Good Start to the Road Show

Tonight marked two big events for me in my Toastmasters career.  At home club, I closed out a year in service as President of AICPA Toastmasters (it's VPE time now!)  But it also marked the start of the Big Road Show on my way to Malaysia.

Wise heads counseled me to present at a variety of clubs, picking up evaluation pointers and improving the speech.  And that was certainly true at a meeting of the venerable Raleigh Toastmasters Club (#843!! can you believe that!) where a crowd of over 25 took in the latest incarnation of Winning a Mother's Heart and provided a round robin evaluation.

Yes, friends, there is much work to do!  From picking up energy in the front minutes to averting the "downward gaze" on long pauses, the Raleigh Toastmasters made some valuable suggestions.  I wasn't terrifically happy with my delivery tonight and while that's water under the dam, I can at least use the jolt to stay focused.  And that needs to happen quickly: I have another engagement tomorrow night.

The sign of a really fine Toastmasters Club is that they dish out good, meaningful evaluations while showering a fellow TM with good will and support.  This club did both in abundance!  I took away a real sense of heartfelt support---for what would otherwise be just another guy in a suit---as I move along.  What a great club!

Maybe they can be my second club?  Worth a thought...

Matching Wits With The Timer

In the International Speech Contest, this thing --- the timer --- is at once friend and foe.  And it is much on my mind as I introduce changes and improvements to my semifinal speech.

In practice, I find that I time long compared with actual presentations.  Just last week I was stunned to find a 7-9 minute speech that timed consistently at 8:30 at home clocked out at 7:01 for real.  And I still shudder at the memory of not seeing the yellow light come on in the district contest until I reached the last word.

This is something I will be addressing with my coach later this summer.  Is my delivery pace---in front of humans---a bit too fast?  Should I be worried that I crash into disqualification at 7:30, as my practice times suggest, or that the green light will be my only color?

These are the things we obsess about in Toastmasters speaking.

The Draw for Round Eight

Some weeks ago I acquired a list of the champions for all districts in this year's International Speech contest, thanks to Naomi Takeuchi, our immediate past District Governor.  That, and a little data dogging on the TM International site for the randomly selected district order finally give me some perspective on the other ten contestants I face in the eighth semifinal round on August 21st.  They are:

District 11 (Indianapolis and Louisville), Jeanine Herold
District 17 (Perth - Australia), Peter Law
District 34 (Mexico), Claudia Cano
District 47 (Miami), Davario Rahming
District 56 (Houston), Kelly Sargeant
District 60 (Toronto), Stephen Grant
District 62 (Jackson and Kalamazoo), Fred Johnson
District 66 (Richmond), Gregory Porter
District 70 (Sydney - Australia), David Griffiths
District 83 (Newark), Kevin Moulton

I'm looking forward to meeting these fine speakers and to having a friendly competition!

A Challenge For Me and Miss North Carolina

Our local newspaper's Thursday edition carried a feature story on one Beth Stovall, recently crowned Miss North Carolina, noting that the young lady was vying to be the second-ever Miss America from the Old North State and that her one predecessor was crowned way back in 1962.  I delight in the irony that Ms. Stovall and I have a similar quest, because Toastmasters records that only one North Carolinian has won the crown of World Champion of Public Speaking (one Larry Beitel, in 1963).  Can Beth Stovall and I end this long historical drought?  All I can say is that her odds are better (1 in 53 compared to my 1 in 92)!  Go North Carolina!

Taking Stock at D Minus 53

Just this past week I passed the halfway point in time between the quarterfinal contest here in District 37 and the semifinal to come.  "It's all downhill from here" sounds terribly wrong to me because there is so much yet to do and I'm worried that I have wasted too many days.

But I have not been idle.  In the last seven weeks I have worked on revisions to my speech, set up appointments (nine of them so far) to speak before other clubs, made hotel reservations, visited Passport Health, arranged for some coaching, asked for advice from last year's district champion, written the required finalist speech, and ... other things.  And my beloved Jennifer has been a huge contributor by getting our flights in order keeping a massive binder to itemize everything needing doing.  So perhaps I can call May and June the months of getting our hands around the challenge and rest content that we used time to good effect.

But it gets harder.  I would be a fool to think otherwise.  Doubts rage.  I am struggling to craft a semifinal speech that is worthy of the stage in KL.  I am also wrestling with all of the advice and coaching and suggestions given me (some of which are contradictory).  And I am trying hard to persuade myself that I have come so far because I worked hard.  

At the end of the day, all I can do now is stick to the knitting and do the best I can with the time available.  Tomorrow I do my first club visit and test the revisions before a tough audience.  And this week I should be able to book a first session with my coach.  And I need more practice!

I think I am doing it right.