by Hugh Solomon
Having competed in several toastmasters competitions and, fortunately, making it twice to a national
Toastmasters conference I can share a few comments
and personal observations.
It’s well worth it to compete at Club level, with the
prospect of making it higher up the ladder (Area,
Division, District). The higher one goes the more one is exposed to a range of different speeches and new people.
Competing at District level is exciting, and I encourage Toastmasters to aim for this. Believe me, it’s within the grasp of any confident, prepared and polished
Toastmaster. One is exposed to (a) the national
conference, and an audience of 250 people
(b) Toastmasters from clubs around South Africa and neighbouring countries (c) speakers are there because they have earned their stripes.
The prepared speech contest is awesome and out of seven speakers at least four will be excellent. It’s a
learning experience to be able to mingle with the “pros”.
Prepared speeches at the higher level tend to be “made for competitions” and are tailored accordingly. Vital
ingredients could be any of the following: a touch of the
theatrical, a slick delivery, an arresting topic, a deeper
exposure to a personal story, and a play on the emotions of the audience. I would say that the Toastmasters who come in the top three have thought long and hard about the topic, structure, audience appeal, and judges’ appeal of their speeches. Confidence, stage presence and a good voice are strong prerequisites.
Sure, to win at a higher level isn’t easy, but I have seen Toastmasters of average competence participating at
Division and District competitions. They are there because they have developed a good speech and have presented it with panache. (The same would basically apply to the
Impromptu and Evaluation Contests) As I have said, it’s within your grasp, believe me! Work on a winning speech long in advance, select the topic with care, work on a strong and unique point of difference (there’s little that can beat your own personal touch), and craft it with all the
Toastmasters’ tools that you’ve acquired.
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