Club Contests The Special Events

2. Club Contests The Special Events Helen Carothers and Emily Ahern January 2013 Toastmasters Leadership Institute

3. Agenda • Why Should We Have Club Contests? • The Chair • The Toastmaster • The Chief Judge • The Contestants • Q & A

4. Why should we haveclub contests? • Practice competitive speaking • Speak before larger audiences • Publicity for your club and Toastmasters • Learning experience • Refinement • Opportunities

5. The Chair

6. Choosing A Contest Chair • Biggest responsibility • Professional, organized • Understands contest rules • Experience with Toastmasters contests is an asset but not a requirement

7. Checklist

8. Before the Contest • Read the Speech Contest Rules • Marketing – Notify and invite • Download all contest materials • Draft contest agenda • Timing, sequence, roles, duties • Recruit team

9. Week Before Contest • Confirm all participants • Verify contestant eligibility • Send Contestants Packet to participants • Verify venue including timing equipment • Finalize the agenda • Prepare contest forms, awards, and gifts (include extras) • Final marketing campaign

10. During the Contest • Do not assign yourself an official role. • Assure that all participants are present, prepared, and briefed. • Make sure that recognition and awards are presented in a ceremony that will make recipients proud

11. After the Contest • Make sure you have the name and contact information for the winner and runner-up. • Ensure that the Chief Judge notifies the Area Governor of results. • Plan workshop(s) to assist winners prepare for next level. • Act on feedback. • Provide feedback and recognition to the team.

12. The Toastmaster

13. The Contest Toastmaster • Choosing a Toastmaster • Tips For Your Contest Toastmaster • 3. The Contestant/Target Speaker Interviews

14. Choosing A Contest Toastmaster • Personable, yet professional • Neutral • Consistent, Consistent, Consistent • Time/tenure with Toastmasters is not as important as the other factors

15. Tips For Your Contest Toastmaster • USE NOTECARDS!! • Write phonetic spellings on notecards. • Double check speech titles and write them on notecards. • Respect the minutes of silence.

16. Tips For Your Contest Toastmaster(continued) • Have a few intro and closing remarks prepared. • Punctuality is a priority! • Smile and HAVE FUN!! • Don’t worry about making mistakes.

17. The Contestant/Target Speaker Interviews • Look at contestants’ bio forms ahead of time. • If something is written in all capital letters on bio form, they want you to talk about it. • Channel Jay Leno, not Larry King. • Avoid all religious or political questions, even if the contestant talked about them or write them on the bio form.

18. The Contestant/Target Speaker Interviews • Try to equally balance the number of questions (this can be tricky). • Provide contestants with their certificates of participation after each interview. • If a contestant is double entered, do not interview them after the first contest.

19. The Chief Judge

20. The Role of the Chief Judge • Oversees the SAAs, the ballot counters, the judges, and the timers. The chief judge is in charge of briefing all of these roles before the contests. • Assists the Toastmaster with running the contest in a timely manner. • Oversees and monitors the ballot counting process for accuracy. • Destroys the ballots off-site at the conclusion of the contest. • Provides the contest results to the contest chair.

21. Choosing A Chief Judge • If possible at the club level, choose someone that does not have any deep personal ties to any of the contestants. • You want someone who is completely neutral and will keep judges’ results completely confidential both during and after the contest. • I would pick someone who is very organized. • Someone with more experience/tenure with Toastmasters might be preferred for this role.

22. The Contestants

23. Tips for Contestants • HAVE FUN!!! • Fill out your bio form thoroughly – Help the TM out! • If you are in the International Speech contest and have props, make sure a SAA knows where to properly place them before the beginning of your speech. • If you are competing at any level, you cannot be a judge for another contest. • Ensure your dues payments are up to date with TI.

24. Questions??

25. Toastmasters International Toastmasters.org>Member Experience Speech Contests Speech Contest Materials Toasmasters.org>OfficerResources>Toastmasters Learning Connection>Speech Contest Module D2 website d2tm.org>Resources>Downloads>Contests Toastmasters WIKi Toastmasters.wikia.com and search on club contests Tools/Resources

26. Google Search “Toastmasters club contest how to” Contacts Joyce Nugent, D2 Chief Judge - joyce.a.nugent@q.com Emily Ahern - emilyahern8312@yahoo.com Helen Carothers – hmc_tm@hotmail.com Tools/Resources

27. Google Search “Toastmasters club contest how to” Contacts Joyce Nugent, D2 Chief Judge - Emily Ahern - emilyahern8312@yahoo.com Helen Carothers – hmc_tm@hotmail.com Additional Tools/Resources

28. Plan and prepare Select the best team you can Have fun!!

29. Let The Contests Begin!!