Back to the roots

I’m in Athens right now, the place where it officially all began for us speakers. The great orators of antiquity shaped the craft of public speaking here, and we follow in their footsteps.

There happen to be a lot of speakers here this weekend, as the Toastmasters Rebirth in Athens unites all European Toastmasters in a grand finale of district 59 and 95. We’re all going back to the roots. To be reborn 🙂

The Pnyx
Forget the Parthenon at the Acropolis. The Pnyx is where it happened!

But going back to the roots is something you should do in your speeches as well, of course.

We live in a time where all sorts of “facts” are thrown out there and just accepted without much thinking [citation needed].
We’re a species capable of believing practically anything, and once we do, we discard all contradicting information.

So: we need to check our facts. With an open mind. Not simply go online, do a search and take the article that confirms our ideas as our basis. Actively search for contradictory points of view and their evidence. Check Snopes. Search for “<my point> refuted”. See if there is scientific evidence  and how this evidence is reviewed by peers. Think.

If the quote you want to use is from Einstein or Mandela, your search isn’t finished.
If you base your opinion on one article, you haven’t done your homework.
If you didn’t dig deep, research and think you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Go back to the roots.

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