Speech Contests
In order to provide for people who enjoy competitive speaking, and in order to "showcase the best speakers", Toastmasters International holds speech contests. Each contest starts at the club level and works its way up through the Toastmasters organization. Three contests progress to District competitions and one contest (the International Speech Contest) culminates at the Toastmasters International World Convention each August by crowning the "World Champion of Public Speaking".
The Speech Contests are:
- Table Topics - 1 to 2 minutes in length. Impromptu speaking. All contestants are assigned the same impromptu topic to address. The contestants enter the room one at a time to respond to the topic. Since no contestant hears the topic before his turn to speak on it, you can judge their impromptu speaking abilities by the way in which each person's effort stacks up against the others. The contest progresses as far as the District level.
- Evaluation - 2 to 3 minutes in length. A target speaker gives a speech which all the evaluation contestants are to evaluate. The contestants are taken from the room and given five minutes to prepare their speeches and make notes. Since no contestant hears what another said about the target speech, the judges can compare the analytical abilities of the contestants. It proceeds as far as the District level.
- Humorous Speech - 5 to 7 minutes. Humorous speaking. It must be a speech, not a monologue, and it MUST be original. This contest proceeds as far as the District level.
- International Speech - 5 to 7 minutes. Any topic, so long as it's original. It can be humorous or serious. It is called "International Speech" contest because it's the only one of the four contests that goes as far as the World level. Each August, winners from the eight domestic Regions and the overseas clubs (9 contestants in all) compete at the Toastmasters International Convention in the World Championship of Public Speaking.
- Tall Tales Speech - 5-7 minutes. It must be a speech, not a monologue, and it MUST be original. This contest proceeds as far as the District level
How do you pick the winners?
Each contest has a set of rules which mandate originality and lay down the procedures. In the audience, there will be a set of judges, scattered among the audience, each with a points form that they use to rate the speakers on how they perform in comparison with the other contestants. There is a different judging form for each contest, since each contest involves different skills.
When do the contests take place?
The International Speech and Table Topics contests take place in the spring and the Humorous Speech and Evaluation contests are in the fall. So start thinking about your most humorous speech now.
