LET THE CONTEST SEASON BEGIN by ARJUN SUNDAR RAJ, DTM
Speech Analysis Workshop (SAW)
LET THE CONTEST SEASON BEGIN by ARJUN SUNDAR RAJ, DTM (Contest Coordinator, PQD Extended Team, District 121)
And… Let the contest season begin…
Contests! In Toastmasters, the word contest gives a completely different feel, doesn’t it? – The thrill in preparing a speech, the joy in organizing a contest, the importance of selecting the right winner and even the wait before the announcement of results – all of these make each person involved, be in the contestant, contest official and the audience feel different emotions at the same time. With District 121’s decision of organizing two contests viz., International Speech Contest and the Tall Tales Contest, this year, our Contest Management team, comprising of the Program Quality Director Vanitha Rangarajan, DTM, the Chief Judge Girish Nagpal, DTM and me, the Contest Coordinator, wanted to tap on these emotions to make the contest experience for our members very special.
After several hours of discussions, a module was prepared to Sharpen the SAW, comprising of four 90 to 120-minute Speech Analysis Workshops (SAW) and a half day Contest Management training and Judges’ Training program. To educate, entertain and enable our members prepare for the upcoming contest season, a lot of research was done in order to bring in experts in the field. We got in touch with world class speakers and trainers to invite them to conduct sessions for our members. Once we finalized the speakers, individual sync up calls were set up with each trainer.
Two World Champions namely 2009 WCPS Mark Hunter, DTM and 2013 WCPS TM Pres Vasilev were invited to understand the nuts and bolts of the International Speech Contest, judging ballot and the art of compelling storytelling. They helped our members understand the nuances of public speaking by analyzing various aspects of the International Speech Contest ballot and how each criterion must be looked into while preparing for the International Speech Contest. The storytelling session helped us understand the different parts of a story and realize that anyone can become a story writer and teller if one follows the formula!
Past District 82 Governor and current Chief Judge, Zameen M Saleem, DTM was invited to explain the true art of judging without judging. Judging in a Toastmasters speech contest is a very important responsibility. As a judge, it is not just important for one to understand the rules but also important to understand the ballot and judge skillfully without any bias. This session just hit the nail in the head and helped members to know what it takes to be a good judge.
With District 121 introducing the Tall Tales contest this year, the importance of educating members regarding the Tall Tales was all the more important. For this reason, we invited the District 21 Champion in Tall Tales Contest, Stefano Cossalter, DTM and District 120 Public Relations Manager Jayan Narayanan, DTM for educating the members about the what and the why of Tall Tales Speech. To breakdown the judging ballot we had our own Past District 92 Governor, Ramesh T Krishnamurthy, DTM. 
As a finale to the entire series, we had the Contest Management Training conducted by me and the Judges Training Program conducted by Girish Nagpal, DTM. The Contest Management Training detailed about the various roles and responsibilities of the contest management team at club, area, division and district level contests. With Toastmasters International’s directive on conducting all speech contests online, this session helped members understand everything about managing online contests. The Judges Training Program explained about the different rules as per Toastmasters International Speech Contest Rulebook, different changes from the previous version and the process of judging. Different scenarios and case studies also helped in greater understanding of the role of a Chief Judge.
Does that really mean the contest management training is over? Well, not really! Contest management and Judging is a process. To understand the process better, we have prepared checklists for every contest official and have planned to extend maximum support to our members and help them plan and organize contests at each level to ensure that top quality contests. For queries, please write to d121.pqdo+contest@gmail.com.
District 121, Let the contest season begin…
