Challenging The Contestants and Judges - who can challenge?

I have sat in a contest and listened to a so-called Prepared Speech given by a contestant which was based on a humorous story (in the humorous speech contest) which was basically an elaboration of a joke going around, but told as if it had happened to the speaker and a girl he met on the internet for a blind date.

In a contest organised by Toastmasters International clubs worldwide the Prepared Speech must be substantially original, although you can use up to 25% of quoted material provided you attribute it to the source and do not pass it off as your own. So, for example, you could not pretend that Martin Luther King's speech I Have A Dream or any speech by a well known speaker such as Anthony Robbins was your own material. However, you could give a speech quoting them and showing how they had influenced your life or were still as relevant today to todays audience as the time you had first heard them.

The only people allowed to challenge the originality are other (peeved!) contestants or the judges (supposed to be judging the content as well as the performance). However, you are mainly judging performance, not contest, even if you do not agree with what was said. Download the judging form or read it on line. You can see that marks are given for structure, gesture, use of stage and so on.  Right at the end is a mark for use of voice, correct pronunciation and grammar. So if two speakers give equally good speeches, but one is full of mispronunciations, oddly contracted sentences, and ambiguities, or jargon or local dialects, that speaker loses a vital point which could tip the balance.

As a judge I have often found it hard to distinguish and choose between a well written speech badly performed and a badly written speech well performed. But it is not a speech-writing contest, but a test of speaking, not writing.

Supposing I run a club and I'm looking for an after dinner speaker. Who would I choose? I'd probably choose the better speaker, and ask him to ensure that the content was original and relevant to my audience, rather than trying to persuade the speaker that the contest was lovely but please be more animated.

A recent contestant in the impromptu speech contest gave an amusing speech about how irrelevant performance was in every day life, because you would not use exaggerated gestures to somebody you met at the MRT (Singapore's mostly underground tube train).

Angela Lansbury, writer and speaker, member of HOD and Harrovians speakers clubs in London, England.

Checklist for speakers, training, contests and other meetings

We just had a setback to a an area training meeting. Only three days before the training we discovered the person who normally books the venue where we meet had not booked it. He now said that the venue had been booked by another group. Other choices included a church hall which would be occupied with religious ceremonies on a Sunday. Other committee members said they had no time and it wasn't their problem.

The President was cross, conceded that the buck stopped with him, but he was out all next day (Friday) and had to find somebody else to fix the problem. You either delegate down or up. So he texted up to the Area Governor.

How can you prevent this sort of disaster happening?

I think the only way is to send around a checklist to every person involved station what you are expecting them to do and asking them to confirm by email that they have successfully decided, done or planned to do tasks including:

1 Book venue.
From time you need to set up until time you have packed up.

2 Arrange catering.
Inform attendees about catering lack or catering and restrictions. (Tea and biscuits provided. Free sandwiches / cake/ fruit provided before, at interval, at end. Please eat first. Please bring sandwiches (any kind - or any restrictions eg no meat in Hindu/vegetarian venue). Please bring drinks/ water. Or no drinks allowed.

3 Organise Props and stationery:
Flip charts, projection, extension leads, computers, thumb drives, banners, certificates, agendas, voting forms, badges. Lecterns.

4 Reminders and directions.
Send participants reminders of date, time place and directions. Google maps. Club website.

Organise key holder and those setting up room.

Contacts
1 List phone numbers of contacts of property owner (in case you reach venue and find it is locked);
2 Tell everybody the phone of the trouble shooting contact: club president, or SAA, or VPE, key holder, whoever is required to be first on the scene.
Tell everybody the contact before and during meeting who has a phone on silent vibrate to help anybody lost en route, near the building, outside, or inside looking for the room.

Angela Lansbury, speaker, photo journalist and author.