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It’s Contest Season!

From Our Members

Happy New Year!

 

By:          David Gosnell, DTM

Hard to believe, but we’re already a month into this new Toastmasters year! And that means we are already deep into Speech Contest season.

District 48 clubs have from July 1 through August 31, 2020 to conduct their speech contests. This fall’s contests are Humorous Speech and Table Topics. And to add a degree of difficulty, all Toastmasters speech contests are being held online for the foreseeable future.

If you haven’t already begun planning your club contest, the time to begin is now!

Do you need help planning your contest? Is there an issue you just can’t seem to resolve? Are you wondering how to pull off an online contest?

If these or other contest issues trouble you, here are some resources just for District 48 contest leaders:

  • We held a session titled “How to Have the Best Speech Contest Ever!” during the recent TLI training. The focus was on enlisting leaders, planning your contest, and the highlights of holding an online contest. There are some documents from that session, on the District 48 website, under Resources/Downloads.
  • On Tuesday, August 4, 7:30-8:30pm, join the webinar “How to Leverage Zoom for a Successful Contest”. Mike Giglio, David Gosnell, and Christine Muren will go deep into the details of this past spring’s District 48 International Speech Contest. You will get a behind-the-scenes look at the options we had and the choices we made. It’s a must-see webinar if you are a Contest Chair this fall! Sign up HERE.
  • Your Division Director is currently enlisting a Contest Support Team (CST) for your division. These are experienced contest experts who can help you however you need. Contact your Division Director to get some help sent your way!
  • I am building a District Contest Resource Team (DCRT) to assist anyone in District 48. Just let us know what help you need, and this team will make sure you get it. (Christine, Mike and I currently make up that team, and we’re looking for contest experts in Divisions A, C, D, and E. Interested? Contact me at [email protected].)

Happy New Year, and Happy Contest Season!

David Gosnell, DTM, is District 48 Chief Judge and President of Stirling Toastmasters.

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