Contestant Guide: Your Speech.
Your Stage.
Thinking about competing? Here's how to get ready, which forms to fill out, and whether you qualify.
Before contest night
Getting Ready
There's no secret formula for a contest speech. The same skills you practice every Thursday (structure, delivery, storytelling, vocal variety) are what win contests. The difference is polish. A contest speech gets more rehearsal, more feedback, and more refinement than a regular meeting speech.
Start early. Six weeks before the contest is when the Contest Chair will reach out to you. Use that time. Write your speech, practice it in front of your mentor or a friend, time yourself, and adjust. Then do it again.
Test your speech at other clubs.
Gilbert isn't the only place to rehearse. Many Toastmasters clubs in the valley would love to have a guest speaker, and a new room is the best test you can get: a fresh audience, new evaluators, and none of the comfort of home. To find out which clubs are looking for speakers, ask a member who is involved with the District, like an Area Director.
The practical side
What You Need to Know
Forms
Before the contest, you'll need to fill out two forms:
- The Speaker's Certification of Eligibility and Originality
- The Speech Contestant Profile
The Contest Chair will send you both. You can fill them out at home or at the meeting before the contest. Either way, arrive early on contest night.
Fill out your profile with care. The Contest Chair may use it to interview you while the ballots are counted, so pick a quote and achievements you're happy to talk about, and be ready to say more about them.
Use It for Pathways
A contest speech can count as a Pathways project. Some projects are a natural fit: Vocal Variety, Inspire Your Audience, and similar projects align well with contest speeches.
Talk to the VPE before the contest to figure out which project matches your speech. You'll still need a written and oral evaluation from a Toastmaster to complete the project.
Eligibility
For our own practice contests, any member in good standing can compete.
For the official January contests, eligibility depends on the contest type. The International Speech Contest requires completion of Levels 1 and 2 in any Pathways path. Other contests have no education requirement, just paid membership in good standing.
If you serve the district in any role, or you're running for a district office, check the current Speech Contest Rulebook before you sign up. Some district roles and candidacies rule you out of the official contests, and the rules change from year to year.
If you're not sure whether you qualify, ask the VPE.
Avoid disqualification
Rules That Can Disqualify You
Time is checked for every speech, so nobody has to raise it. The others are grounds for a protest, which only a voting judge or another contestant can make.
Too many quotes
Your speech must be substantially original. No more than 25% of it can be quoted or paraphrased from other sources. We once saw a Humorous contestant disqualified for a bit built on Siri: they asked it questions it couldn't answer, and its replies made up more than 25% of the speech. If the words aren't yours, they count toward the limit, even when the speaker is a phone.
Uncredited sources
Any material you quote or reference must be explicitly identified during the speech, out loud. Failing to attribute a source can trigger an originality protest.
Mentioning another contestant
Don't refer to another contestant or their speech. Talk about your own material only.
Over or under time
You're disqualified if your speech runs more than 30 seconds under the minimum or more than 30 seconds over the maximum. For a 5-to-7-minute speech, that means under 4:30 or over 7:30. Your time is the average of the two timers' records, and the clock starts with your first word or gesture.
Not eligible
You can be protested if you don't meet the membership or education requirements, or if your district role rules you out. An Area Director can't compete in the same year, for example. Read Eligibility above, and ask the VPE before you sign up if you're not sure.
If a protest is raised, the Chief Judge and the judges review it with you, and you get the chance to respond before any decision is made. How protests work.
What to expect
Contest Night
- 1
Before 7:00 PM
Arrive early for the contestant briefing.
Bring your forms if you haven't sent them yet. The Contest Chair briefs all the contestants together and walks you through:
- The speaking order: drawn at random in front of you, with playing cards or something similar
- The timing signals: where the timer sits and what each signal means
- The microphone: how it works and whether you can move with it
- The stage area: where to stand and how much room you have
Ask anything you're unsure about. That's what the briefing is for.
- 2
During the contest
You speak, the judges score.
The Contest Chair introduces each contestant. Between speeches, the judges take a moment to record their scores. After the last speech, the room stays silent until every judge has finished their ballot.
- 3
While ballots are counted
Get ready for an interview.
At Gilbert, the Contest Chair usually interviews the contestants while the ballots are counted, using your Speech Contestant Profile for ideas. Expect questions about your achievements, your favorite quote, or what inspires you. It's a chance to shine beyond your speech.
- 4
When results are ready
The winners are announced.
First and second place get an award, and every contestant receives a certificate of participation.
Competing in Table Topics?
Before the question is read, the Sergeant-at-Arms takes every contestant except the first out of the room, somewhere you can’t hear. You come back in one at a time, in speaking order, and everyone answers the same question. Once you’ve spoken, you stay in the room and watch the rest.
Competing in Evaluation?
The test speaker gives their speech first, and you can take notes while you listen. Then the Sergeant-at-Arms takes all the contestants out of the room, where you get five minutes to finish your notes. You come back in one at a time, in speaking order, to give your evaluation.
Afterwards
Win or Not, You Come Out Ahead
If you win
You represent Gilbert at the Area contest. The Contest Chair sends the results to the Area Director, and the club comes to cheer you on. See what happens after the club contest.
Placed second or third? Stay ready. If the winner can't make it to the Area contest, you may be asked to step in.
If you don't
You still walk away with a polished speech, a certificate, and, if you planned it with the VPE, a completed Pathways project. And there's another contest next season.
Not ready to compete yet? Help run the contest instead.