Speech Writing, Summer Jobs & Scent Preferences with Mia | Easy Listening for a Quiet Workday

In Speech Writing, Summer Jobs & Scent Preferences with Mia, Marco welcomes a very special guest — his niece Mia — for a softly spoken, gently unfolding conversation. They begin by talking about Mia’s recent experience writing a speech, exploring how she thoughtfully balanced pacing, humour, and meaning to connect with her audience. The discussion naturally drifts into reflections on Marco’s teenage summer jobs and Mia’s interest in volunteering, creating a warm exchange about growing up, responsibility, and finding your voice.
The episode closes with a light and soothing chat about favourite perfume scents, lingering on the small sensory details that make everyday life feel personal and comforting. As always, this calming podcast is intentionally unhurried and low-key, offering a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. It works beautifully as background listening while you wind down for bedtime or simply need a peaceful pause during your day. There’s nothing urgent here — just gentle storytelling, easy banter, and steady companionship to guide you toward rest.

​Speech Writing, Summer Jobs & Scent Preferences with Mia

(Original airdate: June 2, 2025) 

Welcome to the Insomnia Project, Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. That, of course, is meant to help you drift off to find your way to sleep. And if you don't find your way to sleep, that's fine. You can stay with us for the next 20 some odd minutes and we'll just talk about things that go nowhere. And you're welcome to stay or you're welcome to drift off. I'm happy to say that my guest right now is my niece, Mia. Welcome back to the podcast, Mia.

Mia: Hello. I'm so excited to be on this podcast once again. Zio.

Marco:Oh, I'm glad to hear it. So tell me, Mia, you recently had to do a speech.

Mia: I did.

Marco:What are some things you've learned about speech writing and doing a speech in front of an audience that you didn't know beforehand? What would you recommend for our listeners if they have speeches that they need to work on?

Mia: So recently, I'll give you guys a little bit of a background on what my speech was about. So I was chosen to be a valedictorian for my grade eight graduation, which was very exciting. I was a co valedictorian with another girl. So a few things I learned while I was writing my own speech were definitely when I first started, I gathered all of my ideas. I looked up quotes, I looked up things that I would need to include. Like the graduate expectations.

Marco:Sure. There was. There was like some expectations that they had that you would include in there.

Mia: Yeah.

Marco:Or a guideline.

Mia: Yes. So. And I also thanked the parents, guardians, teachers, families and other students. I made sure to include that. I also made sure to include a little spiel about the church because I do go to Catholic school.

Marco:I see. Okay. So there was a religious component to it.

Mia: Okay. So I made sure to include that. And I also added in some jokes. Like one joke I added in was about math.

Marco:Okay.

Mia: And another joke I added in was about awards.

Marco:So why would you say the humor is important in a speech? Why did you choose to go that route?

Mia: It's definitely important to include humor in your speech because it makes it very light hearted instead of a more serious. It's also very important to have elements of levity in your speech to help relax the audience, to give them a sense of happiness and joy, and also to settle them into their seats and to lighten the mood.

Marco:Okay. So taking your speech from the written word to actually saying in front of the audience, what was that like for you?

Mia: So it was very. I wouldn't say challenging, but I would say it was a bit of a new experience, because I had written things like this before, like projects or presentations, but nothing that I would really need to put my all into to really make it a resounding speech.

Marco:Okay.

Mia: So when I wrote out my speech, I gathered. So I had gathered all of my research prior, and I had organized it into a proper speech, and then I had read it out to my family, including Yuzio.

Marco:Right.

Mia: And they kind of gave me some feedback. So at first I started just a monotone, just kind of factual reading. And then they gave me some notes I edited, and I read it with emotion the second time. And then they gave me some new notes this time on how fast I was reading or what points to really emphasize or.

Marco:For me, I always find when I'm writing a speech that I like to write down points and maybe flesh out the speech a bit, but leave room for adding more points that might come to me later. Or, you know, when I'm reading it the first few times out loud, I'll find that it'll spark more ideas that I want to include into my speech. I don't know if you found that at all, but that was certainly something that I discover when I'm writing a speech.

Mia: I don't really think that I discovered that, but when I was reading it out, I definitely changed some words that tripped me up or that I didn't like, or I also maybe added something that could make it better, make it flow nice.

Marco:How important would you say it is to read your speech out loud?

Mia: Very important. I think it's like, to read it out is

Marco:some people will write a speech and not read it out loud until they're in front of their audience. And I couldn't do that. I would have to read it out loud first just to get my mouth ready for the feel of what I'm going to say. Right.

Mia: Yeah. I can't. I can't even think of the words to describe how important it is to read the speech prior to presenting it. Because if you're just reading it in your head, you go faster than you normally would when you're reading it. And you really need to pace yourself because when you're reading it, you sound slower in your head than you actually are. So if you're not pacing yourself properly when you read it, it'll sound, like, really fast to your listeners.

Marco:And it's important not to look at the page when you're doing a speech. Yes, you can certainly look down at the page, but that should not be the only thing you're doing. You should raise your gaze up so the audience looks like you're trying to connect with them.

Mia: Yeah. Eye contact is essential when you're doing a speech. I didn't really memorize it, but I like to read it over again and again until it's, like, embedded into my mind.

Marco:Okay.

Mia: So if I just quickly look down on my paper, I'll know where I am, and then my brain will just do the rest because it knows the words, and I can just focus on emotion, pace, tone, and anything else that I would need to regulate when I'm reading.

Marco:I see. I see. Now, did you watch other speeches before you wrote yours? And what resonates with you when you learn listen to a speech?

Mia: I did. So I looked up some speeches that were at my school, and I found one from a few years ago, and it was pretty good. I actually did think it was a good speech, but of course I didn't want to copy it. I wanted my own ideas. But it was good for me to listen to another speech to kind of get the idea of what. What I was going to start with, because I had very. I had a lot of trouble actually starting my speech once I started my speech. It just kind of flowed and flowed and flowed, but I have lots of trouble actually starting it.

Marco:Okay.

Mia: And then. But when I do start, like, goes perfectly. And then I can just. I have so many ideas, so I can just keep and keep writing.

Marco:Wow, that's really fascinating. Thank you for sharing that with us. You know, speeches are, you know, many people have to make them for, you know, could be at work, could be at a graduation, could be at a retirement party. Someone needs to make a speech. And it's good to have an idea of what other people do when they write speeches. For me, I always really want to leave my speech with a very impactful end. So I always try to figure out how am I going to end the speech where I basically have my final say, something that really resonates with the audience. How did you find your end of your speech?

Mia: So I believe that the ending. While I was ending my speech, I left a bunch of motivational kind of. Not quotes, but kind of motivational thoughts. Yes, motivational words, Motivational thoughts. Like, you can do this. Never give up. You are your own person. It has been an amazing journey. All of those things I included in the end because that's when the speech is wrapping up and we need some main ideas into these speeches. Speeches. And one thing I always want my audience to remember is that they are valuable people and especially for My grade at graduation, I definitely wanted to instill this thought into my listeners. You know, the beginning, the middle, and the end. The end, I feel, is the most impactful.

Marco:Sure.

Mia: It wraps up the whole speech, and I think it resonates with the speakers or with the listeners so much more. And the last thing I did, I ended with a quote. So I ended with a quote from St. John Paul II.

Marco:Okay.

Mia: And it was a quote about hope. I believe it was never doubt, never tire, and never give up. Something like that.

Marco:That's a pretty good quote. And so you looked for quotes from this particular person, and you were like, okay, let me find a quote to end on. I like to end on a quote, too. I think that's a nice way to wrap up a speech, too.

Mia: Yeah.

Marco:Did you write out your speech or did you type it on a computer?

Mia: I typed it on a computer, but I wrote out notes for myself. So I typed it, and then I printed it, and then I wrote little smiley faces or sad faces. When I had to change the mood, I wrote on every single page, slow down. So I would have those notes to slow down. Because it is so important to slow yourself down and give yourself a good pace. Because if people can't understand you, they won't understand your speech, and they won't

Marco:hear your speech if you go too fast. Right. People might lose things. I'll just say that you might be hearing the sounds of cars in the background. We're not in the studio right now, but I was fortunate enough to get my niece to record with me today. Okay, so that's you talking about speeches. Let me ask you this. Okay. So you've done your speech, you've graduated. What does your summer entail, or what are you hoping to do in the summer?

Mia: Okay, so this summer, I am going into grade nine, as you may know. So.

Marco:So that's high school.

Mia: Yes. So at my school, I'm going to a Catholic high school, and we have to do 40 hours of community service. I'm not sure if just Catholic schools have to do it. I'm sure that other.

Marco:Sure. Other schools.

Mia: Yeah, Other schools would have to do it.

Marco:That component, I think it's. Schools in Ontario make you do that. Yeah. I mean, when I went to school, we didn't have to do it, but.

Mia: Yeah, it's a new thing. I think it was implemented in the 2000s, but I think it's for all of Ontario, actually. Yeah.

Marco:And are you looking forward to doing these community hours or not so much?

Mia: Well, I mean, it is. It's Kind of like a chore. Right. But I feel that I can make it fun. Definitely. I can definitely do some stuff that I would love to do. One of the things I would love to do is shadow. So you and my Zia. Amanda. So that's your aunt, right? That's my aunt. Your wife.

Marco:Right.

Mia: So I would love to shadow her at her work because she works at a casting agency, and I just love watching the work that she does. I would love to hang out with her for a day and get my community service done. And same for you at your job or, I don't know, just bringing you coffee, even.

Marco:Listen, you can bring me coffee anytime. I'm always happy to get that.

Mia: Giving you assistance.

Marco:Sure.

Mia: And getting my community service hours done would be a dream, you know, spending the day with you guys. And also my aunt has friend who works in HR for a hospital, and possibly she could get me community service hours at the hospital, which I would love, because I would love to do that at the hospital.

Marco:Why? What is it about the hospital that really has you?

Mia: So one of my dreams would be to become a doctor or work in a hospital. And I would love to see all the doctors at work. Obviously, I wouldn't do anything. Maybe just, like, bring them papers and stuff, but I think it would be really cool to just immerse myself in that environment.

Marco:Yeah. And sometimes you'll just be the person in the front who directs people to where they need to go, you know, like information.

Mia: That would be really cool.

Marco:You get to know your way around the hospital, too.

Mia: Yeah. And also, I wouldn't mind doing things like. Like maybe being a camp counselor in the future or working at a. Even a retirement home just to, like, help out.

Marco:That's really lovely.

Mia: Yeah. Help out the seniors there.

Marco:And do you. Like you said, camp counseling is something you might want to do. Do you like going to camp? Because camping is not my thing at all.

Mia: I'm actually going to a camp this summer, in August, I think. Yeah. So I'm very excited about that. And I would love to be a camp counselor, I don't think this summer, but maybe next summer. I would love to do that, you know, especially with little kids, like those day camps where they kind of come, like an art camp or something like that.

Marco:I think you would make a very good camp counselor. Yeah, that'd be awesome. Listen, I mean, I remember some of my summer jobs were all over the map when I was young, and probably the worst summer job I had was around Father's Day. I got hired to spray cologne on people as they walked into a mall.

Mia: Oh, yeah.

Marco:And then I would come home, and I would just be drenched in the smell of this cologne. And the problem was I didn't like the smell of that cologne either. And so it was kind of a double whammy of, you know, people did not want to be sprayed, and I don't blame them. And standing around with a bottle of perfume in your hand for hours and hours and hours trying to get people to spray or buy it. Not for me.

Mia: I can imagine little Marco just going, would you like some of this cologne, sir? And then spraying it on them. Oh, that would be awful. Honestly, I would not take that job now.

Marco:You know, it's. What's. What's interesting is, you know, when you're getting your first jobs, oftentimes it's places near your home. Right. And when. Where I grew up in the suburbs, there weren't a lot of places nearby that would hire high school students, but they had just opened up a theme park, and so a lot of my friends worked at that theme park. So I would go to the theme park, which is called Canada's Wonderland, in case anyone's wondering. And I would see my friends, like, at the. You. What's it called where you put money, you get to play games, and you compete for prizes? What's that called?

Mia: Just the game station.

Marco:The game station. Or they would work at the ice cream station, and they'd always put extra ice cream for me. And I had a friend, she worked at the pick a pearl station. Yeah. So they had a tank of oysters, and you would pick an oyster and you'd pay. I think at that time, it was like $19.99. You'd pay $19.99, and they'd open the clam or oyster, actually. Yeah, they'd open the oyster, and you could find one pearl or you could find. You would always find at least one pearl, but sometimes you would find two or three, and I only found one, but I had a friend who did that for me.

Mia: Nice. That's so cool. Wait, for free?

Marco:No, I paid for it, but okay.

Mia: Yeah, that's cool. Did you ever want a job at Canada's Wonderland?

Marco:You know, it's funny, because I didn't apply there. It wasn't so close to my house. I don't know why I didn't apply there, to be honest with you. But I got a job close. Closer to my home at a country club.

Mia: Oh, were you, like, a golf caddy?

Marco:No, I wasn't. Thank goodness. That's not my scene at all. But there was. So where I lived at the time, it was very suburban, and like I said, there wasn't much around. So if you wanted to go to, let's say, a fast food place, you'd have to drive to the main street. And that was maybe 10, 15 minutes away. And I did work at a fast food restaurant when I was. That was one of my jobs. But there was this country club that was much closer to my home. And I don't know how I applied. I think my mom had friends who went to that country club, and they said to my mom, your son should apply or something like that. So I went, put on my resume, and I got hired as a bar waiter to serve alcohol because this country club would do. They would do cocktails and stuff before people went into the restaurant. And then I worked in a restaurant, and that was my journey in the restaurant field.

Mia: Nice. And you worked at a restaurant for a long time with my mother, I believe that's right.

Marco:So once again, for some reason, it was much easier to get jobs in restaurants where we lived. And so there was an old doctor's house in a neighboring town, and this doctor's house from the 1800s had been converted over the years into a lovely restaurant. It had a very picturesque sort of old, old home feel, and it was like, on a lot of land, and it was really pretty. And so I worked at this place called the Doctor's House. And then your mom got hired at the doctor's house too, and we were both working at the doctor's house. Once again, I worked in the bar in this particular instance, and your mom worked in. In the restaurant. And we had to wear, like, period cloth waiter clothing. It was really weird. So your mom was kind of in a long dress, and I think she wore a bonnet. Did she wear a bonnet?

Mia: Did she? I remember her talking about it. It was like plaid and orange, I think.

Marco:Yeah, it was like a plaid, green and orange.

Mia: Yeah.

Marco:Apron on a really, like, long dress, kind of like Little House on the Prairies type outfit for her. And I had like a. I had like a.

Mia: Like a dress shirt.

Marco:It had like, no collar. So it had like a. Like a. I think they call it a mandarin collar. And it had, once again, the sleeves were very much like the mandarin collar. And so I had puffy sleeves with cinched cuffs. Oh, and a tight neck. And then once again, a green platty kind of vest. Yeah.

Mia: Oh, that sounds awful.

Marco:It wasn't great, let me tell you. And we're in this doctor's house, this former doctor's house that was now a kind of fancy restaurant, if you can believe it. And it had a huge brunch, and everybody would come there for brunch, or they'd have a lot of showers, wedding showers or baby showers in this place. It was like that kind of a place.

Mia: Well, other than these questionable outfits, did you enjoy your time working there?

Marco:I did. I did enjoy it. You know, it was interesting. It was an interesting group of people who both owned the restaurant and who worked there. So I had a couple pals that worked there, and it would be fun. And then, you know, your mom worked there, so I would see her in the, you know, serving. Serving the restaurant. And then I worked in the restaurant for a short, short time, but I. I stayed mainly in the bar. And it was not because I wanted to work in the bar. It was just. That's where I got hired in that particular place.

Mia: Yeah, that makes sense. And that's really cool.

Marco:Would you ever want to work in a restaurant?

Mia: Yeah, I definitely would. There are some restaurants in my hometown that seem pretty cool, and there's also some in a mall nearby that are, like, really funky. Like that one restaurant that we went to, me, you and my Aunt Sonia, when we went shopping.

Marco:Oh, that's right. Do you remember the name of it?

Mia: Something to do with turtles.

Marco:Turtle Jacks.

Mia: Yeah, it was such a cool restaurant. It was very funky. Like, the walls were green and blue with lots of artwork and lots of, like, pictures everywhere. And they served, like, really good food. I would love to work there. And the staff seemed really fun.

Marco:Yeah, they seemed happy, which is always an indication that the restaurant's running very well. Yeah, that's very interesting. You know, if I think back to my first jobs, how funny they were. I worked at a. At a mall, in a card shop, in a fancy card.

Mia: Like birthday cards.

Marco:Yeah. And posters. It was like black and white posters and cards and like, I don't know, funky cards. Like very, like, artistic photograph cards. The. The place was called Athena for any of our listeners who might have been like, I remember that place, but it was like this place where you go and buy fancy cards or a really cool black and white photo or you get something framed. Yeah. And I didn't love having to do the frames because you'd have to measure it and really be, like, very close to the whatever border they wanted. It was too much math. Too much math for me.

Mia: And how long did you work there?

Marco:I want to say I worked for There for a year or two. And then I got a job at Sears in the shipping department where I would load cart. I would take out anything that got shipped. Shipped to Sears in these big trucks. I would have to take off the truck, and then I would have to. If you were coming to pick up, say, a lawnmower, you'd come, you'd give me your thing. I'd go get you the lawnmower from the back and put it in your car. I did not love that job. My friend. My best friend at the time was a security guard at the same mall. And the security area and the shipping area were right next to each other. And so he was on all these, like, escapades of, like, pretending to be a shopper and watching people in. In the Sears while I was loading all these heavy things in and out of the. The big truck. And I didn't enjoy that at all. I was kind of like, I wanted to work with him, but they wouldn't let us work together.

Mia: Yeah, that sounds like a sucky job, if I'm being honest. But, I mean, it doesn't sound so bad compared to some of these other jobs you've had. Like the spraying cologne on people who are like, get this cologne off of me. You know? I mean, I wouldn't want cologne sprayed on me just randomly for no reason either.

Marco:Is there a cologne of perfume that you enjoy the scent of?

Mia: well, so my. My aunt, your wife, loves Jo Malone, and recently she got me into Jo Malone and gave me little samples of all the bottles that she's had.

Marco:Okay.

Mia: So I. I got some gift cards recently, and I would love to go down to Sephora or another shop, even the Jo Malone shop, and pick some up, I think.

Marco:Is there a scent in particular you like or.

Mia: My favorite scent? I think it was orange blossom.

Marco:Oh, orange blossom.

Mia: Or something to do with pine.

Marco:Pine?

>> Speaker B: Yeah.

Marco:I thought it was bluebells or something.

Mia: No, that's the. Isn't that the scent that Harry and Megan used for their wedding? Or was that blueberry something?

Marco:I can't remember. This is something you'd have to ask your aunt. My wife Amanda, who's in the other room there.

Mia: Yeah. What is she doing? Drinking a Coke?

Marco:I think she's. She's just resting while we do this, but we'll figure out what the cologne is that or the perfume is that you want to get.

Mia: She gave me that sample first, and I was like, oh, I love this stuff. It was that. It's that big bottle that she has, and it's my favorite, and I would love to get a little bottle that next time I go to the mall.

Marco:Yeah, I wonder.

Mia: I think it had something to do with cardamom, actually.

Marco:Was it cardamom mimosa or mimosa cardamom? Because I think that's one of the scents she has.

Mia: Yeah, I think it was. But I also liked one that had to do with pine, but she didn't give me a sample, but I remember. So one of my favorite things to do with my aunt is getting ready for, like, going out, and she always lets me pick her perfume.

Marco:Okay.

Mia: And one that I always picks or one that I always picked is something to do with pine. I don't remember the full name, though. It's like, something and pine.

Marco:Okay.

Mia: But it is so good. That is, like, an herbal smell. And then mimosa and cardamom is like, a more floral smell.

Marco:Okay, there you go. Well, listen, I hope you get the scent you like. There's. I'm sure they have plenty of scents for you to try.

Mia: Definitely will.

Marco:And I'm sure one will. Will suit you just fine. And. And thank you for being a guest on the podcast again, Mia.

Mia: Of course. Oh, my gosh. I love being on this podcast, and I love helping these wonderful listeners get

Marco:their sleep very well. Well, thank you very much. And to our listeners, we hope you were able to listen and sleep good.