Area-level Toastmasters’ humorous speech contest time, date, and location announced

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m competing in the area level of the Toastmasters’ humorous speech contest.

The contest will occur from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. September 14 at 1850 I St. NW, Room 1-200, Washington, DC. Feel free to attend. (I need to begin rehearsing my speech; I haven’t given it any thought since the club-level contest a month ago and I never wrote down any of it.)

In addition to the humorous speeches, there also will be a Table Topics contest, where each competitor has to give an impromptu one- to two-minute talk about a subject just given to him or her.

I try to give a prepared speech at every Toastmasters meeting, so I don’t have much experience with the Table Topics, but being able to speak about a topic you’ve just been given is an impressive skill. After I earn my Competent Communicator certification, I probably will focus on Table Topics.

Improving the spoken word

A client recently asked me if I critiqued people’s English when they spoke. While that’s the case with everything I read (which is probably why I get all of my news from The Economist and The New Yorker—they are well written and rarely have a distracting grammatical mistake), when listening I tend to only pick-up horrific gaffes.

Maybe my ears aren’t as critical as my eyes is because my speaking skills lag behind my writing and editing abilities.

I often talk like I write: I start a sentence, think of a better beginning mid-stream, and then start the sentence over. Hence listeners sometimes hear 1.5 sentences—and a confused look.

To rectify this problem, I joined the Global Links chapter of Toastmasters. It meets semi-monthly at the World Bank headquarters. My first speech is at the next meeting (a four to six minute bio sketch), although last week I gave the “word of the day” (one of my favorites, behoove).

The club is a mix of new and old members, some of who are not native English speakers–it’s impressive to hear them deliver a speech. Many of the members work in the development field as well, but there is a good mix of careers.

If you’re looking to hone your speaking skills, I’d suggest joining a club in your area.