The thought of public speaking petrified me, so I wanted to change that. I bought some books on public speaking but did not see a marked improvement. My wife encouraged me to attend a Toastmasters meeting. I have never looked back since. Toastmasters gave me an opportunity to speak about things close to my heart that I did not always get to voice out.
My core message was that to create a deep bond with someone you need to be there for them when they are emotionally upset. This involves validating their feelings and being empathetic with them. I chose this theme after listening to my church mentor pray about his kids and refer to The Happy Child app. I downloaded the app and was impressed and so inspired by what I learnt that I wanted to share about it with others.
I have learnt that competitive speaking really motivates you to bring your “A’ game in the public speaking arena. I feel I have improved in my public speaking so much by just competing. In addition, there is a lot to gain in refining a speech repeatedly. This is because you get to focus on finer elements of your speech delivery after practising a speech several times.
Competing in the District 74 Speech contest and doing well in the contest was my personal goal when l entered the speech contest.
I encourage readers to participate in speech contests when they have the opportunity. You grow because you speak to a different audience from your club members and you also learn from other contestants. In addition, speak on topics you are passionate about.