell me their child was shy and then blossomed. Children also find the program organized their thoughts and made them better writers.”
Eleven-year-old Tyler Jones, who plans to run for Senate when he’s 30, said, “The most important thing Toastmaster Mike taught us was that our speech has to be from the heart, not just from the brain. I learned if you are confident with your speech and really knew it, the rest will follow.”