Youth Speaking to America (YSTA)

YSTA

A fun way for your children to become excellent speakers/presenters.
Creating and learning how to answer those extemporaneous questions, build speeches, present speeches and evaluate speeches.
Lots of emphasis on the use of filler words, such as like, and, also overcoming the use of hums & ahs.
The program is based on weekly participation, if possible. Becoming a good speaker is work and the more often the child speaks, the quicker their confidence grows.
Experience growth with guest speakers, evaluations by experienced speakers, and continuing mentorship.
This will be a continuing program.
Our goal is to engage your child each time they attend.

SEE WHAT THE STUDENTS SAY!

SOME LETTERS

I love Toastmasters thanks to one special person. Mr. York. Over the past several weeks, our class has had the honor of the mentoring of Mr. York Somerville in Toastmasters youth leadership program. Mr. York as we called him, always came to our class with a positive attitude. It was almost like he enjoyed working with us! :) Something not many people would do. Mr. York taught us many things; like organization, organizing our speeches, being good listeners, voice project, and use of gestures. We learned how to give and receive constructive criticism through our evaluation guide. Most importantly, he taught us speaking in front of people is not our number one fear, number two being death according to many studies. At this time we would like to show our appreciation of Mr. York with a few memorable gifts. Mr. York please join me at the lectern. First a shirt. You are now officially part of the Pasadena family!!!! Second, a stopwatch. That way you no longer need to endanger your fancy phone. And third, a photo album so you never forget us.. Franklin Delano Roosevelt said this about public speaking, “Be sincere, be brief, and be seated.” As will I.

By: Lauren B.
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Mr. York,You are so very funny and give very good speeches. You have helped me so much. I will never forget this class and it will help me later when I am an adult because I am not as scared to speak in front of a crowd anymore. I have become a better speech writer and speaker. Thank You Mr. York.

Sincerely

Olivia

….................................. Sign-up Spring Speech Program: www.youthspeakingtoamerica.com

Dear Mr. York,“ As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way.” ( Irish Blessing) And hopefully you will not fall off until the end. And at the end, may you land softly on your feet. ( Ending by Connor)

Sincerely

Connor

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Mr. York,You are the best. No other speeches are better than yours. Toastmasters is soooo fun and you're right, Go Giants! You are so funny and awesome. Thank You so much

.From,

Davis

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Mr. York,You are a great teacher. I now know how to speak in front of a crowd. I have also learned how to write speeches. Thank you a lot. I have grown as a speaker and writer .Sincerely

Chyna

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Dear Mr. York,

I think you are fun. This was one of the best things that I've done all school year. I had a great time because you were there. You helped me learn to speak in public. Thank You.

Sincerely

Eoin

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Dear Mr. York,

You always have funny or sad stories to share with us each day you come in. You are the best Toastmaster in my opinion. Every time you come in everybody cheers up instantly. You are one of the funniest people I know!Best

Wishes

Hana

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Mr. York,

What I learned from Toastmasters is that if you stand up and take a stand, you can change the world...but you have to be prepare and memorize your speech. It is also very good to use gestures in speeches. Now we are prepared to change the world. Thank You Mr. York!

Sincerely,

Connor

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Mr. York,

Thank you for Toastmasters. Whenever I think of the word 'Toastmasters' I think of toasted marshmallows. Yum. Anyways, people are always telling me Toastmasters will be a great learning experience. I thought writing a speech was like writing a story. But you taught me it's not. Thank you for teaching me. The career I want includes being an entertainer or a writer. Thank you.

Best Wishes,

Savannah

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.Mr. York,

Thank You for Toastmasters! I had a blast. You were the best Toastmasters teacher I've ever had. I will never forget you. I love everything about Toastmasters. It was an awesome experience.

Best Wishes,

Jada

….....................................Sign-up Spring Speech Program: www.youthspeakingtoamerica.com

Dear Mr. York,

I really liked Toastmasters. I now have the courage to stand up and speak. Thank you for teaching me how to speak correctly. Toastmasters was fun. I will use these skills.

Sincerely,

Madison

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.Dear Mr. York,

You taught me how to be a better writer/speech giver. I thank you because now I can put more of me in my writing. I really think that you did a great job. And I think you are really funny.

Thank you,

Katie

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.Dear Mr. York,

Thank you so much for helping me and teaching me how to speak in front of people. Also, for teaching me how to write speeches. The Liz Murry speech helped me with grades because thinking that she got good grades makes me get good grades. And the nicest thing you did was giving me the Toastmasters book.

Your friend

Juliana…..............................

Dear Mr. York,

Thank you so much for helping me speak up. I have always had a fear of speaking in front of people, but after Toastmaster, I'm not as freaked out! Toastmasters has been a great experience for me and my classmates. Even though Toastmaster is ending, I hope to see you again. Remember when I saw you at Panera? Hopefully, I will be able to enter the speech competition.Best Wishes,

Hailey

…......................................Dear Mr. York,Thank you for teaching us the main points of Toastmasters. I really enjoyed improving my speaking skills. I think you did a great job! Say “no” to 'ums' and 'ahhs'!

Thanks!

Erin

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.Dear Mr. York,

Thank you for taking your time to teach us how to speak clearly and professionally. I really enjoyed your time and so did all my other classmates. I hope that next year in middle school we can have Toastmasters again. I learned a lot inToastmasters.

Sincerely,

Charlee

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Dear My York

,Thank you for teaching us how to do public speaking. I had a great time. I hope you did too. I think Toastmasters has helped me in the way I speak. It was pretty fun to write all of those speeches and table topic questions.

Thanks,

Madison

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Mr. York,

I really liked Toastmasters. Every week was very exciting. I felt like I could express myself with words and props when I shared. I got suggestions every week to help fix my speeches and I came back with better ones each week. I'm so happy I did Toastmasters class.

Thank you.

Sincerely,Grace

…...................................Mr. York,Thank you for teaching me about Toastmasters. The one thing I really learned about was how to write a good speech, speak loud and strong, and not to say 'um' and 'uh' as much.

Thank you Mr. York.

Sincerely,

Marlee

…....................................Sign-up Spring Speech Program: www.youthspeakingtoamerica.com

To a awesome mentor,Thank you for making us all better speakers. I enjoyed making all of my speeches; from my “All about Me” to my “ Persuasive”. I also enjoyed evaluating speeches and answering Table Topics. I loved talking about the X-Factor.

Sincerely,

Skylar

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Dear Mr. York,Thank you so much for coming to our classroom! I learned a lot and I have not said 'uh' or 'um' in a long time. I really enjoyed having you as a guest teacher! You really taught me how to stretch out my speaking.

Thanks,

Jansen

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Dear Mr. York,

You helped me so much with speeches and talking in public! You made me a better person. I really think you are a hilarious person. Thank you for taking your free time and teaching us about Toastmasters. Thank you so much.

Your friend,

Dahlia

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.Mr. York,I have learned a lot in Toastmasters. Without you I would still have my stage fright. But you helped me through it. You probably are the most funny and knowledgeable Toastmaster I have ever meet.

Your Friend,

Bryson

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Mr. York,I thank you for helping me with “public speaking”. I really needed help because I'm shy when it comes to standing in front of a group and giving a speech. But made speaking fun and easy. I will keep practicing and I will become a great speaker. Thank you for everything you have done. Go Giants!

Sincerely,

Janson

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Hey Mr. York,Thanks for being so funny while you were with us. And thanks for teaching us how to give speeches so well. If you are for the Giants, I have to disagree, Go Patriots! I like it when you come because you make gifted more fun!

Thank You,

Jimmy

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.Mr. York,Toastmasters is awesome and you're awesome. Thank you for teaching us about speeches and table topics. You taught me a lot of weird facts about random things. Thank you for all you taught us.

Sincerely,

Alex

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Dear Mr. York,

Thank you so much for teaching us to write speeches, be a respectful audience, and write unique questions. You are an inspiring person who has a big sense of humor. I love how that “Yoooo” because it sounds like a mixture of 'booing and saying 'yo what's up'. I hope you have a good rest of the year.

Sincerely,

Hannah

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Dear Mr. York,

Thank you very much! You were always happy and you had good stories to tell. You taught us about giving speeches and having eye-contact. You helped us by giving us good techniques. Thank you very much!

Best Wishes!

Lauren

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Mr. York,

Thanks for being our Toastmaster mentor. I had lots of fun sharing speeches with the class. I also learned a lot and now I am way more comfortable writing and sharing speeches.

From

India

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Mr. York

These students are my American Idols, when they call you “ awesome, funny, a great teacher, exciting, hilarious, most funny and most knowledgeable Toastmaster, weird!

It swells your head.

Yoooo!

Please help me ‘Build their Toolbox to the Future’

Sign-up Spring Speech Program: www.youthspeakingtoamerica.com

Friends, when I look at the future I see little people dreaming, yes the same ones that ride the big Yellow Nano bus. I imagine that one day one of those little people will build the Nano powered van in my vision below.
My vision, The Toolbox of Ideas is like the power of this venue ( the internet ), it's their brain's. As we fill the box each tool brings new powers as we grow.

Just imagine someone told you that public speaking, is almost as scary as dying?

Imagine someone says you cannot send a message around the world in a nano second?

Imagine a teacher told Albert Einstein's parents he would never amount to anything?

But I think about what Horace Mann said " Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity" .

What if each child knew they could present their idea to the world? Giving them the confidence with the power of public speaking. Is that a victory?

For me each victory is teaching a child how public speaking can change their life. As Toastmasters has taught me, now since 2007 each little Toolbox of Ideas that I teach, is a wonderful thing!

Just imagine having fun while experiencing Youth Speaking to America? See what the students say, or throughout this blog.

One of the most important goals to achieve is overcoming the fear of public speaking.

We are proud to announce YSTA #18
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Program Goals
Extemporaneous / impromptu speaking-called Table Topics (T T) perfect for job interviews?
Some speech title ideas: 1) About Me, 2) My Passion, 3) How could I change the world? 4) Video - Why I want to be a nominee for President of the United States. Speech times 2-4 min.
Learn the art of speech evaluation - every time you give a speech you get evaluated.?
Learn to eliminate filler words like: so, and, you-know, like, hm, ah, and more?.
The Toolbox is a metaphor for the brain. Each time you speak or evaluate, you add another tool to the Toolbox ( another victory ) . Each tool, eye contact, vocal variety, confidence and so much more. See what the students say?

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Building a Toolbox # 18

Location: Hope Lutheran Church

1801 62nd Ave N.

St. Petersburg. Fl. 33702

Every Wednesday

Dates: Mar. 30 thru May 25

Time: 6 - 8 pm

Program: 8 classes, May 25, Speech Contest & Graduation

Friends and Families are invited.

Contact: York 727-455-7337 or york.ysta@gmail.com