Top speakers from Toastmasters International clubs throughout East Anglia competed for the titles of best speaker, and best evaluator, at the Division G Spring Conference at Great Barton Village Hall, Bury St Edmunds, on 20th April 2024. The winners go forward to the District 71 England, Scotland and Ireland conference at Portlaoise, Ireland, on 10th – 12th May.
Winner of the International Speech Contest was Julian Hammond from the Articulate Speakers Club, Dereham, Norfolk, with a speech entitled You’re Welcome, a very well-crafted talk on gratitude, not for what you’ve received, but for what you can give.
In second place was Kalpana Ramesh from Chelmsford Speakers Club, who recalled her guilt at not helping her father enough but encouraged us to ace that guilt and move on. Third-placed speaker was Henrijs Bekmanis, also from Chelmsford Speakers’ Club, exhorting us to become the best version of ourselves.
In the evaluation contest, entrants assessed a short speech movingly delivered by Noah Cobb from Brandon Speakers Club, Suffolk. The winner was Callum Gillett from Chelmsford Speakers Club, second was Seth Rowden from Norwich Speakers Club, and third was Stuart Watson, also from Chelmsford Speakers Club.
Julie Kenny, Division G Director and member of Ipswich Electrifiers Speakers Club, said, “The standard was incredibly high, and although the judges had clear criteria against which to assess each speaker, it was a very close-run contest.
We are so proud of all our speakers and evaluators, and I look forward to seeing them compete in the next level of the Toastmasters International contest for the best speaker in the world!”
Teresa Dukes from the Speak Easy club at Martlesham, Suffolk, who was Toastmasters International’s International Director from 2015-2017, gave a workshop on storytelling skills, sharing six steps to being more memorable.
Toastmasters International is a worldwide network of public speaking clubs, founded on 22nd October 1924 in California. The newest club in East Anglia is West Suffolk Toastmasters, meeting on alternate Tuesdays at 7pm at Thurston New Green Community Centre. First-timers, as well as practised speakers, are welcome to join and hone their skills.
Last Updated on April 24, 2024