Toastmasters Speech #4 "How to Say It"

I Got Rid of It

Introduction:

I finally got rid of it. It took me prisoner and I could not release myself from its bind. I was ensnared by its hypnotic power. Now, it no longer controls my life. I cut it off and no longer have to suffer the effects of it. I am free. I am talking about my TV. My wife and I sold it about two months ago. Why did I get rid of it? I didn’t sell it so that we could stop watching TV. I sold our TV with the plan to buy a new high definition TV. But plans changed and we will be living without a TV for awhile. Our time without a TV has been rewarding and we have found better things to do. For this speech I would like to give you three reasons why you should get rid of your TV.

Body:

The first reason that you should get rid of your TV is that you will have more free time. TV robs us of our precious time. How many of you have come home after a long hard day and then sat to watch a little TV. Then 4 hours later turned off the TV and went to bed? How many here have ever declined an invite from a friend because you had to watch a TV show? Same here. It is an easy outlet that allows us just to numb our minds and escape our everyday world. But TV just robs us of our time. According to the Nielson report, the average American watches TV 4 hours a day. Think of the amount of things that could be done with that much more time in a day. My wife and I have found that without the TV we are communicating more, we are reading, we are gardening, and we have even started a big task of creating a mosaic table. Getting rid of the TV adds so much time in a day to be used in more constructive and purposeful ways.

The second reason that you should get rid of your TV is that TV warps the mind. How many of you would let your kid watch Desperate Housewives, the Sopranos, or Sex in the City? Why not? I know the reason why. These shows promote violence, sex, infidelity, and many other negative behaviors. There have been studies published in the American College of Preventive Medicine that show a direct correlation between teen pregnancy and violent behaviors due to the images shown on TV. Now my question to you is that if you would not let a kid watch these programs, do you think you should be watching them? Even our adult minds are influenced by the things we watch on TV. To say that TV does not influence us is telling the billion dollar advertising industry that ads don't work. We know that TV ads affect us and so does everything else on TV. Getting rid of the TV removes those negative images that only seem to be more prevalent as time goes on.

The third reason that you should get rid of your TV is that TV can directly cause bad habits. How many of you have grabbed a whole bag of Doritos, sat down to watch a little TV, and then 2 hours later found the bag of Doritos empty? Me, too. TV causes us to have a sedentary lifestyle which replaces a physically active lifestyle. We tend to snack while watching TV and half the TV commercials advertise junk food or fast food, causing us to snack more. Watching TV also causes us just to be lazy. We would rather sit, eat junk food, and watch TV than pursue those activities which require more effort. Getting rid of the TV forces us to find something else to do. After selling our TV, I have sometimes sat down in my living room try to figure out what to do. After a little thinking, I have been able to find many things that are more fulfilling than watching TV.

Conclusion:

So I have given you three reasons to get rid of your TV. The three reasons are because TV watching robs precious time, it warps the mind, and it causes bad habits. Now how many of agree with my points? How many think I am too extreme to recommend you to get rid of your TV? Now I know I might be a little too extreme, but at the very least think about removing the TV from the bedroom or limiting your TV watching. It will be a change and a little awkward trying to find alternative things to do, but I promise that you will find your friends and spouse to be more interesting, you will have more energy, your food will taste better, the sun will shine brighter, and your life will be more fulfilling.