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!
