Three things from DAH.

DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I used to know what to say. Not so sure today. 

First up this week, Impromptu Speaking …  
My mother blamed competitive debate for nurturing my argumentative attitude. I was on the school debate team. Debate tournaments (forensic speaking) included more than debate. There were other competitive public speaking "opportunities," like expository speaking, and impromptu speaking. Impromptu speaking was a frightening challenge. A unique-to-each-speaker subject is assigned (a quotation, anecdote, or perhaps just a word). We had a few minutes (maybe 5) to compose our speech, then a few minutes (maybe 5) to deliver it to the judges and audience. Controlling the adrenaline rush as a teenager was impossible. I speak quickly anyway, so I expect I delivered too many incomprehensible words in too few minutes on stage. Still, I later found that I was less alarmed than friends and colleagues when asked to deliver a few words off-the-cuff. Maybe teenage moments of fear were worth it. But I do still feel stage-fright every single time I'm before an audience. And I speak anyway. This week I stumbled upon the link below. I expect many will find the notion of "fun" combined with "public speaking" an oxymoron. But these activities might be amusing party activities, perhaps after a drink or two (or three).
15 Fun Public Speaking Activities

Second up this week, Informal Fallacies …  
Right up my forensic speaking alley: I recently got distracted by the twisting of truth and how that's informed by the classical forms of logic. As I wriggled down that particular rabbit hole I realized that I was often giving too much credit to the truth benders and bullshitters. While some are really trying to be tricky, others (many others) are simply falling into informal fallacies, what I'd call a sort of lazy logic. "Formal fallacies refer to arguments that have an invalid structure or 'form', while informal fallacies refer to arguments that have incorrect or irrelevant premises" (National Library of Medicine). My dog bit me, therefore all dogs bite. A dog is just the same as a horse because they both can swim. If you'd rather have a dog than a cat, why do you hate cats? Far too many arguments, in my experience, aren't crimes against logic, they're crimes against clear thinking. 
Funny Fallacies

Third up this week, Intensity …  
Intensity is hard. Hard to understand in all its applications. An intense physical workout. An intense relationship or conversation. An intense wine: Is it just deep in color? Or really flavorful? Or highly intoxicating? I recognize an intense wine when I have it in my glass. And I recognize intense moments on stage, performing or speaking or singing. Often, intensity surprises me, and I'm more aware of the pressure in the release of tension that follows it. Both intensity and tension come from the Latin "tendere" -- to stretch. That etymological root meaning is pretty darn perfect. It describes my intense experiences so well. Stretching, stretching, stretching.
Surprise! Your Happiness Depends on *Frequency* — Not *Intensity*

And a bit more:
Morning Joy, by Bob Kaufman

Piano buttons, stitched on morning lights.
Jazz wakes with the day,
As I awaken with jazz, love lit the night.
Eyes appear and disappear,
To lead me once more, to a green moon.
Streets paved with opal sadness,
Lead me counterclockwise, to pockets of joy,
And jazz.

And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver’s poem Sometimes …  

Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it. 

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