Informative Speech

How Humor Heals

I had to spend a week or so in the hospital last year. A minor ear infection turned into some major
problems for my immune system. I was fairly depressed and frustrated one night after my doctor
had given me the news that still more tests would be needed, which meant another few days in an
uncomfortable bed with people poking and prodding at me.

As I thought about it, the pain began again, and I was sure that my
condition might only become more serious. About the time I began
to wonder if I would ever see my own home again, my best friend
from high school stopped by. She was, quite literally, our class
clown. She always had a great joke on the tip of her tongue. She
was the mascot at the football games because her antics were so
funny. Even now I can't help but smile when I think about her.

Two hours after she left, I felt great. I had no pain when I woke up
the next morning, and that evening, all of my test results were positive. A miracle? Actually, yes.
Study after study has indicated that humor has interesting healing powers.

One way that humor can help to heal is that it literally changes our outlook on life. As we laugh, we
have trouble seeing life's difficulties the same way. Suddenly, our problems don't seem quite as
bad. Humor allows one to distance him/herself from a painful physical or medical situation while
also acknowledging that he or she is in such a situation.

This change in perspective is a powerful healing force. Distancing yourself from a distressing
situation allows you to view certain circumstances from a more objective perspective, and this can
help you extract powerful emotions that focus on your pain or sorrow. In doing this, you do not
reject the painful circumstances surrounding you, but acknowledge the reality of your situation -
the good with the bad.

Recent mental health studies have shown that laughter can stimulate areas of the brain that
release endorphins, helping us to see our situation more clearly.

The benefits of humor, though, aren't all mental. Humor triggers laughter. According to
physiological studies, the laughter, in turn, stimulates our cardiovascular systems by increasing the
rate at which the heart beats and contracting the muscles. In fact, one study suggested that
laughing one hundred times per day is the equivalent of spending ten minutes on a rowing machine.

One study went so far as to suggest that the benefits of laughter reach far beyond our body system.
"Laughter reduces levels of certain stress hormones which suppress the immune system and
increase the number of blood platelets - which can cause obstructions in arteries, and raise blood
pressure," said one researcher. "When we're laughing, natural killer cells that destroy cancer cells
increase, as does the level of Gamma-interferon - a disease-fighting protein, T-cells - a major part
of the immune system, and B-cells - which make disease-destroying antibodies. Laughter may also
increase the concentration of salivary immunoglobulin A, which defends against infectious
organisms entering through the respiratory tract so it helps us to resist colds and viruses." That
makes quite a case of the adage "A barrel of laughs a day keeps the doctor away."

The healing power of humor is wide-ranging in scope and situation. Though medically, the
interesting healing powers of humor are still being studied by many scientists, humor clearly heals
the spirit - a part of every one of us which is often neglected by medicine and science.
Seeing the humor in our painful or emotional situations can free us from the chains we have built
around ourselves, helping us to recognize that life is more than anger or pain or sorrow, but that it
is full of humor and the contagious sound of laughter.

Informative Speech

The Truth About Caffeine

How many of you here consider yourself caffeine addicts? How much coffee do you drink in a day?
One cup? Two cups? More? How about caffeinated sodas?

Caffeine is pervasive in our society these days and every few

months we hear about how a study has shown that it is bad for us
or good for us. What are we to believe?

Today, I'd like to give you some of the facts about caffeine and its
effects on your body. I may not cause you to change your coffee
consumption, but at least you'll be better informed about what you
are putting into your body. I'm going to talk about the beneficial
effects of caffeine, the negative effects and discuss what are
considered to be 'safe' levels of caffeine consumption.

Let's start with the good news. Caffeine, which comes from the leaves, seeds and fruits of about 63
different plants, is well known as a stimulant. That's why people drink it, right?

Caffeine does help you wake up and feel more alert and it has been shown to increase attention
spans. This is a beneficial effect for people who are driving long distances and for people who are
doing tedious work. Calling this a health benefit may be stretching it, though staying awake while you
are driving a car definitely contributes to your well-being! Caffeine also contains antioxidants, which
have been shown to have cancer prevention qualities. The negative effects of caffeine are largely
dependent on how much you consume.

When consumed in small quantities - for example, when you have one cup of coffee or one soda -
caffeine can increase your heart rate, cause you to urinate more (which can cause dehydration) and
prompt your digestive system to produce more acid. In larger amounts, caffeine can cause you to
have headaches, feel restless and nervous, be unable to sleep, and even - in very large quantities -
to have hallucinations. (Don't try that at home!)

When larger amounts of caffeine (over 600 mg per day) are ingested over long periods of time, they
can cause sleep problems, depression and digestion issues.

According to a Medline article on the National Institutes of Health website, having caffeine in your diet
is not of any benefit to your health, but by the same token moderateconsumption is not considered
harmful.

They say that having up to 3 eight ounce cups of coffee a day - or 250 mg of caffeine - is considered
(quote) "average or moderate". 10 cups of coffee a day is considered excessive. Also, remember that
the amount of caffeine per cup can vary greatly depending on the type of beans that are used and
the strength of the brew.

Most sodas with caffeine, unless they are specially enhanced, have about 35 mg of caffeine per 8
ounces. This means that you don't have to worry TOO much unless you are drinking several 2 liter
bottles per day. Also, the effect of caffeine on you personally will depend on a number of factors,
such as your weight, general health, mood and personal sensitivity to caffeine.
As you can see, caffeine can have both positive and negative effects on our health and well-being.
Nevertheless, the bottom line is that if you drink your coffee or sodas in moderation, you don't have
to worry too much.

So, the next time you are wondering whether or not you should have that second cup of coffee to
perk you up, relax. At least now you know what it will - and won't - do for you!

Persuasive Speech
Global Warming

If you are in need of a persuasive speech for school, college or work, here is an example of a
persuasive speech. It is a very informative speech, but
why not have a look at the statistics on NASAs website?
There is little doubt that the planet is warming. Over the
last century, the planets temperature has risen by
around 1.8 degree fahrenheit (1 degree celsius). The
warmest since the mid 1800s was the 1990s and since
then only 1998 has broken this record. The hottest years
recorded were 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003. In fact 14
of the hottest years on record have been in the last 15
years.

The United Nations panel on climate change projects that the global temperatures will rise 3-10
degrees fahrenheit by the centurys end enough to have the polar caps all but melted. If the
ice caps melt, a vast majority of our countries borders will be under water. Monuments and
great buildings, as well as homes and lives will be under water, including New York City. So now
we know what some of the causes are for global warming, how can we as individuals do our part
to help save the planet? The answer is simpler than you may think. You dont have to go miles
away from home to protest, or spend masses of money. If you try to follow the few simple steps
that I shall now give you, you will have started to help us all.

Firstly, plant a tree. This could be easier than it sounds. Join or help out a local wildlife group
and ask to plant a tree. Trees, when fully grown, will help keep the planet cooler. On the same
point, you could protest against the demolition of the rainforests. This is the same principle, we
need the trees to cool our planet and yet they are chopping them down to create roads or homes.

Something as simple as walking instead of taking the car will help reduce pollution. As well as
stopping pollution, you are giving yourself exercise, something important for our bodies. So the
next time you get into your car, or your motorbike, think do I have to make this journey by
vehicle or can I walk?

When you are at home, and your getting a little cold. Put a jumper on and do not adjust the
heating. The extra heat produced by our homes also affects the planet. So try wearing an extra
layer in winter. If possible, buy your fruit and vegetables from local suppliers. And try to avoid
imported goods. The more foreign food that we import the more pollution from aeroplanes and
boats it will create.

Keeping to the speed limit can also help the environment. The more you speed the more petrol
you are going to use, making the pollution higher. Also, SUVs make about six times their own
weight in CO2 each year. A small efficient diesel car covering the same distance not only uses
much less fuel; it makes two thirds less. If possible use solar energy, after all it is free; all you
need to buy is the equipment. You can get much of your hot water and heating from the sun and
even generate electricity.
Reduce, reuse and recycle. Only buy what you need; dont stock the cupboards with things you
may or may not use. Reuse whatever you can, like containers and paper, and recycle what you
cannot reuse. It really is as simple as that. Finally turning off unused sources of power such as
televisions and heaters will help the environment, as well as save you money.

If everybody stuck to these rules, we would be doing a great thing by protecting the earth. So
please take into consideration what I have said, and try to do your part. After all, it will be our
next generation that will feel the effects.

Persuasive Speech

Organ Donation

Ladies and gentlemen, today I am here to share with you

my views on organ donation, in the hope that you will take
them on board and give someone the ultimate gift after
you have left this earth the gift of life.

Ladies and gentlemen, at this moment in the US there are

117,144 U.S patients on the lifesaving transplant waiting
list. Three thousand a month are added to this total. Not a lot you may say when the population
is over three hundred million, but now add twenty to thirty family and friends to each patient,
and the number increases vastly.

Every day 20 people die whilst waiting for a transplant. Again you may say not a lot but in the
average mans lifetime the death toll is 1,980,160 almost two million people. Ladies and
gentlemen you can help. By donating your vital organs after you have passed away you can save
lives.

For the more sentimental of you, of the 79,000 patients waiting for a transplant, over 10 per
cent of these are children under 18 years of age.

So, how can you help? All you have to do is get in touch with your local doctor and he will tell
you all you need to know. You fill out one form, and receive a card; it really is that easy. Then,
once you have passed away in many years to come, your organs will be removed and will give
somebody else the chance of life.

After a transplant of a vital organ, the average survival rate is over 80%. A massive increase
from the 20% that would live without the surgery.

Some people worry. Will they be left open after the surgery as they are already dead, or will
they still be able to have an open casket funeral? The answers to these are simple. You will be
treated with the up most respect in the surgery and the same procedures apply to the body as a
living body. And yes, you will be able to have an open casket funeral if you wish to.

Ladies and gentlemen the gift of life is the most amazing gift anybody can give. How I see
things, and what made me become a donor, is that after I am gone I will have no use for my
organs. So why should I deprive someone else from using them.
 Entertainment Speech

Planning for Childrens Birthday Party

We all like to have a good time every now and then. We want to laugh, hold hands, and make
memories that will last a lifetime. Who does not like a good
road trip, hiking, or skiing with friends? Regardless of the
event, memories are made that will stay with us all our
lives. Many of us did not have big magical eventful birthday
parties as children and this is why I would like to discuss
party planning for children.

When planning for a childs birthday party, several factors

should be considered during the process. To make the party
interesting, the host should always include the birthday girl/boy in coming up with the theme of
the party. This is important because most of the guests at the party will be children their own
age with similar interests. The theme should assist in creating the perfect environment and
dcor for the occasion.

For instance, if it is a girls birthday party, the theme could be Party Princess and therefore the
theme color may be pink. All the decorations, as well as the cake, should be in line with the
selected theme to keep the guests, especially the children, entertained. If possible, a bouncing
castle to reinforce the theme should be put up, if the party venue has enough room to
accommodate it.

To grab the attention of the adult guests as well as the children, birthday invitations should be
sent out in advance with the theme of the party marked on the front of the invitation. Each
guest should also make an effort to dress children in line with the theme to make them feel as if
they are part of the celebrations. This also gives them time to shop for an appropriate gift for
the birthday boy/girl.

Furthermore, considering that children grow impatient effortlessly, the party should not go on for
more than three hours. Who wants to spend more than three hours running around after
children who are on a sugar high? Not me! Within the short period of the party time, a list of
games and activities should be lined up for the children to engage in as they wait for the grand
finale of cake cutting and present opening.
As the host and party planner of this event, your main concern should be the safety of the
children as well as fun. Phew! Talk about multitasking. Everything from the cutlery to the
playground, as well as lining up the entertainment should be non-hazardous. Just as importantly,
the adults should also have a good sense of humor, drinks will spill and toys will be broken, but
you should keep it light to avoid dampening the mood with scolding. Imagine a party with
twenty sulking children mood kill.

After the cake has been cut and the gifts have been opened, the host may choose to engage
both the adults and children in a final closing activity. For instance, they may participate in a
scavenger hunt in which each child finds an object with a thank you gift inside which they get to
keep. Taking home such a souvenir after a fun-filled afternoon will definitely ensure they
remember this for a long time to come.

Entertainment Speech

Why Videos Go Viral

Thesis: Reasons why videos go viral

Purpose: To entertain the audience with a

presentation on why videos go viral

Introduction

As a specialist in public relations, I feel best suited to deliver this speech on the reasons why
videos go viral. Most people in the world want to be famous. That is a basic fact that cannot be
argued with. This is something that seemed hard to achieve some time ago. However, this is a
trend that has changed, over the years, due to web video. People can now become famous
within a span of one week. This brings us to the major question in this speech; why do internet
videos go viral? YouTube can be used as an illustration. Every minute, about 48 hours are
uploaded in YouTube. However, only a tiny percentage of this goes viral. Therefore, it is
important to discuss why these videos go viral.

Unexpectedness

Just the other day, a four minute video of a guy laughing, while viewing the rainbow, had
5,000,000 views on YouTube. At the same time, there are other videos that may seem to be
worthy of such views, yet they do not achieve this. This shows that there is great value in
unexpectedness. People on the internet want to see things that they do not expect there. They
prefer to view videos that cannot be predicted. That is how such funny and short videos go viral.
It is a technique that has been repeatedly used by celebrities. It shows creativity, as well as
captures the attention of people on the internet, at a glance.

Tastemakers

There are people in the society that act as tastemakers. This means that they have the ability to
engage in activities that command a lot of support and following, from people all over the world.
These are people that can make everyone want to be associated with something. A recent
example is that of Rebecca Black with her song, Friday. This video did not have views at first.
Later, its views shot up and it became one of the most watched videos on YouTube. However,
there is one interesting aspect to these findings. The days when the views were highest were
always Fridays. This shows that the song raised awareness of the importance and amusement
that comes with Friday. This is an ideal example of how tastemakers manage to have their
videos go viral. From these findings, it is clear that videos do not just go viral. There are vital
factors that contribute to this every time that it happens.

Conclusion

It is now clear that there are specific reasons and factors that contribute to a video going viral.
This does not only shed light on the matter, but also creates great interest in people who would
like to be famous. As my research has shown, there is a great need for creativity in these videos
for this to happen. This explains the mystery of why some videos go viral, while others do not
get that privilege. It also explains the reason why people are inevitably attracted to some videos
and not to others.

Manuscript Speech

Classification of Constitution.

Constitutions are widely classified into two categories, firstly written and unwritten ; and
secondly, rigid and flexible. Written and Unwritten
constitutionA written constitution is one in which the
fundamental principles concerning state
administration are embodied and which has, as a
specific document, been passed by a specific body
So a written constitution can be produced and shown
as a single document. The US constitution, Indian
Constitution, Bangladesh Constitution provide
examples of written Constitution. On The other hand,
where the constitution has not been passed formally
as a specific document by a specific body and the fundamental principles concerning state
administration exist in political customs, Judicial decisions and in some scattered documents, the
constitution is an unwritten one. The British Constitution provides the glaring example of
unwritten constitution. Views, of course are expressed by different writers that this classification
of Constitution ( written and unwritten ) is not a scientific one since no Constitution can, in
practice, be fully written or unwritten, An unwritten Constitution must have some written
elements. Likewise, a written constitution cannot be fully written , some elements of it exists in
unwritten form. For example, British Constitution is unwritten but some important elements of it
are contained in written documents like Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, Petition of Rights, Act of
settlement etc. On the other hand , the US constitution is written but some important
Constitutional subjects like political party organization, cabinet, committee of the Congress,
working procedure of the Congress etc. are not written they are largely based on political
custom or convention Likewise Bangladesh Constitution is a written one but political party
organization, appointment of Chief Justice, formation of coalition government etc. are not
written ; these are based on convention. This is why it is said that the distinction between
written and unwritten Constitution is one of degree rather than of form C.F. Strong comments
that a classification of Constitutions on the basis of whether they are written or unwritten is
illusory. It is, of course, sometimes necessary to distinguish between the so-called written and
so-called unwritten Constitution, and whenever we needed to do so, we shall refer to the former
as a documentary and to the later as a non-documentary Constitution. | THE CONSTITUTION OF
THE PHILIPPINES

English Point of View

A constitution is "the body of those written or unwritten fun- damental laws which regulate the
most important rights of the higher magistrates and the most important essential privileges of
the subjects."

American and Filipino Point of View

A constitution may be defined as "a written instrument by

which the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited, and defined, and by
which those powers are disturbed among several branches for their more safe and useful
exercise for the benefit of the body."

In a more general way, a constitution may be defined as the

fundamental law according to which the government of the state is organized and agreeably to
which the relations of the
individuals or moral persons to the community are determined."

Manuscript Speech

Before the invention of woodblock printing in China or by moveable type in a printing press in
Europe, all written documents had to be both produced and reproduced by hand. Historically,
manuscripts were produced in form of scrolls (volume in Latin) or books (codex, plural codices).
Manuscripts were produced on vellum and other parchment, on papyrus, and on paper. In
Russia birch bark documents as old as from the 11th century have survived. In India, the palm
leaf manuscript, with a distinctive long rectangular shape, was used from ancient times until the
19th century. Paper spread from China via the Islamic world to Europe by the 14th century, and
by the late 15th century had largely replaced parchment for many purposes.

When Greek or Latin works were published, numerous professional copies were made
simultaneously by scribes in a scriptorium, each making a single copy from an original that was
declaimed aloud.

The oldest written manuscripts have been preserved by the

perfect dryness of their Middle Eastern resting places, whether
placed within sarcophagi in Egyptian tombs, or reused
as mummy-wrappings, discarded in
the middens of Oxyrhynchus or secreted for safe-keeping in
jars and buried (Nag Hammadi library) or stored in dry caves
(Dead Sea scrolls). Manuscripts in Tocharian languages, written
on palm leaves, survived in desert burials in the Tarim Basin of
Central Asia. Volcanic ash preserved some of the Roman library
of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum.

Ironically, the manuscripts that were being most carefully preserved in the libraries
of antiquity are virtually all lost. Papyrus has a life of at most a century or two in relatively moist
Italian or Greek conditions; only those works copied onto parchment, usually after the general
conversion to Christianity, have survived, and by no means all of those.
Originally, all books were in manuscript form. In China, and later other parts of East
Asia, woodblock printing was used for books from about the 7th century. The earliest dated
example is the Diamond Sutra of 868. In the Islamic world and the West, all books were in
manuscript until the introduction of movable type printing in about 1450. Manuscript copying of
books continued for a least a century, as printing remained expensive. Private or government
documents remained hand-written until the invention of the typewriter in the late 19th century.
Because of the likelihood of errors being introduced each time a manuscript was copied,
the filiation of different versions of the same text is a fundamental part of the study and criticism
of all texts that have been transmitted in manuscript.

In Southeast Asia, in the first millennium, documents of sufficiently great importance were
inscribed on soft metallic sheets such as copperplate, softened by refiner's fire and inscribed with
a metal stylus. In the Philippines, for example, as early as 900AD, specimen documents were
not inscribed by stylus, but were punched much like the style of today's dot-matrix printers. This
type of document was rare compared to the usual leaves and bamboo staves that were inscribed.
However, neither the leaves nor paper were as durable as the metal document in the hot, humid
climate. In Burma, the kammavaca, Buddhist manuscripts, were inscribed on brass, copper or
ivory sheets, and even on discarded monk robes folded and lacquered. In Italy some
important Etruscan texts were similarly inscribed on thin gold plates: similar sheets have been
discovered in Bulgaria. Technically, these are all inscriptions rather than manuscripts.