Randburg resident advances in the world’s largest speech contest

Gary Tintinger will represent Southern Africa, known as District 74 in the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking

30 May 2022

On Saturday 28 May, 2022, Gary Tintinger, of Randburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, outshone more than 880 local contestants to win the Southern Africa Toastmasters International Speech Contest. Tintinger secured a spot in the Toastmasters International World Championship of Public Speaking® regional semi finals, to be held virtually in July 2022. 12 Southern African countries participated in this contest, which started at a club level. The competition will culminate in the 2022 World Championship of Public Speaking®, to be held in August 2022, where finalists compete for the World Championship title.

Tintinger, a member of Carpe Diem Breakfast Toastmasters, surpassed fierce competition to win over the judges with his speech, titled “Unbecoming”. The speech touched on the themes of unbecoming to become, self acceptance, and removing labels that others put on us.  When we asked him what set him apart from other contestants, he said, “Experience has taught me that contest speeches are different to most other speeches. In contest speeches though, you need to condense everything you know about public speaking into 7 minutes and 30 seconds; the most important aspect is the message that you are bringing to the audience”

“I have learned so much about myself over the past 5 years in Toastmasters. In my contest speech I talk about looking into the mirror – Toastmasters does that to you – it encourages you to hold up a mirror to your life.  Can anyone say it better than the king of pop? I’m starting with the man in the mirror,” says Tintinger. “I look forward to competing against the other semifinalists and hopefully advancing to the World Championship of Public Speaking finals!” Gary’s is Sales and Marketing Director for Excellerate Services a subsidiary of  Excellerate Property. He joined Toastmasters to become a better speaker and leader at work and in the community. 

The Toastmasters International Speech Contest began in 1938 and is the world’s largest speech contest, involving 30,000 participants from 145 countries. It culminates with the popular World Championship of Public Speaking held annually at the organization’s International Convention.

To interview Gary Tintinger or learn more about the contest or Toastmasters club membership, contact pr@toastmasters74.org or +27 66 234 7806

About Toastmasters Southern Africa (District 74)

Toastmasters Southern Africa (District 74) was established in 1978 to help corporate and community groups in Southern Africa develop public speaking and leadership skills. Toastmasters Southern Africa boasts about 250 branches in Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, including corporates partners such as Nedbank, Old Mutual, Standard Bank, Vodacom, and MultiChoice. To learn more about Toastmasters Southern Africa, please visit www.toastmasters74.org. Follow @TMI74 on Twitter.

About Toastmasters International

Toastmasters International is a worldwide nonprofit educational organization that empowers individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., the organization’s membership exceeds 300 000 in more than 15 000 branches in 149 countries. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators, and leaders. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit www.toastmasters.org. Follow @Toastmasters on Twitter.

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