Why should I compete in Toastmasters' International Speech Contest?
In this unscripted and unrehearsed speech, Mark Whitney explains the many universal benefits of becoming a competitive public speaker, while challenging the entire concept of "Best Speaker."
BIO
Mark Whitney, is an entrepreneur, stand-up comic, master storyteller, and President of Toastmasters’ HiFi Speakers’ Communication & Leadership Academy in San Diego, CA (Carmel Valley, 92130). He is also the recipient of best solo performer prizes of the Boulder International Theatre Festival, the D.C. Theatre Festival, the Minnesota Theatre Festival, the Iowa Theatre Festival, and the San Francisco Comedy Convention for standup comedy. He has studied with Kurtis Matthews at the San Francisco Comedy College and Stephen Rosenfeld at the American Comedy Institute in New York. From 2015-2019, Mark created, wrote, hosted and produced Late Nite Last Week, the #1 political satire podcast in the world.
TRANSCRIPT
The title of my speech is inspired by the fact that in two weeks, we’re going to have a speaking contest—a competitive speaking contest—here in our club. And I’d like to encourage everybody here to strongly consider competing in this contest. Why?
The first answer to that is, I don’t know. Because having a competitive speaking contest, on its face, is really a stupid thing to do. Because there is no such thing as “best speaker.” If I’ve learned anything from doing theater festivals and being rated and reviewed by theatre critics and audience members alike, it is that every single member of the audience experiences what you say differently. They each experience it through their own life experience. They hear things as significant that are completely insignificant to you. When you step into this arena and bring your best five to seven minutes, you will feel something. The audience will feel something. And the thing you will feel—the thing anybody who does this will feel—is humility. You will be humbled. And the more you serve your audience, the more the audience will serve you. A speech is a transaction, but it’s also a relationship that lasts for a defined period of time.
So the title is “Competitive Speaking.” I talked about the speaking part, but I also want to talk about the word “competitive.” The root word of “competitive” is “compete.” Life is competitive. We are constantly in a battle to communicate clearly—in things small and large.
That is the universal reason to take advantage of this opportunity. At the beginning of the meeting, I asked you three questions: Who am I? Where am I? What do I want? Now, your answers are for you to know, but I’ll share mine. Who am I? I am the Joker. I had this suit made in Joker purple just for me. The collar is Joker green. On the inside, I have monogrammed my trademark slogan: “Keep banging.” I am the Joker—not a criminal, but definitely a gangster.
Where am I? I’m in mid-autumn. When I was 25, I was in the advertising business. I remember deciding that I had just finished the spring of my life, and that life comes in four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, winter. Summer starts at age 25 and goes to age 50. Fall starts at age 50 and goes to age 75. So I’m about halfway through fall. And at 75, winter starts—and we all hope for a long winter. What do I want? That answer is always the easiest for me. I want the same thing I need—and that’s an audience.
You can’t do this without an audience. And you can’t be effective with the audiences in your life—audiences large and small—unless you achieve some sort of mastery in communication, in human communication. Just think: everyone here has had college professors, right? Think about all the professors you had and the ones who fell short. I’d define the ones who fell short as the ones you’d never call “standing room only.” You’d never fight to get into that class. The great professors—the ones you’d never miss—had made it their lot in life to be such effective communicators that every time they took the podium, it was an event. And there was no way you were missing that. There are only a handful like that on any campus.
Think about all the speaker types who step behind lecterns—ministers, corporate leaders, politicians, trial lawyers, people pitching investors for a million dollars—and how many of them fall short. Why? Because they didn’t take advantage of the speech contest. That’s why they fall short.
I spent years taking advantage of every single speech contest. I joined multiple clubs so if I didn’t win in one, I could in another, and get to the next division. I did everything I could because the audiences were provided for me—and that’s the hardest part: finding an audience that’s provided, that you don’t have to work for. If you think of it that way, the speech part is easy.
We have a lot of literal founders in this club. I mean, Jonathan has talked about what he’s working on. Saori, Paris—all the new members—are working on things in addition to their careers. Le Ann is a founder. I am a founder. These are literal founders. When you create a speech, you are the founder of that speech. It is yours. And that audience is there for you to use.
The more you put that audience at the forefront, the more you will get back—the more you will learn, the more you will feel, the more you will grow—to the point that there is no room too large for you, no environment that intimidates you. You can walk into any setting, to any audience, with a minimum of preparation, and own that room. And there are just damn few people who can do that.
These are the reasons, directly and indirectly, to strongly consider giving your best five to seven minutes two weeks from now—not so you can win, but so that you can learn. Ricky.