Monday, September 18, 2006

 
SPEECHES

Warm-up gamefor Toastmasters, teachers, meetings

I now have a better variation on that warm-up game in which you start a story going around the audience and each person adds three words. Most of it is usually nonsense. Instead I suggest:
Angela's WARM UP RAP SONG
OH MY PAPA
My variation on this is a communal rap song. It's a rhyming game with a well-known tune. Each person must complete a brief sentence or phrase which makes sense in context and rhymes with the preceding lines. You could do it in couplets so that half the people, the first and all odd numbers, say what they like, and the second and all even numbered seats have to rhyme with the preceeding sentence. However, it's simpler if everybody has the same rhyme and then some of them can plan their rhyme in advance.
You can have four people, or eight, make up each verse.
For example, take the song: Oh my papa. (4 beats, 4 syllables.)
Oh My Papa
The original first line goes: Oh, my papa - to me he was - so wonderful.I shall ask everybody to rhyme. I shall tell them that you don't have to stick to four syllables but you must end with ah!
I shall ask people to call out words ending with ah: bar, baba, car, far, ga-ga, ha-ha, jar, 0o-la-la, mama, na, papa, ra-ra, salsa, ta-ta, yah, Sza-Sza, oom-pa-pa, tra-la-la, la-dee-dah.
They must make couplets about two Toastmasters talking in the bar.
Here's a sample O my papa parody:
"O my papa -
Meet me in the downstairs bar -
Bring some cash, mine won't go far."
"We're skint, let's call mama."
"She says, 'Stay in that bar.-
It's your problem - ta-ta!
' "

I can then get the next row people sitting in the audience to do Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
My example of a parody is:
"Twinkle, twinkle little star;
Meet me in the Old Vic bar;
Me director, make you star!
Why did you bring your papa?"
After that the next person can change the rhyme and everybody must follow or go back to the orginal rhyme, making couplets. eg
The bar's a super place to meet.
We can have a bite to eat.
The problem is I don't eat meat.
Vegetarians must bring sweets.
I'm teetotal. I don't drink.
Drink some water. Helps you think.
I'm nervous. That's why I blink.
I must be sick into the sink.
Reader -
You may continue this refrain.
Be assured I won't complain.
Bring your rhyme - and read again.
This game could drive us both insane.

It's a warm-up and like brainstorming you allow some random nonsense.
However, the discipline of ending with a rhyme helps you with writing poetry and songwriting and creating humorous verse for birthday cards, leaving parties and speeches.

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