5 Reasons Why You Should Join A Speech Contest

Have you ever tried joining a public speaking contest? If you have, then you can understand my sentiments when I say that it’s one of the best experiences anyone can have. Whenever I join a speech contest, I feel so alive. It’s like my emotions are heightened. I feel a combination of many things at the same time. Fear, excitement, trepidation and a sense of anticipation. It doesn’t matter how long you have been a toastmaster or how old or young you are. There is no discrimination here in Toastmasters. Whether you are 18 or 78, as long as you are eligible, you are free to join your category of choice. And unlike beauty pageants there is no height requirement.

How many times have you tried joining a speech contest? Once? Twice? Or perhaps you have yet to try it. The 2012 District Conference is drawing near. Ok, so it’s still 6 months away. But remember that there are many levels - the club, area and division level. If you want to compete at discon, decide now so you can prepare your plane fare, hotel fare and oh, your speech material too in advance.

Here are 5 reasons why you should join a speech contest.

It makes you feel alive. Whenever I join a speech contest I feel many conflicting emotions all at the same time. I feel excited and scared. I feel like I have both diarrhea and constipation. I can feel my heartbeat thundering in my ears and my hands becoming cold and clammy. Really. It’s the best feeling the world. But please. Don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself.

 You might win. I’m not kidding. Even if you've been a toastmaster for only a few months and think that you don’t know anything at all about public speaking, there's a good chance that you might win. Especially if there are only 3 contestants and you are guaranteed a spot no matter how badly you do. Even if you don’t get to be the champion, hey, they also give trophies to the runners up. You can then proudly display that at home people will think you are such a good speaker. You can even include that in your resume to impress potential employers.

Learning experience. Joining a speech contest is a great learning experience. Whether you win or not you get to improve. You learn. You become better. It’s not only the contest itself that allows you to become a better speaker it’s the preparation involved. The more time you invest in preparing for the contest, the better your chances of winning. Aside from it being a learning experience, it’s also a humbling experience. You learn how to accept defeat graciously.

You might meet your next love match. This is another excellent reason for joining a speech contest. Who knows? Your next boyfriend/girlfriend might be a fellow contestant. I have a clubmate who met his girlfriend through a speech contest. They were both contestants for the international prepared speech. He wasn’t able to get the trophy but at least he got the girl.

Registration refund. Are you a bit tight on budget? Here is the good news. If you represent your division in the District conference in any of the categories, you get a 50% or full refund on your registration fee. I know someone who joins contestants for this very reason. You know who you are. But seriously I get a kick about getting freebies too! 

How to Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking

Have you ever experienced the feeling that the moment you stand up to speak in front, your heart starts pounding like crazy, your hands get all clammy and you seem to lose all train of thought? If so, then you are not alone. According to most studies, glossophobia or the fear of public speaking is the number one fear that most people have. Yes, people fear public speaking even more than they fear death!

 We all know that the most successful people, whether in business or any other field, are also the best communicators. And for this reason alone many people desire to become better speakers. But how does one eliminate the fear of public speaking?

The answer is that you don’t. I have been a Toastmaster for over two years now. I regularly give speeches during club meetings and I have joined numerous speaking contests. You’d think two years of speaking would have made the fear disappear, right? Wrong. You can’t totally eliminate your fear of public speaking. You can only conquer it. As someone once said, if you can’t get rid of the butterflies in your stomach, at least get them into flying formation.

So how do you conquer your fear of public speaking?

You can conquer your fear of public speaking the same way you would conquer any other fear. You have to face it. How? Speak in front of an audience – regularly. Or better yet, join Toastmasters. The more you speak in front the less you’ll find doing so “scary”.  Most people are afraid of the unknown. Once you get accustomed to speaking in front you’ll discover that it isn’t that bad after. In fact, public speaking can actually be enjoyable.

They say that preparation is the key to success. This applies to public speaking as well. Before you even think about speaking in front you should learn your material. You should know it so well that you can speak without having to think of what’s next.

Don’t put too much pressure on yourself – especially if it’s your first time to deliver a speech. We learn by doing. And we’ve all got to start somewhere. So don’t expect your first speech to be perfect. Practice and then deliver it as best as you can. The best thing about being part of a Toastmasters club is that you get evaluated every time you deliver a speech. Thus, you’ll know which things to improve to make your next speech even better.

The worst thing you can do is to disregard your fear and pretend that it doesn’t exist. No matter how much we try to avoid it there will come a time when we will have to stand up and speak in front. Personally I think it’s better to be prepared so that when that time comes, we will be able to speak with such eloquence and conviction that we can get our point across effectively. 


Do you want your speech to come to life? Read this post and learn about the power of Using Gestures in Public Speaking.

Interview with a Public Speaking Champion: Stephen Michael Lumanlan

They say that speakers are born, not made. But from what I have seen and experienced as a Toastmaster, that is simply not true. Speaking is an art that has to be honed with practice over time. Some people may have a knack for speaking but no one is born a good speaker. Effective communication is a skill that has to be developed. I have been a Toastmaster for almost two years now and I have seen many speakers deliver speeches, both in club meetings and competitions. Some of them were obviously beginners while some were seasoned public speakers. I have been to two Toastmaster District Conferences. In 2009 it was held in Marco Polo Hotel, Davao. This year (2010) it was at Bohol Plaza. If you have never been to a District Conference before I’m telling you it is one of the best experiences ever. The venue, the people and most especially the competition itself is really something else.

A lot of people ask: What does it take to become a public speaking champion? Having joined a few speaking competitions I have pondered over this question myself. What sets champions apart from the rest? How do they prepare for the competition? What set of rituals do they follow? To answer these questions I decided to interview the 2010 Public Speaking Champion of the International Prepared Speech Category, Stephen Michael Lumanlan.

Alex: When did you join Toastmasters?

Stephen: I joined Toastmasters last November 2009. But I got invited way back in college by one of my professors, Ms. Sonja Chan. She’s a DTM and one of the pioneers of the very first TM club in Baguio, the Pines City TMC. She invited me to join right after college but at that the time I wasn’t interested. DTM Chan was actually one of my mentors back in college when I was a member of the Forensics Society.

Alex: Forensics Society? It sounds like something out from CSI.

Stephen: It’s actually a discussion and debate society. We have internal debates and as we go on we follow a certain format. Every year there’s also a contest between schools.

Alex: So did you join any of these contests?

Stephen: Yes, I did.

Alex: How’d that turn out?

Stephen: (laughs) I don’t know. Not so good. I was just one of the back-ups then. After a while I became an officer of the club; Then came my fifth year. I got so busy so I had to give it up entirely. They asked me to become president but I was so busy I had to decline. I found another person to be president though. And she was good-Shiela was an excellent president.

Alex: Well I see you started your public speaking career back in college. So what do you do now?

Stephen: I’m in the human resources department. I do communications. I’m the PR guy.

Alex: On a regular work day, what do you do?

Stephen: There’s no such thing as a regular work day. Everyday is quite different. Generally I handle everything in our company that has to do with internal public relations. I make the official memos, I’m in charge on the in-house paper and sometimes I ghost write for the president and managing director of our company. One of our big events is the site meeting every quarter. I assemble the program work up the agenda, talk to the big bosses, put it all together, package it and invite people. On the day of the event I’m kind of like the floor director. I facilitate the entire event to make sure that everything goes smoothly.

Alex: Do you also host the event?

Stephen: I used to do the hosting too. But now I assign it to other people. I enjoy teaching others. Hosting can really give you the opportunity to grow as a speaker. Actually I found someone who sounds like me.

Alex: Good! You should invite that guy to Toastmasters.

Stephen: Yeah, I would have. Except that he lives far from Baguio City.

Alex: Oh well, maybe some other time. So why did you join Toastmasters?

Stephen: It just made sense at the time. I didn’t have anything to do and I had a lot of time on my hands. So I thought, why not? It seemed like something I could shine and excel at.

Alex: So what is your norm now?

Stephen: Competent Communicator. I got it in less than two months.

Alex: Really? That’s amazing! How did you do that? Most people get it in 8-12 months.

Stephen: What can I say, I was inspired by Toastmasters. I set a goal. I told myself that at the end of the year I should be able to deliver my 10 speeches. I looked at the schedule of other clubs (we have around 7 or 8 clubs here in Baguio), delivered speeches there, and challenged myself. And it worked. I delivered by graduation speech in one of the classes of my mentor, Dr. Sonja Chan.

Alex: So how are you doing with your ACB (Advanced Communicator Bronze) tract?

Stephen: (laughs) I’m currently off track. I’ve already finished 4 advanced speeches but I haven’t been that focused on delivering speeches right now. My focus right now is on reviving my club. We need to get more members in. One of the challenges is that the venue is quite far. So we need to find a place in the city proper.  But anyway, I’ll get back on track eventually.

Alex: You were the champion of this year’s District Conference in Bohol last April. Again congratulations for winning. Who encouraged you to join?

Stephen: My boss at work. She’s also a Toastmaster, she’s now a DTM actually. She’s had experience in competing since she was also a national winner.

Alex: When she asked you to compete, how did you react? What first came into your mind?

Stephen: I was neither excited nor hesitant. I just thought, Ok I’ll try and see where this goes. So I did. I just wanted to do it for the experience. During the Area competition I was 1^st runner.  But I was still allowed to compete in the Division level since they allowed at least 2 contestants per area.

Alex: When you won in the Division contest, how did it feel?

Stephen: It was a very happy experience. It was mind blowing. In the Area level I wasn’t that prepared. Somehow my heart wasn’t set at wining. But when I was told that I could advance to Division that was when the passion to compete in the district started. So when I won that was really something.

Alex: Maybe it really was for you to win it. You mentioned that FLEX (Foundations of Leadership Excellence) and ALC (Advanced Leadership Course) helped you win the international prepared speech contest. Why is that?

Stephen: It allowed me to go deep down to myself. It allowed me to get my identity and know who I am. To believe in myself. To be confident. To find my essence. FLEX is a 2 day activity. ALC is 3 days. So it gave me sufficient time to contemplate and really get to know myself.

Alex: Who or what was your inspiration in making the speech?

Stephen: My dad of course. My speech is all about him. He had colorectal cancer. He passed away two years ago but I can still remember that day like it was only yesterday. It was a Sunday. I looked at the heavens. There were no birds, no planes. The skies were clear with no cloud in sight. It looked like heaven was opening up to welcome him. And in my minds eye, I saw my hero going there.

Alex: I’m sure your dad is happy wherever he is. In TM, they say that everyone has his/her own time. Going to Bohol, did you feel like you were going to win? Did you feel like this was your moment?

Stephen: I felt it when I delivered my speech. Before my I spoke, there was a tug in my heart telling me that this could be my moment. But it was during the time that I delivered my speech that I really felt like I was in my moment. When you do something and you know that you just did great, you don’t think about winning or losing. I felt like I had a chance of winning. But it didn’t really matter anymore. My goal was to get the chance to represent the country and to relay a message.

Alex:  If you could sum up the message of your speech in one sentence or word, what would it be?

Stephen: LOVE.

Alex:  That’s a strong word.     

    

Stephen: When I delivered by speech in Bohol, that was where I was coming from. I delivered it coming from the heart. There are so many ways you can interpret my speech. It could be understood as honoring or loving your dad, the influence of a dad’s love, or that of a son being able to conquer sickness and difficulty in life. There are many messages you can take out of that speech. But if you ask, I’d just say love. I believe it doesn’t sum up just my speech but of everyone who presented there at the District Conference. Love is the universal truth in everybody who presented there.

Alex: Were you nervous while performing?

Stephen: Of course! I was shaking in the beginning. But when I got through the first few sentences, I was so into my speech everything flowed naturally. At the very last part I almost blacked out. Instead of plan A I went to plan B. And plan B worked. Plan A was a prepared part. I had the words to tie up everything. Plan B was something I devised when I found out I was number 10. I thought: Hey, I have the chance not just to wrap up my speech but all 10 speeches and the whole event as well.

Alex: How did it feel to win?

Stephen: Unbelievable. It’s like I was on top of the world. You can’t believe you’re there but you’re there. I was happy. I was excited.

Alex: Who do you wish to thank for your success?

Stephen: Everyone – especially the toastmasters who helped me prepare. But of course I’d like to thank my dad most of all.

Alex: What did you get out of that experience?

Stephen: I got a trophy! Haha. I never won a national competition before. Winning this competition helped me reinforced my being. It told me that there’s something that I could actually be good at. It made me feel complete.

Alex: I hope I can also win a national trophy someday. ^_^ Anyway let’s go to the world speech contest. You competed in the International Toastmasters Conference in California last August 2010 where you battled it out with Toastmasters from all over the world. Did you make a new speech for the international competition?

Stephen: Well I used the same speech but changed it a little. I polished the delivery. I tried to tailor it to an international audience. I prepared 2 speeches. But I wasn’t able to make it thru the semifinals.

Alex: Well you are still a champion to us. Just making it there is pretty amazing. So how was the experience?

Stephen: The nice thing was at that level, I was able to deliver my message. It didn’t matter anymore if I would win or not. The feeling was nice because everyone there had his own story to tell. It didn’t feel like a competition. All of us were just people who had a story to share. It was just amazing getting to hear the stories of these people from all over the world. Me sharing me story and getting to learn from their stories, I was floored. I was amazed by the experience. I was in the company of real people with real stories and real emotions.

Alex: Coming back to the Philippines after the international competition, what do you think changed?

Stephen: The appreciation or the realization that right now, I feel like I’m not just a citizen of my country but a citizen of the world. I feel connected to the rest of the world. You can’t just say I’m a Filipino, a German or a Japanese. Everybody is interconnected. People are becoming global and interactive. The world is becoming smaller. During my set, I met the champion – Linus Chang. Just by hearing his last name, I knew he was Chinese. But he was there and he was representing Australia. And then there’s this other guy, when you look at him, he’s black. His name is Elom. He looks like he’s from Africa. But he’s actually representing Germany. So you can’t judge a person by the color of his skin or his name because we’re so global right now. Technology allows us to interact from people from all over the globe. Look at social networking. Look at Facebook. I connect with my friends half way across the globe at home.

Alex: What would you say to Toastmasters out there who also want to conquer the stage and be a champion?

Stephen: Do not think of being a champion. Think about the message that you can give, the value that you can add to your audience. And when you share that message, speak from your heart. Don’t think of winning. Just deliver your message the best way you can.  

Alex: Any other tips or advice?

Stephen: Be open. I went to different clubs and they all gave me feedback. I had to be open enough to see were they’re coming from. We all have different perspectives. And when you talk to a large crowd, you are talking to a lot of people. So you have to find a way to touch everyone in some way. Being open allows you to learn.

Alex: Thanks for the tip. I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Do you want to leave last words of inspiration to Toastmasters out there?

Stephen: You really don’t need a trophy to be a champion. A trophy is a nice bonus. When you go out on stage and deliver a message, and it touches even just one person, then you are already a winner. When you speak you have the power to touch a life. When you are able to touch a life in a positive way that makes you a champion. 

Here's a link to his winning speech entitled, Real Power:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=490817019781

Check out the experience of a Brave Neophyte in the competition arena of public speaking.

Dreamers are Deaf

Yes. You read the title right. Dreamers are deaf.

Last night my dad told me that he and mom wanted to talk to me. I immediately knew what it was going to be about. Did I mention that my mom hasn’t been talking to me for almost a month now? And all because I chose to be in real estate instead of practice my nursing career. So I went to my parent’s room. And sure enough it was another round of lecture from mom. Dad was silent for the most part – as he usually is.

“Do you know how hard life in the Philippines is?”

“You went to nursing school for 4 years and after all that WE spent and all your efforts, you are throwing away your nursing career just like THAT?”

“I know a lot of brokers and they just do the business part time. If real estate was so good why have they chosen to stick to their day jobs instead of doing it full time?”

“You do not know what you want. You haven’t even tried living abroad yet. How can you just give it up?”

“You are so selfish. You are only thinking of yourself.”

Ouch. The last one especially hurt. I mean my family is part of the reason why I want to succeed in real estate. I know I should have explained what my reasons were for choosing to give up nursing. I was a toastmaster wasn’t I? I should have used the art of public speaking to elucidate my side of the story. But I didn’t. You know what I did? Shut up. That’s right. I did not say a word. Do you know why? Because I knew that my parents were not ready to listen. And no matter how good a speaker I was, no matter what explanation I gave, they still would not have listened. I could have exhausted all my public speaking skills and that wouldn’t have done me any good. Their hearts and minds were not ready to accept my explanation. Toastmasters know when to speak up or shut up. And at that moment I knew it was better for me to just shut up. It kind of reminded me of a song, that part where the singer sings “You say it best when you say nothing at all.” For all its worth sometimes the most effective form of communication is silence. 

Dreamers are deaf.

 They close their ears to negativity, discouragement and pessimism. They choose not to listen to anything that will cause them to lose heart. Now lest you say I’m such a bad influence to children out there, I am not saying “Don’t listen to your parents.” All I’m saying is stay true to what you want. After all, it is your life. No other person is going to live it but you. Listen carefully, weigh your options and then decide. It’s a good thing I am so stubborn. If I weren’t so stubborn I’d have probably just given up and went back to nursing ages ago.

My mom asked me what assurance I had that I was going to succeed in real estate. In truth? NONE. I’m not a fortune teller (if I was I’d probably be rich now). I can’t possibly predict what the future holds for me. But what I am sure of is that God is for my success. He will never leave me. I am also sure that I love real estate. And I’d rather die than not do what I love (wow, aren’t I melodramatic?).

A lot of people ask me what I would die for. But I always tell them, instead of thinking about that, why not find something to live for?

I live for real estate.

What about you? What do you live for?

You have one life to live. Live it now.

Go live your dreams!

What are you passionate about? What do you burn for? Check out my post I want you to burn…burn for me, baby