Tips & Guidelines for Toastmaster Contests
Toastmasters | Public Speaking | Impromptu Speech | Ice Breaking ( first) Speech| Evaluation

Some helpful hints regarding the International Speech and Table Topics Contest:

Purpose
To provide an opportunity for speakers to improve their speaking abilities and to recognise the best as encouragement to all; and to provide an opportunity to learn by observing the more proficient speakers who have benefited from their Toastmasters training.

Eligibility
To be eligible to compete at any level of the International Speech Contest, an individual must:
* be a member in good standing of the Club in which he or she is competing. The Club also must be in good standing. A new, dual, or reinstated member must have dues and membership application current with World Headquarters.

* have completed at least six manual speeches in the Communication and Leadership Program manual prior to the Club contest (see special rules for newly chartered clubs).

* maintain eligibility at all levels of any contest (see conditions in rulebook)

The following are ineligible to compete in this contest:

* incumbent International Officers and Directors
* District Officers (Governor, any Lieutenant Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer, Division and Area Governors) whose terms expire June 30
* International Officer and Director candidates
* Immediate Past District Governors
* District Officers or announced candidates for the term beginning the upcoming July 1
* presenters of educational sessions at the Area, Division, and District event at which the contest will be held
* an individual may not be a judge at any level for a contest in which they are still competing

Speech subject
The subject which must be substantially original, is selected by the contestant. Any quoted material must be so identified during the speech presentation.

Timing
The speech timing is 5-7 minutes. You will be disqualified if you speak for less than 4 minutes 30 seconds or more than 7 minutes 30 seconds.

Timing begins with the first word uttered by you, but if you engage in definite verbal or nonverbal communication with the audience prior to reaching the speaking position and uttering the first word, timing begins then.

Green light at 5 minutes for one minute. Yellow light at 6 minutes for one minute. Red light at 7 minutes and remains on until speech concluded.

Judging Criteria
Speech development - 20%
Includes structure, organisation, support material
Effectiveness - 15%
Relates to achievement of purpose, interest, audience reception
Speech value - 15%
This includes original and logical ideas used
Physical delivery- 10%
This is your appearance and use of body language
Voice - 10%
Your voice volume and flexibility
Manner - 10%
Manner includes your directness, assurance and enthusiasm
Appropriateness - 10%
This means the appropriateness of the speech to your purpose and the audience
Correctness - 10%
Includes grammar, pronunciation and word selection

Table Topics Contest

Eligibility
All Toastmasters who are members in good standing of the Club in which they are competing are eligible to compete. The Club also must be in good standing. New, dual, or reinstated members must have dues and membership application current with Toastmasters International.

The following are ineligible to compete:

* incumbent International Officers and Directors
* District Officers (Governor, any Lieutenant Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer, Division and Area Governors) whose terms expire June 30
* International Officer and Director candidates
* Immediate Past District Governors
* District Officers or announced candidates for the term beginning the upcoming July 1
* presenters of educational sessions at the Area, Division, and District event at which the contest will be held
* an individual may not be a judge at any level for a contest in which they are still competing

The Topic
All contestants will receive the same topic, which shall be of a general nature, and shall speak for two minutes. The topic shall be of reasonable length, shall not require a detailed knowledge and should lead to an opinion or conclusion.
Timing
Timing begins with the first definite verbal or non-verbal communication with the audience.
Green light at 1 minute for 30 seconds. Yellow light at 1 minute 30 seconds for 30 seconds. Red light at 2 minutes and remains on until speech concluded. If you speak for less than one minute or more than two minutes 30 seconds, you will be disqualified.
Judging Criteria
Speech development - 30%
Opening, body, close, organisation, smoothness
Effectiveness - 25%
Logic, directness, enthusiasm, achievement of purpose
Physical - 15%
This relates to your appearance and body language
Voice - 15%
Voice volume and flexibility
Language - 15%
Appropriate to speech, purpose and audience, used good grammar, pronunciation and word selection

Useful Resources
A speech is a live performance, not to be captured in writing. Many speeches involve actions, the use of props and clothing, audience participation, balloon popping, ohps, ... even songs.

Often a speech involves impromptu elements that cannot be caged into a fixture. And there are speakers who choose not to write down a script of their speech. They work from memory or brief notes, and no two renditions of the same speech will be identical.

However there are plenty of useful tips and advice which you can use when preparing for Toastmaster speech contests, and the some full speech scripts on club and District websites.

For information on how to prepare for a speech contest, go to J A Gamache's website. He was third placegetter in the 2001 World Championship of Public Speaking. Read the following articles about preparing and delivering a contest speech, and his winning speech. And why not subscribe to his public speaking tips newsletter for even more tips.

J A Gamache's winning speech
Stage Fright or Not - Here I Come
How to Prepare a Contest Speech
How to Avoid Going Over Time
Add Punch to your Speeches
5 Tips to Add Life to your Speeches
Subscribe to public speaking tips newsletter

When Darren LaCroix had to give a speech in front of a large crowd, he fell on his face - literally! And that's one reason why he won the World Championship of Public Speaking in 2001. In "Take this Job and Love it", Darren describes how he prepared for and competed in the championship.

In an interview with Ann Hardison, District 3's 1997 Humorous Contest Winner, Ann describes how she went about preparing for the contest.

Andre Taylor's "In the urban jungle" had his audience in stitches and the judges in amazed admiration. Find out what he talked about in his winning humorous speech. Also on this page is a description of a winning International speech by a fellow club member.

An article by Scott Roeben CTM, published in the March 2001 Toastmaster Magazine entitled "Go for the Gold: Surefire Ways to Win your Next Humorous Speech Contest" gives some valuable advice and tips if you're considering entering the humorous contest.

In "The Art of Using Humor in Public Speaking" Anthony L Audrieth explains that humour in public speaking is an art not to be taken lightly. This article is 24 pages printed, so make sure you have plenty of paper in your printer tray before hitting the Print button. But it'll be worth it!

Download and read Jim Key's World Championship-winning speech notes on the Jim Key website http://www.jimkey.com   where he shows us how he used his staging notes to choreograph the delivery of his speech.
Check out District 26's "How to Plan, Promote and Conduct Toastmasters Contests", and download some of their excellent scripts and forms.

The June 2005 edition of "The Toastmaster" is a special Humour Issue. There are a number of articles about humour and humorous speeches which you will find interesting and useful, including How to Master the Laugh, and what to do when "they don't laugh".

Contest Speech Title Tip:
The title of a speech is important, because it is the bridge between the introduction and your opening. It has the power to attract or detract attention from the audience. Some things you might consider when creating the title are:

* Relevance to speech
* Attention grabber
* An element of mystery
* Stimulate the imagination