International Speech & Speech Evaluation Competitions 2013
Our last meeting at Tullamore Toastmasters, on Thursday the 28th of March, was the International Speech Competition and the Speech Evaluation Competition. These competitions were held within the club to decide who would go on to represent Tullamore Toastmasters in the next round in Ballymahon on Monday the 15th of April.
The meeting ran smoothly, with the experienced Pat Kilroe as contest chair. Jennifer Dillon, who organised the competition, was also the Topicsmaster, giving the audience things to talk about during the pauses in the competition. John Murphy, the chief judges, ensured that all Toastmasters competition rules were properly adhered to.
To enter the International Speech Competition, you must have previously given five speeches in the club. The order of speakers is chosen by random draw. The three entrants, in speaking order, were Timothy Green with a speech entitled “Stonewall”, Patrick Hynes, club president, with a speech entitled “Golden Slippers”, and Nuala Murtagh-Carton, vice-president membership and a past-president of the club, with a speech entitled “Silence in the Court House”. In the competition, speakers choose their own topics, and these were three very different speeches: one on a 1969 riot in New York which was historically important in the struggle for gay rights; one on the life of a nun, a relative of Patrick’s, who worked tirelessly for the rights of poor and homeless people; and one on the importance of making your voice heard. Nualah Murtagh-Carton won the competition, and will go on to represent Tullamore Toastmasters in the next round, in Ballymahon on Monday the 15th of April.
After a break for coffee, we had the Speech Evaluation Competition. This is open to all members, and one of our contestants, Paul Stephenson, was a new member who has given one speech and had not before given an evaluation. The other contestant was Patrick Hynes, club president. Our test speaker was Tom Murray, who had travelled from Athlone to present a speech entitled “King of the Road”. It was an interesting speech about the history of drug use in competitive cycling, and was quite technical in places, but it was also a speech about the importance of whistleblowers more generally. Paul Stephenson and Patrick Hynes then left the room and were given time to compose their evaluations, Jennifer Dillon keeping the audience engaged with topics the meanwhile, then returned in order, Patrick first, then Paul, to evaluate Tom Murray’s speech. Patrick Hynes won the Speech Evaluation Competition, and will go on to represent Tullamore Toastmasters in the next round, which is held along with the International Speech Competition in Ballymahon on Monday the 15th of April.
Tullamore Toastmasters next meeting is in the Tullamore Court Hotel at 8:30 p.m. sharp, on Thursday the 11th of April. This is a standard meeting, not a competition.
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