Would you like to be the World Champion of Public Speaking? If you want to be the best, you must compete in speech contests! Public speakers rise to the top of their field by challenging themselves. One of the most effective ways to improve your public speaking skills is to participate in speech contests.
Entering a speech competition may seem intimidating, but it is also tremendously rewarding. Using your voice to inspire others and make a positive difference in the world is extremely gratifying. With each rehearsal and competition, you sharpen your skills, expand your repertoire of techniques, and increase your confidence.
Over the past few years, I have competed in three Toastmasters speech contests. My first contest was the Toastmasters International Speech Contest in the spring of 2010. I wrote an inspirational speech about my sister in law Leslie who had Cystic Fibrosis. Although I didn’t win 1st or 2nd place at the area level, I had so many personal wins. I became closer to my sister in law, my mother in law, my father in law, and my husband as I interacted them while doing my research, rehearsals, and revisions. I gave my first speech outside of my Toastmasters club to the largest audience I had ever had. At the end of the contest day, I felt so powerful, proud, and thankful for the experience.
The next opportunity I had to compete was during the Toastmasters Fall 2011 Humorous Speech Contest. I was not eligible to compete in the Toastmasters speech contests during fall 2010 and spring 2011 because I was serving as the Toastmasters Area Governor for Carmel Valley and was in charge of running the speech contests. Presenting a humorous speech presented a new challenge, but it was so much fun! This time I was more experienced, and I won 1st place at the area level with my speech Happily Ever After. Unfortunately I was not able to compete at the division level because I was on my honeymoon in Tahiti. (No complaints there!)
This year I’m competing again in the Toastmasters International Speech Contest. My goal is to make it further than I have before and compete at the division and district levels. Another benefit of competing is I can encourage and inspire my Teen Speaking Skills graduates to compete in speech contests. Several of my students competed last year in the Del Mar Solana Beach Optimist Club’s Speech Contest and the San Diego County Fair Oratorical Contest. The students who competed won 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place and received cash prizes in addition to all of the other benefits from competing in a speech contest. The Lions Club and Optimist Club contests offer scholarship prize money at the highest level of competition.
The 2012 contest season has begun! The first contest in which Teen Speaking Skills graduates will participate is being held on Saturday, February 9, 2012 by the Del Sol Lions Club at Fletcher Cove Community Center in Solana Beach. For more details about the Del Sol Lion’s Club Speech Contest, please see the article published in the Del Mar Times.
The Del Mar Solana Beach Optimist Club’s Speech Contest will be held on Saturday, February 25, 2012 at the Calvary Lutheran Church in Solana Beach. Several Teen Speaking Skills graduates will compete in this exciting contest about overcoming obstacles! The deadline to register for the competition is Feb. 10, 2012. For more details, please visit the Del Mar Solana Beach Optimist Club’s website.
