Recent Articles in The Buckley Experience
December 5, 2024
Poem to Read Aloud: Colorado's Purple Mountain Majesties
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
You know it as the song "America the Beautiful." This month, we provide the original poem to help you improve your public speaking.
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October 4, 2024
Poetry to Help Your Public Speaking: Shakespeare's Witches
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience
Serious, spooky, or silly - say these famous lines out loud to improve your cadence and stretch your expressiveness.
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August 1, 2024
Poem to Read Aloud: 'Summer, do your worst!'
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
Our founder believed reading poetry out loud was a terrific way to improve your public speaking. This month, try "August" by Dorothy Parker.
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July 2, 2024
Poem to Read Aloud: Lines to Sharpen Your Diction
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources
One of America's most popular poets, James Whitcomb Riley frequently wrote in the lisping dialect he associated with children. Yet, this month, we look to him for a poem that gives your diction a workout.
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June 4, 2024
Poetry to Help Your Public Speaking: Sunburnt Beauty
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources
Reading poems out loud can help you stretch your vocal range. Here's one by Australian poet Dorothea Mackellar that celebrates our love for the imperfect places we call home.
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May 6, 2024
Poem to Read Aloud: Give voice to 'May's luxuriant pride'
Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
Reading poems out loud can improve your public speaking. Make the most of it this month with a sonnet from the Swan of Lichfield.
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April 2, 2024
Poem to Help Your Public Speaking: April Love
Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
From the poet who gave us "days of wine and roses" and the first writer to use the word "soccer," some lines you can read aloud to improve your public speaking.
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March 4, 2024
Spring Forward with a Poem to Help Your Public Speaking
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources
Send a shout out to spring and improve you public speaking, with this poem by Marion Strobel to read aloud.
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February 5, 2024
Poetry to Help Your Public Speaking: Byron's Walk in Beauty
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Delivering poetry aloud will enhance your public speaking. This month, try some romantic lines from the controversial star of England's Romantic movement.
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January 2, 2024
Poetry to Improve Your Public Speaking: Lady Speyer's Enigma
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
A concert violinist turned poet, Leonora Speyer captivated audiences and captured the Pulitzer Prize. Read her lines out loud to improve your speaking.
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December 3, 2023
Poem to Read Aloud: The Christmas Carol Challenge
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
The tune may be burned into your holiday brain, but finding another way to deliver the lines can improve your public speaking. We provide "Good King Wenceslas" for you to read out loud.
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November 3, 2023
Poetry to Help Your Public Speaking: Rediscovering a Star
The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
Writing and delivering poems about her Native heritage made E. Penelope Johnson a popular performer. Learn more about the poet and use her lines to improve your delivery, too.
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October 2, 2023
A Poem to Help Your Public Speaking: October's Poet of Love & Fame
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources , Vocal Delivery
While we don't know much about popular songwriter and poet Fannie Isabelle Sherrick, we do know reading her lines aloud can help a speaker out!
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September 17, 2023
Our Executive Seminar: What to Expect
The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking , Welcome to Camden , Alumni
Why do so many make the trek to Camden, S.C. for our communications program? What can you expect from our public speaking course? Here's a look into our process, one that's been described as magical...
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September 5, 2023
Poem to Read Aloud: Helen Hunt Jackson Celebrates September
The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud , Resources
Celebrate September with a perfect poem for polishing your diction and learn more about the fascinating woman who wrote it.
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August 14, 2023
Everything is Communication: Dining Etiquette
Etiquette , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Our ease in business social settings can say a lot. In this post-pandemic, casual dining world, how can you brush up on basic table manners? We've got some ideas!
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August 3, 2023
Poetry to Improve Your Public Speaking: A Puritan Poet's Love Poem
Resources , Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience
When is a love poem an act of defiance? When a woman in Puritan New England dares to write it. Read these familiar lines by Anne Bradstreet out loud: You can enhance your phrasing and marvel at her boldness in putting them down.
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July 27, 2023
Your Posture and How It Speaks to Your Audience
Speaking in Public , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking Books
Tempted to lean on the lectern? Think your casual slump will put everyone at ease? Before you stake out your position, check out our founder's amusing thoughts on posture and public speaking.
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July 3, 2023
Poem to Read Aloud: Dorothy Parker and the Well-Placed Pause
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Why of course an acclaimed wit would know how to deploy the punch of a well-timed pause. Practice placing yours by reading some lines from Dorothy Parker out loud.
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June 26, 2023
Useful Repetition or Annoying Redundancy: Knowing the Difference
Speaking in Public , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking Books
How do you create lean, clean sentences in a speech, yet use repetition for its best rhetorical effect? Our founder's views on how to make language work for you and your audience.
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June 1, 2023
Limericks to Help Your Public Speaking: Lear for comic timing
Poems to Read Aloud , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience , Resources
Reading poetry out loud is a great way to enhance your presentation skills. See how Edward Lear makes it a lot of fun, too.
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May 1, 2023
Poem to Read Aloud: Philosophy by the Couplet
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources
Isabella Whitney defied convention and became the first Englishwoman to write and publish secular poems. So don't be a noddy! Read her lines this month, improve you phrasing--and have a bit of fun.
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April 3, 2023
Wordsworth and Nature: A poem to read aloud
Resources , Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience
The poet associated with Romantic literature, a love of nature, and England's Lake District has inspired Taylor Swift. This month, let him inspire your public speaking, too!
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February 17, 2023
Speaking in Public: Celebrating 35 Years of Friendly Debate
The Buckley Experience , Speaking in Public , 35th Anniversary
We've seen how debate can rapidly improve public speaking. Read more about our founder's ideas for using debate to teach - and why he thought ESPN should get in on the act.
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February 6, 2023
Poem to Read Aloud: Jessie Redmon Fauset
Poems to Read Aloud , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
Reading poems out loud can improve your public speaking. This month, find poetry by a key influencer of the Harlem Renaissance.
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January 2, 2023
Poems to Read Aloud: Christina Rossetti
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Learn more about the gifted poet Christina Rossetti and read her lines out loud to improve your phrasing and timing.
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December 2, 2022
Poem to Read Aloud: The Seductive Christmas Wreath
Resources , Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience
Seems mistletoe isn't the only holiday greenery to inspire the romantic imagination. Celebrate the wreath - and improve your public speaking with this poem to read aloud.
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November 1, 2022
Poetry to help your public speaking: Ruth Muskrat Bronson
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
This writer, teacher, speaker, and national leader used her voice to advocate for Native Americans. Read one of her poems out loud to inspire your public speaking.
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October 3, 2022
Poem to Read Aloud: Enhance Your Storytelling Skills
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
This popular children's verse provides a great vehicle for developing more animation in your delivery. This month, try reading aloud about the sailors in the wooden shoe.
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September 1, 2022
Poetry to help your public speaking: Meet Mary Viola Wilds
Poems to Read Aloud , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
Reading poems out loud can help you enhance your delivery. Learn more about this humble and inspiring poet and give her lines a try.
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August 2, 2022
Poem to Help Your Public Speaking: An August night with Ms. Millay
Poems to Read Aloud , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
Reading poems out loud is a great way to improve your vocal delivery. This month, find some lines from Edna St. Vincent Millay to help you savor the last days of summer.
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July 3, 2022
Poems to Help Your Public Speaking: Inflection and Emily Dickinson
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Questions can be a great tool when presenting, a way to get your audience thinking. Here's a poem to help you practice the many ways you can pose one.
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June 2, 2022
A Poem to Help Your Public Speaking: Hart Crane
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Our founder believed reading poetry out loud improved your public speaking. This month, we provide a poem by Hart Crane.
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May 2, 2022
Poetry to Improve Your Public Speaking: Delight in Disorder
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Seize the day, gather the darling buds of May and improve your public speaking with some irreverent help from the poet Robert Herrick.
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April 1, 2022
A Peach of a Poem to Help Your Public Speaking
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Reading poetry aloud improves your phrasing and inflection. How is this poem from D.H. Lawrence a great one for practicing the rhetorical question?
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March 1, 2022
Poem to Read Aloud: Hardy's 'Before Marching'
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Reading poetry out loud can help you expand your range as a speaker. This month, we provide a contemplative poem by Thomas Hardy.
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February 3, 2022
Poem to Read Aloud: Anne Spencer's Carnival
Poems to Read Aloud , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Resources
Reading poems out loud improves public speaking. Here's one by Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer.
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January 1, 2022
Poem to Help Your Public Speaking: 'Hope' for a New Year
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources
Reading poems out loud can help you make your vocal delivery more dramatic. Here's a sonnet from a poet whose life and work inspired Jane Austen and Charles Dickens--with drama to spare.
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December 30, 2021
Resolve Never to Be a Bore
Strictly Speaking , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
If you're making a New Year's resolution, here's a suggestion from our founder--and some insight into one of the most common mistakes speakers make when preparing a presentation.
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December 1, 2021
Poem to Help Your Public Speaking: 'Mistletoe'
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking
Here's a Walter de la Mare poem full of mistletoe and fairies that you can read aloud to improve your public speaking. (We cannot say how it will affect your odds of getting a holiday peck.)
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November 15, 2021
Public speaking training: The right approach for you
The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking , Resources
Would you benefit from a class? Or is one-on-one coaching a better fit? Some thoughts on how to choose training that meets your needs.
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November 3, 2021
Poems to Read Aloud: Browning's Duchess
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Reading Robert Browning's dramatic monologues out loud can help you find greater range in your vocal delivery. Here's a favorite, plus the story of the duchess who inspired the poem.
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October 2, 2021
Paul Laurence Dunbar: Poem to read aloud
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry inspired Maya Angelou (and the title of her autobiography). Here's his light-hearted poem about autumn to inspire your public speaking.
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September 17, 2021
Our Executive Seminar in 2021: We're Still On!
School News , The Buckley Experience , Welcome to Camden
We're moving ahead with public speaking seminars scheduled at our school in Camden, keeping safety and flexibility in mind. Here's the plan, plus other options for getting the presentation training you need...
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September 5, 2021
Poem to Read Aloud: A Muse for Working People
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Elizabeth Hands, who worked as a domestic servant, challenged assumptions with her poetry and witty insights. Read one of her poems out loud to improve your public speaking!
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August 3, 2021
Poem to Read Aloud: Casey at the Bat
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun
Comic timing, drama, gestures, and a sneer that curls the lip: Improve your public speaking in every department by reading baseball's favorite poem out loud.
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July 5, 2021
Poem to Read Aloud: Jean Toomer's 'Storm Ending'
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Trapped somewhere by a summer thunderstorm? Read this poem out loud, enjoy the beauty, and improve your public speaking.
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May 3, 2021
Poems to Read Aloud: From The Poet-Orator-Park Ranger
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Reading poems out loud can improve your presentations. Here's a poem from an award-winning public speaker and wildlife guide, whose life was as interesting as his verse...
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April 9, 2021
Restarting In-Person Training: We’re Ready to Welcome You
School News , The Buckley Experience , Instruction , Welcome to Camden
Free donuts aren't the only benefit of COVID-19 vaccinations. We're getting back to in-person instruction and resuming our most popular program in Camden!
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April 1, 2021
Poetry to Help Your Public Speaking: The Sweet Spring of Thomas Nashe
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources , Public Speaking
Put some spring in your diction with lines from an Elizabethan troublemaker who appears to have known how to have a little fun...
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February 4, 2021
Poems to Read Aloud: A 19th Century Celebrity and Her Secrets
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
The sort of colorful character you'd expect to find in "Bridgerton," the celebrated poet L.E.L. provides a few jaded lines about love that can help your public speaking.
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January 5, 2021
Poems to Read Aloud: Benjamin Franklin's January
Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
Did Ben Franklin know that reading poems out loud could improve public speaking? Did you know that Benjamin Franklin wrote poetry? Get 2021 started with his lines for the first month of the year...
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December 21, 2020
Public Speaking Virtues & Vices: Sarcasm
Virtues & Vices , Strictly Speaking , Speaker's Bookshelf , The Buckley Experience
A sprinkle of sarcasm may delight an audience--but if it's your dominant platform style, you have a problem. Our founder holds forth on how much is too much and what to do about it...
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December 16, 2020
Rhetorical Device of the Month: Anacoluthon
Rhetorical Devices , Resources , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun
Want to seem as if you're making your presentation up as you go along? Turns out, rhetoric has a word for that.
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December 2, 2020
Poems to Read Aloud: Burns and Auld Lang Syne
Poems to Read Aloud , Public Speaking , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Contemplating a New Year's Eve on Zoom? Make this the year you wow them by knowing all the words to "Auld Lang Syne"--and as you practice aloud, you'll give your public speaking a boost.
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November 25, 2020
Public Speaking Virtues & Vices: Humility of Spirit
Strictly Speaking , Virtues & Vices , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
Our founder believed it's the chief virtue for a speaker. What is humility of spirit, exactly? And how the devil can you get some?
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October 4, 2020
Sandburg's Jack-O-Lantern: A poem to read aloud
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources , Public Speaking
Reading poetry out loud can improve your public speaking. Here's one by Carl Sandburg that's perfectly suited for the decorative gourd season...
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August 30, 2020
Public Speaking Virtues & Vices: Passion
Virtues & Vices , Strictly Speaking , Public Speaking Books , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking
Not to be confused with ranting or reckless enthusiasm, passion that suits your speaking style is key to becoming an influential presenter. Here's how...
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August 5, 2020
Rhetorical Device of the Month: Diacope
Rhetorical Devices , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience , Resources , Public Speaking
Dream of having audiences quote lines from your presentations? Maybe this little rhetorical device is just the can of spinach to make your next speech pop...
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July 13, 2020
Public Speaking Virtues & Vices: Pomposity
Virtues & Vices , Public Speaking , Strictly Speaking , The Buckley Experience
Our founder called this "a creeping disease" to which any public speaker can be vulnerable. Could you be stricken? And what do you think of Reid Buckley's shocking cure?
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July 2, 2020
Poems to Help Your Public Speaking: Bennett and Dumas
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
We're inspired this month by the poems of Gwendolyn Bennett AND the real-life swashbuckler who inspired Alexandre Dumas. Here's a poem to read aloud...
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June 4, 2020
Poems to Help Your Public Speaking: Georgia Douglas Johnson
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Saturday Salons at her home in Washington D.C. helped her hone her voice and brought together leading artists of the Harlem Renaissance. Read a poem aloud by Georgia Douglas Johnson...
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May 20, 2020
Rhetorical Device of the Month: Zeugma
Rhetorical Devices , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience , Resources
It's a double entendre that can make your listeners do a double take--which might be just what your message needs! (It can also win you points in Scrabble.) Zoom on over and check it out...
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April 2, 2020
Poem to Read Aloud: A Shakespeare Sonnet for your Quarantine
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
Not feeling up to writing your "King Lear" during the coronavirus quarantine? How about a more modest goal: Read 14 lines aloud and improve your public speaking instead...
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March 29, 2020
Public Speaking Virtues & Vices: Decency
Virtues & Vices , Strictly Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking , Public Speaking Books
He's the expert we count on, the one who can avoid partisan nonsense. This excerpt from Reid Buckley's "Strictly Speaking" has us thinking about one of the chief qualities of Dr. Anthony Fauci's public speaking...
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March 2, 2020
Poem to Read Aloud: Song of the Moon
Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
Her poems inspired the Harlem Renaissance. They can also inspire your public speaking. Here's one by Priscilla Jane Thompson...
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February 3, 2020
Love & Friendship: A Poem to Help Your Public Speaking
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun
Reading this one aloud will give your diction and enunciation a boost. It might also improve your friendships!
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January 2, 2020
Poem to Help Your Public Speaking: The Darkling Thrush
Public Speaking , Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience
Read this well-known poem out loud and you can start the new year by giving your enunciation a workout...
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December 18, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: Following George Will
Cardinal Sins , Strictly Speaking , Presentation Tips , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun
Reid Buckley's 10 Cardinal Sins stretched out to 11--thanks to George Will. A few words of wisdom for those times when you have to follow a rock star...
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December 16, 2019
Rhetorical Device of the Month: Anastrophe
Rhetorical Devices , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience
Churchill may have employed it first, in a galaxy not that far away, but no one has done more to popularize this speaking technique than the wise green guy with the pointy ears...
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December 11, 2019
Books for Speakers: Toasts
Public Speaking Books , Speaker's Bookshelf , Toasts , The Buckley Experience
The author of this book once stole a locomotive, so maybe we shouldn't be surprised by his bold promise to help you always say the right thing in the right way. Cheers to that!
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December 2, 2019
Poems to Help Your Public Speaking: An e.e. cummings christmas
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources , Just For Fun
Reading poetry out loud can help improve your timing, phrasing and expressiveness when presenting. Here's a poem to accomplish all that AND help you get the season started...
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November 21, 2019
Rhetorical Device of the Month: Pleonasm
Rhetorical Devices , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience
This year, get more from your Black Friday shopping. As you're out looking for that added bonus or free gift with purchase, see if you can spot our rhetorical device of the month!
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November 1, 2019
A Poem to Read Aloud: McKay's 'Coming North'
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
Poet, novelist, and leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Jamaican-born Claude McKay is the source for our poem this month. Read his work out loud to improve your public speaking...
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October 23, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: Assuming All Audiences Respond the Same Way
Cardinal Sins , Strictly Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking , Presentation Tips
Some audiences laugh easily. Others not so much. When you take your presentation on the road, here's why it pays to keep regional and cultural differences in mind...
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October 2, 2019
Poems to Help Your Public Speaking: Frost's Two Roads
Resources , Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience
Was Robert Frost just pulling our leg with his famous poem about walking through autumn woods and making choices? No doubt, reading it aloud can help your public speaking while you contemplate...
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September 25, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: Failing to Respect Your Audience
Cardinal Sins , Strictly Speaking , Presentation Tips , The Buckley Experience
From our founder's 10 Cardinal Sins that amateur public speakers commit: Here's why you should work for the audience and assume they know a thing or two.
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August 23, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: Failing to Appeal to Emotion
Cardinal Sins , Public Speaking , Strictly Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Presentation Tips
Even the most brilliant audiences need more than facts. From our founder's 10 cardinal sins, why you've got to break out of that box and get the audience to have feelings for you.
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August 1, 2019
Poem to Read Aloud: Emily Brontë
Poems to Read Aloud , Public Speaking , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Though famous for giving us "Wuthering Heights," Emily Brontë also wrote 200 poems in her 30 short years. Read one of them out loud this month to improve your public speaking...
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July 23, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: Grandiose Allusions
Cardinal Sins , Public Speaking , Presentation Tips , The Buckley Experience , Strictly Speaking
"Count on this: almost nobody who quotes Plato has read Plato," writes Reid Buckley in his advice to speakers. Before you start strutting that stuff in your next speech, consider the consequences...
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July 1, 2019
Poem to Read Aloud: I Hear America Singing
Poems to Read Aloud , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Resources
When you tire of hearing America shoot off its July 4th fireworks, improve your public speaking (and soothe your jangled nerves) with these lines from one of America's most influential poets.
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June 27, 2019
Rhetorical Device of the Month: Tmesis
Rhetorical Devices , Resources , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun
Un-friggin-doubtedly, you’ve used this one before. Here’s why that’s probably a fan-blooming-tastic thing…
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June 19, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: Reckless Use of Quotes
Cardinal Sins , Presentation Tips , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking Books
Before you start Googling quotes for your next presentation, take a moment to reflect on this cardinal sin that amateur speakers commit...
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June 2, 2019
Poem to Read Aloud: Countee Cullen's Rendezvous
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
"Yet do I marvel at this curious thing: To make a poet black, and bid him sing!" Let those famous lines and others from Countee Cullen inspire your public speaking, with this month's poem to read aloud.
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May 26, 2019
Reading Aloud: A shortcut to speaking confidence?
Public Speaking , Public Speaking Fear , Seen|Read|Heard , The Buckley Experience
We know reading aloud improves your public speaking. A barber says it's also a shortcut to conquering your fear. Read how he's helping kids find the courage to speak up.
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May 13, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: Avoid fad phrases
Strictly Speaking , Cardinal Sins , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
From our founder's 10 Cardinal Sins that amateur public speakers commit: Before you toss in the latest trendy expression, consider whether it's already dated...or worse.
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May 1, 2019
A Poem to Read Aloud: This one's for the graduates
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
The author of "The Jungle Book" and "Kim" is also the poet whose lines you'll hear at many a graduation ceremony. Even if you're not giving a commencement address, try reading these stanzas aloud to help your public speaking...
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April 23, 2019
On this Day: The Man in the Arena
Significant Speeches , On This Day , Great Speeches , Seen|Read|Heard , The Buckley Experience , Presidents Day
Ever wondered if your speech fell flat? Theodore Roosevelt wasn't so sure about this one--though his famous lines have lived on to inspire in a variety of ways.
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April 17, 2019
Debating, Civil Discourse, & Better Public Speaking
Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking Fear , Seen|Read|Heard
Can building killer arguments lead to more civil conversations? College students on the lessons we can learn from competitive debate...and how it can refine your presentation skills.
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April 3, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: Verbal Flatulence
Cardinal Sins , Strictly Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Instruction
Cut the filler and the false ingratiations. And absolutely no sharing from the stage. From our founder's 10 Cardinal Sins, something he and Kanye West agree on...
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April 1, 2019
Willa Cather's April poems: A Prairie Spring
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience
Yes, "singing and singing, out of the lips of silence," we're convinced reading poems out loud improves your public speaking. This month, verse from a writer beloved and revered for her novels...
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March 13, 2019
Rhetorical Device of the Month: Tricolon
Rhetorical Devices , Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun
What public speaking technique can bring a certain fullness, roundness, or tension to help your message take off? Try this month's rhetorical device...
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March 5, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: 'I would submit'
Strictly Speaking , Cardinal Sins , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
You hear it in speeches all the time. That doesn't mean it's a good idea. From our founder's 10 Cardinal Sins of Public Speaking, we would submit to you the conditional tense...
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February 7, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: Opening with a Joke
Strictly Speaking , Cardinal Sins , Public Speaking , Presentation Tips , The Buckley Experience
What must public speakers avoid if they don't want to make the amateur's mistakes? Next from our founder's 10 Cardinal Sins of Public Speaking, why canned jokes are no laughing matter...
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January 29, 2019
Improve your Presentations: New options for 2019
The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking , Instruction
We've designed two new open-enrollment courses and a video option for coaching. Learn more about how we can help you advance your public speaking skills and improve your professional presentations...
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January 6, 2019
Public Speaking Sins: Arrogance & Conceit
Public Speaking , Strictly Speaking , Cardinal Sins , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking Books , Presentation Tips
What must public speakers avoid if they don't want to make the mistakes of an amateur? Our founder's 10 Cardinal Sins of Public Speaking, starting with one that requires "cleansing your spirit."
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January 1, 2019
Poems to Help Your Public Speaking: E.A. Robinson's Cheevy
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking
"Miniver cursed the commonplace/And eyed a khaki suit with loathing." Add more color to your public speaking with these lines to read aloud from Edwin Arlington Robinson...
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December 4, 2018
Speaking in Public: The Art of Public Speaking
Public Speaking , Speaker's Bookshelf , Public Speaking Books , The Buckley Experience , Speaking in Public
All year, we've featured excerpts from Reid Buckley's first book on public speaking. This month, we come to the last chapter ... and some final words to inspire you to create artful presentations.
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December 1, 2018
Poetry to Help Your Public Speaking: Joyce Kilmer
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources , Public Speaking
Most famous for the poem "Trees," Joyce Kilmer did much more in his short life, including writing the poem we're featuring this month for your read aloud practice...
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November 9, 2018
Speaking in Public: Writing to be Heard
30th Anniversary , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking , Public Speaking Books , Speaker's Bookshelf , Speaking in Public
Short sentences make for better speeches, as a rule. Here's what our compound-sentence-loving founder has to say about writing to be heard...
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October 30, 2018
Paranomasia: How punny is that?
Rhetorical Devices , Resources , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun
That queasy feeling you get when you hear a corny pun in a speech? Our rhetorical device of the month diagnosis: Looks like a case of paranomasia.
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October 15, 2018
Speaking in Public: Finding & Using Your Natural Strengths
Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , 30th Anniversary , Speaker's Bookshelf , Public Speaking Books , Resources , Speaking in Public
Understanding your presentation style and making the most of it - The Buckley School's founder on why that's the single most important thing a speaker can do...
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October 5, 2018
Secret of Public Speaking Success? Debate
Public Speaking , Seen|Read|Heard , The Buckley Experience
"Igniting change through words." That's a goal of the nation's top-ranked high school public speaker. She shares how participating in debates can make that possible in your presentations...
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October 2, 2018
Poem to Read Aloud: Edgar Allen Poe
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience
Reading poems out loud can bring more color and drama to your public speaking. Try these lines from a master of creating that certain mood...
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September 10, 2018
Speaking in Public: Reading & Managing the Audience
30th Anniversary , Speaker's Bookshelf , Public Speaking Books , The Buckley Experience , Instruction , Presentation Tips , Speaking in Public
To be unnerved or not to be unnerved? That is the question when facing a murderous room. Tips for how to read audiences and adjust your presentation like a pro...
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September 1, 2018
A Poem to Help Your Public Speaking: September Midnight
Public Speaking , Poems to Read Aloud , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience , Resources
Like a late-night espresso to awaken even the laziest enunciation, we serve up these lines from poet Sara Teasdale to read aloud...
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August 27, 2018
Rhetorical Device of the Month: Anadiplosis
Public Speaking , Resources , Rhetorical Devices , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience , Instruction
A rhetorical device put to good use by Yoda, Shakespeare, Malcolm X, and Jay-Z: Here's another way to build a powerful statement through repetition...
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August 19, 2018
Speaking in Public: Posture & First Impressions
Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking Books , Speaker's Bookshelf , Instruction , Speaking in Public
A too-casual style can send unintended messages, says our founder. His tips for starting well and standing tall in your next presentation...
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August 17, 2018
Books for Speakers: The Writer's Art
Resources , Speaker's Bookshelf , Faculty , The Buckley Experience
"Funny, instructive, and it promotes all the same things we promote...how important language is...not just for writers but for all of us." Buckley director Karen Kalutz makes this book recommendation...
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August 1, 2018
Poems to Help Your Public Speaking: Hardy's August Midnight
Poems to Read Aloud , Resources , Public Speaking , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience
Delight Potter fans, bee enthusiasts--and improve your public speaking through attention to cadence and timing--with a little help from Thomas Hardy and this month's poem to read aloud.
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July 29, 2018
Speaking in Public: Lean, Clean Messages
Public Speaking Books , 30th Anniversary , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking , Speaker's Bookshelf , Speaking in Public
Public speaking benefits when ideas are expressed in lean, clean sentences. Here is Reid Buckley's recipe for unstuffing messages so they're easier to follow...
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July 27, 2018
Rhetorical Device of the Month: Litotes
Rhetorical Devices , Just For Fun , Resources , Public Speaking , Instruction , The Buckley Experience
With hyperbole the likes of which the world has never seen and "double negative" trending, it's not a bad time to explore understatement and the potential of this rhetorical device for your public speaking...
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July 11, 2018
Questionable Presentation Advice: Speak from the heart
Public Speaking , Resources , Seen|Read|Heard , Presentation Tips , The Buckley Experience
Heard some public speaking advice that made you wonder? Us, too. Here's another take on the old "speak from the heart" tip...
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July 5, 2018
Poems to Help Your Public Speaking: The Traveller-Heart
Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
His poems were made wildly popular by his spellbinding delivery. Who better to provide this month's poem to real aloud?
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June 28, 2018
Speaking in Public: How to Use a Lectern
Public Speaking Books , 30th Anniversary , Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Speaker's Bookshelf , Presentation Tips , Speaking in Public
A lectern can be a great home base for a speaker, when used well. Reid Buckley provides a professional speaker's tips and perspective from the podium...
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May 27, 2018
Speaking in Public: Making it Interesting
Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , 30th Anniversary , Speaker's Bookshelf , Public Speaking Books , Speaking in Public
Spreadsheets? A boat load of data? A little imagination can turn seemingly boring stuff into lively presentations. Here's our founder's take on how to do that...
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May 21, 2018
Alumni and the Public Speaking Lessons that Stick
Alumni , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun , 30th Anniversary
Public speaking breakthroughs, lifelong friendships, and the inimitable style of our founder: Buckley alum share memories and their favorite presentation tips...
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May 1, 2018
Poem to Read Aloud: Edna St. Vincent Millay for May
Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
Reading poetry out loud is can improve your public speaking. To help your cadence and timing, try these lines from Millay, a poet also known for her dramatic performances...
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April 25, 2018
30 Years with our Flagship: The Executive Seminar
Faculty , The Buckley Experience , 30th Anniversary , Welcome to Camden , Alumni
As we mark 30 years as a school, we go to the person who's been here from the start to find out what makes The Buckley School's methods endure...
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April 18, 2018
3 simple ways to build audience rapport
Three Things , Public Speaking , Instruction , Presentation Tips , Faculty , The Buckley Experience
When the audience likes you, they're more receptive to your presentation. Here are simple ways to win that rapport the next time you speak...
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April 5, 2018
Presentation Advice: The Case for the Simple Word
Public Speaking , Presentation Tips , The Buckley Experience , 30th Anniversary , Public Speaking Books , Resources , Speaking in Public
Thirty years ago, The Buckley School launched its flagship program and founder Reid Buckley published his first book on public speaking. From Chapter 9, here's his multi-syllabled advice for using the simple word...
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April 2, 2018
Poems to Help Your Public Speaking: Langston Hughes & April Rain
Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
Reading poetry out loud is one of our favorite ways to improve phrasing, timing and vocal variation. From writer Langston Hughes, some perfect lines for this month....
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March 30, 2018
Winning Speech, New Book, New Job: Buckley Friends Making News
Alumni , Seen|Read|Heard , The Buckley Experience
We know our Buckley alum enjoy keeping up with each other! A few things that've made their way recently to The Buckley School inbox...
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March 26, 2018
A Woman and History: Camden’s Mary Boykin Chesnut
Welcome to Camden , The Buckley Experience , Seen|Read|Heard , Travel
Her first person account of the Civil War was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. Here's where you can retrace the steps of this woman who both made and wrote history in Camden...
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March 20, 2018
On Gestures: Five Principles for Public Speaking
Gestures & Body Language , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking Books , Speaking in Public
How best to use your hands when speaking? Our founder got his inspiration from a variety of sources. Those--plus his five tips for gestures, from his first book on public speaking...
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March 1, 2018
Poems to Read Aloud: A Wilde Woman for March
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Resources
She was better known then as the fired-up, justice-seeking poet Speranza...and better known now as Oscar Wilde's mother. Improve your cadence and vocal projection with these lines from Lady Jane Wilde...
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February 20, 2018
Speaking in Public: Using Humor and Wit
Public Speaking Books , Speaker's Bookshelf , The Buckley Experience , Public Speaking , Presentation Tips , 30th Anniversary , Speaking in Public
Our founder's first book on speaking was "Speaking in Public." As we mark our 30th anniversary, we're sharing excerpts, including Reid's take on adding humor and wit to your public speaking...
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February 12, 2018
A Few Hours for Fun in Columbia, S.C.
Travel , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience
Traveling to our Executive Seminar in Camden often brings our students through South Carolina's capital city. Some ideas for what to do when you're passing through...
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February 7, 2018
A School for 30 Years: The House We Call Home
30th Anniversary , The Buckley Experience , Welcome to Camden
On the National Register, featured in Town and Country--this old house has been our home for 26 of our 30 years. Here's the story of how it's become an important part of the "Buckley Experience."
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February 1, 2018
How Reading Poetry Helps a Speaker: Let Us Count the Ways
Resources , Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience
Here to help you enhance those dulcet vocal tones, just in time for Valentine's Day: Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
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January 5, 2018
Speaking in Public: A Grab Bag of Tips
Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Speaker's Bookshelf , Public Speaking Books , 30th Anniversary , Instruction , Resources , Speaking in Public
Reid Buckley launched our school with the Executive Seminar and his first book on speaking. As we mark our 30th anniversary, we're publishing excerpts from "Speaking in Public" each month, starting with his infamous guide to color-coding....
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January 2, 2018
Public Speaking in 2018: Calendar of Classes
Public Speaking , Instruction , The Buckley Experience , School News
Our public speaking and presentation skills course schedule, with new programs for Buckley School alum....
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January 1, 2018
Public Speaking Warm-up: January
Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
His poems about naughty children make us laugh, but for January's read-aloud, we're going with "January."
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December 21, 2017
A gift for friendship: Christmas at the school
Faculty , The Buckley Experience , 30th Anniversary
For 30 years at the school, reconnecting with students and faculty has always been one of the joys of the holidays....
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December 1, 2017
Read Aloud: Some Brillig Nonsense
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun
Relieve holiday stress and stretch your public speaking delivery--with Lewis Carroll's verse....
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November 27, 2017
Down on the Corner: Guitars & Nashville Stars
Welcome to Camden , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience
Take a lesson, buy a guitar, sing your blues or brush up against a little bit of Nashville in Camden at Davis & Sons....
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November 1, 2017
November Read Aloud: Hope, Feathers & Dickinson
Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
She wrote more than 1,800 poems. Here's one from Emily Dickinson to read aloud.
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October 25, 2017
Storytelling Tips via Camden's Most Famous Ghost
Welcome to Camden , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun , Presentation Tips , Storytelling
Like any good ghost story, this one gets at least some of its staying power from techniques that you can use, too.
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October 1, 2017
Better than Pumpkin Spice: October's Read Aloud
Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud , Just For Fun
A few lines to help you develop those all-important spooky vocal tones, just in time for Halloween...
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September 30, 2017
December Session Added to Course Calendar
Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Instruction
If presentation skills training is on your 2017 to-do list, we've got just the public speaking seminar for you....
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September 1, 2017
Poem to Read Aloud: Hopkins & Sprung Rhythm
Poems to Read Aloud , The Buckley Experience , Instruction
Glory be to God for Gerard Manley Hopkins, who produced one of our favorite poems to read aloud.
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August 1, 2017
A Poem to Read Aloud: Phillis Wheatley
Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud , Public Speaking
In August 1761, seven-year-old Phillis Wheatley was purchased as a slave in Boston. She became one of the most renowned poets of her time. Her "Hymn to the Evening" is this month's read aloud.
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August 1, 2017
A School for 30 Years: Collecting Stories
The Buckley Experience , Alumni , 30th Anniversary
It's been almost 30 years since The Buckley School hosted its first seminar. We're recalling some great times and hope you might have memories to share....
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July 28, 2017
Camden's Revolutionary War History
Welcome to Camden , The Buckley Experience , Travel
For many visitors, a Hollywood blockbuster is their primary source of Camden's Revolutionary War history. The town's 107-acre museum tells the rest of the story...
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July 8, 2017
New Courses: Presentations & Advanced Speaking
School News , Instruction , The Buckley Experience
Because our Executive Seminar graduates tell us they want more, we're adding two new open-enrollment courses beginning this fall...
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July 1, 2017
Kid's-Eye View of Long Summer Days: July's Read-Aloud
Resources , Public Speaking , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
For your poetry practice, we offer lines from Robert Louis Stevenson that remind us of a summer week we spent leading a workshop in Anchorage, Alaska. (And we like this portrait of RLS, painted by John Singer Sargent.)
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July 1, 2017
Declaration of Organization: Help from a Founding Document
Instruction , The Buckley Experience , Resources , Public Speaking Books
Analyzing how The Declaration of Independence is organized can aid your pursuit of happiness as a speaker...
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June 26, 2017
Boykin: Gators, Grits & World Famous Dogs
Welcome to Camden , The Buckley Experience , Just For Fun , Travel
This little community on a large mill pond east of Camden has a big time reputation for good food, wildlife, history, quirkiness--and a special breed of dog.
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June 5, 2017
Tips for Toasting: Reid Buckley's Rules
Presentation Tips , The Buckley Experience , Toasts , Public Speaking Books
Our founder loved celebrating with friends and family, and was a true master of the toast. Here's how he got it right.
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June 1, 2017
Summer Rain: A read-aloud poem for June
Public Speaking , Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
She smoked cigars, won the Pulitzer Prize, and took issue with South Carolina's "obscene" shades of magenta: Amy Lowell is the poet for this month's verse to read out loud.
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May 10, 2017
Camden's Monumental Architecture
Welcome to Camden , The Buckley Experience
The Washington Monument is his most famous work, but you can find beautiful buildings by Robert Mills on the streets of Camden, S.C.
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May 1, 2017
A Shakespeare Sonnet for May's Read Aloud
Public Speaking , Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May," writes William Shakespeare in Sonnet 18. It's our selection for your May read aloud.
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April 11, 2017
Poems in your Pockets & Verse for Every Month
Resources , Public Speaking , Presentation Tips , Just For Fun , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
Years before there was National Poetry Month, The Buckley School was encouraging students of speaking to read poems aloud. Here's a little more about how you should and--with some help from Bill Murray--why it can even be fun.
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April 1, 2017
A Read Aloud to Make You Chuckle
Presentation Tips , Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
Reading poetry out loud can improve your speaking--and when the poet is Ogden Nash, it's also just plain fun. Take a whirl with one of our Nash favorites.
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March 17, 2017
An Irish Poet for March Read Alouds
Presentation Tips , Resources , The Buckley Experience , Poems to Read Aloud
The Buckley School has long encouraged speakers to improve their speaking skills by reading poetry out loud. This month, perhaps you'd like to read this poem from Irish poet W.B. Yeats.
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March 16, 2017
Deliberate Practice for Better Speaking
Resources , Instruction , Presentation Tips , The Buckley Experience , Seen|Read|Heard
What do a great orator of Ancient Greece and the queen of popular music have in common? And how can they help you improve your public speaking? Learning expert Eduardo Briceño says it's all about the power of deliberate practice.
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February 6, 2017
Welcome to Camden: Kershaw-Cornwallis House
Resources , Welcome to Camden , The Buckley Experience
Lord Cornwallis occupied the space during the Revolutionary War. Union troops occupied it during the Civil War. Now, it’s a Buckley School tradition to occupy the Kershaw-Cornwallis house for a Thursday night banquet during our Executive Seminars.
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December 13, 2016
Great Debate....Topics?
Seen|Read|Heard , The Buckley Experience
A great debate can stimulate your thinking--and improve your public speaking. In an interview with Slate magazine, moderator John Donvan shares insight into how Intelligence Squared chooses topics and manages debates.
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