Speech Contests
It’s Contest Time! Learn and find eveything you need to compete in, attend, or hold a speech contest.
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Why Contests?
Speech contests are a Toastmasters tradition. Each year, we seek to identify and recognize members with outstanding public speaking skills, and ultimately award the title of “World Champion of Public Speaking” to one among our ranks. Besides being fun, it recognizes excellence, inspires our members, and draws attention to our organization.
How do contests work?
It all begins in the Club. Club contest winners (or nominees) advance to and compete in Area Contests. Area winners advance to Division Contests, and Division winners to the District Contest. District Winners of the International Contest advance to International Levels, for a chance to compete in the World Championship of Public Speaking.
2025 Contest Events
The “International Speech” Contest is held every year. In addition to this, District 33 is holding a Table Topics Speech Contest.
This year the district speech contests will be held in the traditional in-person only format. Each contest is a completely separate event with its own contestants, judges, and so on. All contestants must be a paid member of a club in good standing, and there is an additional eligability requirement for the International Speech.
International Speech
Contestants present a five to seven minute speech on any subject they choose. All districts must conduct this contest.
This is the only event with the eligability requirement that contestants have completed levels 1 and 2 in Pathways, or earned a DTM award.
Table Topics Speech Contest
An impromptu speech, all contestants are assigned the same topic, told to them when they are introduced by the contest chair.
Other Types
These types of contests are not being held in District 33 this year.
Humorous
Contestants present a humorous speech that must be thematic in nature (opening, body, and close), not a monologue (series of one-liners).
Tall Tales
Contestants present a three to five minute speech on a topic that is highly-exaggerated and improbable in theme or plot.
Evaluation
Contestants observe a five-to seven-minute test speech and then present a two-to three-minute evaluation of the test speech.
Online
Contestants present a five- to seven-minute speech on any subject they choose while participating live and online from physically distant locations.
Prior Year Contests
For the record, here are the speech contests held by District 33 in pior years.
Year | Contest | Format / Note | Links |
2025 |
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In Person | |
2024 |
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Hybrid | Results 2024 |
2023 |
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Hybrid | Results 2023 |
2022 |
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Virtual | |
2021 |
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Virtual | |
2020 |
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Virtual | |
2019 |
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2018 |
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2017 Fall |
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Final Fall Conference | |
2017 Spring |
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Note: All contests prior to 2020 were held “In Person”. Beginning in 2018, there was only one speech contest per year; previously there had been a fall contest also, held at the fall conference.