Local Toastmasters Club Kicks Off 2011 International Speech Contest

Feb. 13, 2011 - PRLog -- On February 24, Vista Toastmasters Southwest Orlando joins more than 12,500 Toastmasters clubs from around the world participating in the world’s largest speech contest this month - the 2011 Toastmasters International Speech Contest. The contest will be held at the Southwest Library at 7:00 PM and is free and open to the public.

More than 30,000 presenters in 113 countries vie to become the next World Champion of Public Speaking. “Speech contests are a unique and exciting part of the Toastmasters program,” says Pat Johnson, Toastmasters 2010-2011 International President. “These competitions challenge members to push beyond their clubs and fine-tune their skills. In a club, members are evaluated; in a contest, members are judged.”

The International Speech Contest begins at the local club level and proceeds through the area, division, district and final levels. Eighty-two district semifinalists compete during the four-day 2011 Toastmasters International Convention held Aug. 17-20, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Nine contenders make it to the final round on Aug. 20, where the winner is crowned the Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking.

Larry Alario, Metrowest resident and Vista Toastmasters’ 2010 speech contest winner, had the distinction of advancing through four levels to the semi-finals last year.

To enter the contest, a person must be an active member of Toastmasters International and have completed at least six speeches from Toastmasters’ Competent Communication manual, the first manual in the Toastmasters communication program. All participant speeches must be original, presented in English and last five to seven minutes. Judging criteria include originality, speech content, organization, voice quality, gestures and timing.

See interviews with Toastmasters 2010 World Champion of Public Speaking, David Henderson, along with highlights of the past winning speeches on Toastmasters’ YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/Toastmasters.

Additional details about the Toastmasters International Speech Contest and 2011 Convention will be announced in early April. District winners will be announced in early August and posted on the Toastmasters Web site. For more information about Toastmasters International contests, please visit toastmasters.org/contest.

Vista Toastmasters Southwest Orlando meets every Thursday at Southwest Library at 7:00 PM. For more information, please visit http://www.vistatoastmasters.com or find them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/VistaToastmasters7250.

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Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. The organization currently has 260,000 members in over 12,500 clubs in 113 countries. Since its founding 87 years ago in October 1924, the organization has helped more than four million men and women give presentations with poise and confidence. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit http://www.toastmastersd84.org.