On Saturday, 12 March 2016 the Area I 4 International Speech and Evaluation Contests were held in Nuremberg, bringing together Toastmasters from the various clubs in the region, who all presented outstanding speeches.
Congratulations to everyone who competed. Here are our 1st Place Winners:
Morag Mathieson, DTM (Erlangen Toastmasters) – English Evaluation Contest
Dorleta Gonzalez, DTM (Erlangen Toastmasters) – English International Speech Contest
Eric Tittel (Noris Toastmasters) – German Evaluation Contest
Marc Schuck, CC (Nuremberg Toastmasters) – German Speech Contest
Pictured (l-r) Marc Schuck, CC – German Speech Contest, Morag Mathieson, DTM – English Evaluation Contest, Eric Tittel – German Evaluation Contest and Dorleta Gonzalez, DTM – English International Speech Contest.
Other Nuremberg Toastmaster members who competed at the Area I 4 Speech Contest include Luis Jose Francisco Pichardo, CC, and Peter Bird, CC in the International Speech Contest and Alexandra Manger, ACB, ALB, in the English Evaluation Contest.
The winners will now represent Area I 4 in the Division I Spring Conference in Ulm on Saturday, 23 April 2016. If you wish to attend and support your fellow Toastmasters, you can find more details here.
Area I 4 consists of Toastmasters from Nuremberg Toastmasters, Noris Toastmasters, Erlangen Toastmasters and Nürnberg Rhetoriker.
The Area I 4 contest started with a quick session on providing effective evaluations. We discussed that the speaker as well as the evaluator are both learning, and that the speaker should not take evaluations to heart, but should instead focus on the actual process of giving a speech. Hence the speaker should make use of the feedback to create a better speech and to remain motivated for the next speech.
To get the first contest under way, we listened to a 5-7min test speech, which took us on a journey through the eyes of a guest worker, who arrived in Germany from a small town in Italy. All our evaluators provided valuable feedback and the speaker took away some great tips for her next speech.
We then had the German Evaluation Contest, German Speech Contest and the International Speech Contest. Contestants all gave fantastic speeches, which captivated the audience with their stories. There were interesting lesson to be learnt also, such as to embrace technology, but don’t let it take over your life.
Thank you to all Toastmasters who covered functionary roles such as judges, timers, ballot counters, sergeant at arms. You all did an amazing job and the contest flowed smoothly with your help and support.
If you would like to know more about the International Speech & Evaluation Contests, Toastmasters International or what Nuremberg Toastmasters can offer you, we would be glad to welcome you to our next meeting. Please send a short email letting us know to our Vice President Membership – Alexander Theile.
Come along as a guest anytime and experience Toastmasters!
We look forward to your visit.