Teen Speaking Skills founder and Distinguished Toastmaster Kathleen Petrone competed in the Toastmasters 2012 Southern Division International Speech Contest in San Diego this past Saturday. Kathleen explained, “This Toastmasters speech contest was really special to me for several reasons.
1. This contest was the first time I had a chance to compete at the division level. The local levels of the Toastmasters speech contests are club, area, division, and district. Although I won the Toastmasters Area 24 Humorous Speech Contest in the fall of 2011, I was out of town on my honeymoon during the Northern Division Contest, and I didn’t have the opportunity to compete at the division level.
2. My speech “Legacy” is a tribute honoring my late sister in law Leslie. Leslie had Cystic Fibrosis, and she passed away last fall on the morning of my wedding day. Rather than focusing on the sadness, my husband and I feel honored Leslie chose to share our special day. Leslie was the most inspirational and courageous person I know, and she inspired me to compete in my first Toastmasters speech contest a few years ago.
Competing is one of the best ways for a speaker to improve his or her public speaking skills. The first time a Toastmaster friend encouraged me to compete in a speech contest, I politely declined the suggestion. But thankfully, he didn’t take no for an answer. He even resorted to calling me chicken. After that, I decided to be courageous and share Leslie’s inspirational life story.
I didn’t win the Toastmasters speech contest the first time I competed at the area level a few years ago, but I won in so many other ways. I increased my confidence, improved my public speaking skills, and became closer to Leslie and her family throughout the process.
Aside from my personal growth, one of the other biggest wins is I now share my story with my Teen Speaking Skills students and inspire them to compete in speech contests.”
Many Teen Speaking Skills graduates compete in speech contests every year held by organizations such as the Lion’s Club, the Optimist Club, and the San Diego County Fair. The San Diego County Fair Speech Contest is coming up next. The contest will be held on June 10, 2012. For more details and to register your child, please visit the San Diego County Fair website.
