The Division Contest

Before the division contest, I practiced my heart out.  I loved this speech, because there was so much of me in it.  In fact, the speech was “Me”.  That’s the reason I made it through the area contest and into the Division A contest.
 
Despite knowing it so well, I practiced the speech ten times a [...]

The Result and the Lesson

It seemed like an eternity, but the end of the contest came and it was now time to find out how I did.  I loved this speech and I felt really good about how I performed, so even though my very experienced fellow contestant had turned in an almost effortless performance, I felt really good [...]

Any Given Sunday …

The woman I was competing against for the 2007 Area 13 International Speech Championship was a professional speaker who had been in Toastmasters for over 25 years.  You just can’t get any more polished then that.
 I became a little intimidated.  Then I thought to myself, “Well, let’s just have fun.  I love this speech, so [...]

Starting the 2007 Season

The 2007 Contest season was about to start and I had been waiting for it for eleven months.  I had the speech I wanted to do ready and was feeling really good about it.
 
 Soon after my first competitions, I realized an important thing about a contest speech.  A good story can get you far, but [...]

The First Area Contest

It was a March morning when I arrived at Wyomissing Library.  After I had arrived, I found there would only be two competitors.  Brian and me.  Apparently, no one else wanted to or could compete in the area contest that year.
 
This was my first Toastmasters meeting at this level, so I had the chance to [...]

Thoughts on the 2008 International Championship of Public Speaking

Before I Get on with my competition story I wanted to pause for a moment and recognize Katherine Morrison for placing third in the International Speech Contest.
 
I made it to the Region 7 contest where I didn’t even place.  It was clear that I was way out of my league on the Regional stage … [...]