International Speech Contest

Everything you need to know about ...

Miranda Toastmasters Club’s International Speech contests usually take place in November each year.

Winners of the International Speech Contest have the potential to advance through the Area, Division and District contests. And as its title suggests, the

International Speech Contest could take the winner all the way to the semi-final and the World Championship of Public Speaking®.

What do you need to know to prepare and present your best material? 

International Speech Contest Contestants present a five to seven minute speech on any subject they choose. Contestants must create their own speeches and the contest must be substantially original.

A maximum of twenty-five percent of the speech may be devoted to quoting, paraphrasing or referencing another person’s content. And if others are quoted, then the referenced content must be identified during the speech. Props may be used.

Judging criteria 

Contest judges assess each speech according to a strict criteria.

Judges will score a speech out of a possible 100 points based on three main elements:

  1. Content Value = 50% 
    1. Speech Development: Structure, Organisation, Support Material 
    2. Effectiveness: Clear purpose, Achievement of purpose, Relevance 
    3. Speech Value: Ideas, Logic, Original Thought 
  2. Delivery Value = 30% 
    1. Physical: Appearance, Body Language, Speaking Area 
    2. Voice: Flexibility, Volume 
    3. Manner: Directness, Assurance, Enthusiasm 
  3. Language Value = 20% 
    1. Appropriateness: To Speech Purpose and Audience 
    2. Correctness: Grammar, Pronunciation, Word Selection

Refer to the judging form for details.

Timing

The length of the Speech for the contest is 5 to 7 minutes.

Contestants will be disqualified if the Speech is less than 4 minutes 30 seconds or more than 7 minutes 30 seconds. So, it’s critical to stay within time.

Contestant eligibility 

To be eligible to participate in the International Speech Contest, a Contestant must be a paid member of the Club and must have completed Levels 1 & 2 of any path in Toastmasters Pathways.

The International Speech Contest

By Greg Kennedy DTM, former Miranda Toastmasters member

Article first published: January 2018

The International Speech Contest What’s the point? Really? Why put yourself through all the angst that comes with a contest – the hours of work, the nerves, the stress of winning and having to go to the next level?

The point is that the contests DO make you work, DO test your nerves and DO give you the opportunity to speak at a higher level. If you want to get better at speaking before an audience, enter contests.

You’ll get far better far faster than if you only do the occasional speech at club meetings. There’s entire books written on this subject but here are a few ideas.

Here’s some things to consider (in no particular order). 

Have something to say that you believe is important. If you don’t think the message is important then it’s unlikely that others will either. Ideally, something that has made a positive difference in your life – an event, a person who has changed the way you think, etc. Stories are the key here. This comes with a warning – don’t make yourself the hero in the story. It’s not about you becoming the Messiah and everybody should be like you. Make someone else the hero.
Related to the point above, be wary of preaching or delivering a lecture to your audience. Have a strong message but offer it as a gift so that the audience can connect with it on their terms and take away what they wish. One way to gauge this is to print out the speech and let someone else read it.

The key to any successful presentation is connection. You need to make a connection for your audience to receive the gift of the message. There are three connections to make:

  1. between the audience and you;
  2. between the audience and the message; and
  3. between you and your message.

You create the first two connections and you show the third.

Take a look at the judging sheet. There’s a list of items the judges are looking for and a brief explanation of the judging criteria. If you’re unsure as to how to create connections 1. and 2. above, the judging sheet gives you some clues. Broadly speaking, the first three rows relate to CONTENT. This is about connecting with the audience’s heads using a well-structured, effective and valuable speech. The other rows on the sheet are, broadly speaking, about connecting with the audience’s EMOTIONS. Read through the judging sheet before, and after, you start designing your speech.

Print out your speech with each revision so you can keep refining it, and so you can show it to someone else. Keep practicing it and time yourself each time. You want to get it under seven minutes when you’re practicing at home. The red timing light comes on at 7 minutes and you still have 30 seconds to finish but you’ll want to have a little time spare to pause for effect, allow the audience to laugh at your humour and maybe remember what you were going to say. And practice, practice, practice. Good luck!

About the author 

Greg Kennedy DTM was a member of Miranda Toastmasters and has first-hand knowledge of what it takes to advance through Club, Area, Division and District contests. Greg won the District 70 International Speech Contest and represented District 70 at the 2010 International contest in Palm Springs, where he made it to the semi-finals.