Contest Script for Tall Tales and
Humorous Speech Virtual Area Contest Updated Fall 2021 Qualitycontest@d50tm.org
Table of Contents
Contestant # 5 (Or Last Contestant)
Contestant # 5 (Or Last Contestant)
Contestant # 5 (Or Last Contestant)
DECLARING WINNERS & ADJOURN CONTEST
AREA DIRECTOR
Call Meeting to
Order
Introduce Contest
Chair (Educational
Level & Name) ____________________________________
CONTEST CHAIR
PowerPoint Slide 1-2:
Welcome
the audience
Recite
the Pledge of Allegiance.
Call designee to Deliver Inspiration if
your program calls for it. Keep it under 3 minutes.
PowerPoint Slide 3:
“All
District 50 dignitaries, please stand. We would now like to recognize all the
dignitaries for their service to Toastmasters and to District 50”.
PowerPoint Slide 4-5:
Review the agenda.
Stop Screen share.
Introduce
the Contest Master (Educational
Level & Name) _______________________________________
CONTEST
MASTER
Deliver Opening Remarks.
Keep it brief but make it fun!
Please do not exceed 5
minutes. Remember the focus of a contest is on the Contestants.
CONTEST MASTER
(Announce)
“Speech contests
are an important part of the Toastmasters educational program.”
“Speech contests
provide an opportunity for speakers to gain contest experience, and to
recognize the best speakers as an encouragement to everyone.”
“Contests
also provide an opportunity to learn by observing the more proficient speakers
who have benefited from their Toastmasters training.”
“We will have
two contests: The Tall Tales and Humorous Speech Contests for
Area
“Please
give your full attention to the contestants while they are speaking. There will
be a minute of silence between each speaker to allow the judges to mark their
ballots, AND indefinite silence after all speakers to allow the judges to tally
their ballots and then both the ballot counters and Chief Judge to move to the
breakout room.”
“At this time,
please check that your microphone is on mute, cell phones or other electronic
noisemakers are turned off or to silent, so that they will not distract the
speakers.
Please refrain
from Zoom chatting, texting or status updating in any form during the contests.
“Recording
is not permitted without the prior written permission of the contestants.
Further, please do not create screenshot photos or audio recordings of any
presentation today or post them on any Social Media platform without obtaining
the speaker’s permission.”
“Ladies and Gentlemen please welcome our Chief
Judge for today’s contest:”
Introduce the Chief Judge (Educational Level & Name)
____________________________
“Mr.
/Madam Chief Judge, have all the contestants, helpers and judges been briefed
about this contest’s rules?”
CHIEF JUDGE
Chief
Judge will say:
“Yes,
Mr./Madam Contest Master. Let the Contest begin!”
CONTEST
MASTER
“We will now begin our Tall Tales
Contest.
“The
speaking order for the Tall Tales Contest is:
(Pronounce Names Clearly and Repeat.
Confirm if it needs to be repeated again)
|
Contestant
No.1 |
|
|
Contestant
No.2 |
|
|
Contestant
No.3 |
|
|
Contestant
No.4 |
|
|
Contestant
No.5 |
|
“Sr
Sergeant-at-Arms, please confirm after all attendees have been muted and videos
turned off with the exception of Contestant #1 and the Primary Timer. I will
turn off my own audio and video after announcing the contestant”.
Wait for confirmation from Sr
SAA.
“Contestant #1, please
let me know when you are ready.” Wait for answer.
“Thank
you.”
SMILE and
announce the contestant.
Contestant name
Speech Title
Speech
Title
Contestant
name
Mute your sound and turn off
your visual.
When
contestant’s speech is done, turn your visual back on, unmute your microphone
and say:
“We will now
have one minute of silence for the judges to mark their ballots. Timer, please
time 1 minute. Contestant #2, please turn on your video, unmute yourself and
wait for my prompt”.
After
timer confirms that one minute is over,
“Contestant #2, please
let me know when you are ready.” Wait for answer.
“Thank
you.”
SMILE and announce
the contestant.
Contestant
name
Speech
Title
Speech
Title
Contestant
name
Mute your sound and turn off your visual.
When
contestant’s speech is done, turn your visual back on, unmute your microphone
and say:
“We will now
have one minute of silence for the judges to mark their ballots. Timer, please
time 1 minute. Contestant #3, please turn on your video, unmute yourself and
wait for my prompt”.
After
timer confirms that one minute is over,
“Contestant #3, please
let me know when you are ready.” Wait for answer.
“Thank you.”
SMILE and
announce the contestant.
Contestant
name
Speech
Title
Speech
Title
Contestant
name
Mute your sound and turn off your visual.
When
contestant’s speech is done, turn your visual back on, unmute your microphone
and say:
“We will now
have one minute of silence for the judges to mark their ballots. Timer, please
time 1 minute. Contestant #4, please turn on your video, unmute yourself and
wait for my prompt”.
After
timer confirms that one minute is over,
“Contestant #4, please let me know when you are
ready.” Wait for answer.
“Thank
you.”
SMILE and
announce the contestant.
Contestant
name
Speech
Title
Speech
Title
Contestant
name
Mute your sound and turn off your visual.
When
contestant’s speech is done, turn your visual back on, unmute your microphone
and say:
“We will now
have one minute of silence for the judges to mark their ballots. Timer, please
time 1 minute. Contestant #5, please turn on your video, unmute yourself and
wait for my prompt”.
After
timer confirms that one minute is over,
“Contestant #5, please let me know when you are
ready.” Wait for answer.
“Thank
you.”
SMILE and
announce the contestant.
Contestant
name
Speech
Title
Speech
Title
Contestant
name
Mute your sound and turn off your visual.
When
contestant’s speech is done, turn your visual back on, unmute your microphone
and say:
“We
will now have an indefinite silence for the judges to mark and tally their
ballots, and for the Ballot Counters to collect all ballots. Everyone, you may
turn on your video at this time but please keep your sound muted and refrain from
chatting.”
Alert the audience every 1-2 minutes as follows:
“We
are continuing the indefinite silence to allow the judges to complete their
ballots. Thank you”.
When all ballots are collected, the Chief Judge
will let you know.
“Thank you,
Mister/Madam Chief Judge, the Sr. SAA will now move our Chief Judge and ballot
counters to the break out room”.
Lead
the applause.
“Let’s now hear from our Area xx Director,
<Education Level and Name>.”
PowerPoint Slide 6
“Thank
you, <Area Director Name>
“Please help me
welcome Division Director, Education level and Name
PowerPoint
Slide 7
“Thank you <Division
Director name>
And now let’s hear about our upcoming District 50 event
from <Education Level and Name>
PowerPoint Slide 8-9
We will now have a 10-minute break. We will resume our
contest, at ________.
.”
PowerPoint Slide 10
Ask Timekeepers to time 10 minutes for the break.
Have them give you an indication at 2-3 minutes so that you will be
ready to start on time.
Get Creative! Ideas – Trivia, Networking, Dance Moves, Karaoke, Music...
CONTEST MASTER
Call
meeting back to order and get the energy back up!
Deliver any
special remarks
(Announce)
“Please
give your full attention to the contestants while they are speaking. There will
be a minute of silence between each speaker to allow the judges to mark their
ballots, AND indefinite silence after all speakers to allow the judges to tally
their ballots and then both the ballot counters and Chief Judge to move to the
breakout room.”
“At this time,
please check that your microphone is on mute, cell phones or other electronic
noisemakers are turned off or to silent, so that they will not distract the speakers.
Please refrain
from Zoom chatting, texting or status updating in any form during the contests.
“Recording
is not permitted without the prior written permission of the contestants.
Further, please do not create screenshot photos or audio recordings of any
presentation today or post them on any Social Media platform without obtaining
the speaker’s permission.”
“Ladies and Gentlemen please welcome our Chief
Judge for today’s contest:”
Introduce the Chief Judge (Educational Level & Name)
“Mr.
/Madam Chief Judge, have all the contestants, helpers, and judges RETURNED to
the room?”
CHIEF JUDGE
Chief
Judge will say:
All
Judges and role holders have returned to the room. Let the contest begin!”
CONTEST MASTER
“We will now begin our Humorous Speech
Contest.
“The
speaking order for the Humorous Speech Contest is:
(Pronounce Names Clearly and Repeat. Confirm
if it needs to be repeated again)
|
Contestant
No.1 |
|
|
Contestant
No.2 |
|
|
Contestant
No.3 |
|
|
Contestant
No.4 |
|
|
Contestant
No.5 |
|
“Sr
Sergeant-at-Arms, please confirm after all attendees have been muted and videos
turned off with the exception of Contestant #1 and the Primary Timer. I will
turn off my own audio and video after announcing the contestant”.
Wait for confirmation from Sr
SAA.
“Contestant #1, please
let me know when you are ready.” Wait for answer.
“Thank
you.”
SMILE and
announce the contestant.
Contestant
name
Speech
Title
Speech
Title
Contestant
name
Mute your sound and turn off
your visual.
When
contestant’s speech is done, turn your visual back on, unmute your microphone
and say:
“We will now
have one minute of silence for the judges to mark their ballots. Timer, please
time 1 minute. Contestant #2, please turn on your video, unmute yourself and
wait for my prompt”.
After
timer confirms that one minute is over,
“Contestant #2, please
let me know when you are ready.” Wait for answer.
“Thank
you.”
SMILE and announce
the contestant.
Contestant
name
Speech
Title
Speech
Title
Contestant
name
Mute your sound and turn off your visual.
When
contestant’s speech is done, turn your visual back on, unmute your microphone
and say:
“We will now
have one minute of silence for the judges to mark their ballots. Timer, please
time 1 minute. Contestant #3, please turn on your video, unmute yourself and
wait for my prompt”.
After
timer confirms that one minute is over,
“Contestant #3, please
let me know when you are ready.” Wait for answer.
“Thank you.”
SMILE and
announce the contestant.
Contestant
name
Speech
Title
Speech
Title
Contestant
name
Mute your sound and turn off your visual.
When
contestant’s speech is done, turn your visual back on, unmute your microphone
and say:
“We will now
have one minute of silence for the judges to mark their ballots. Timer, please
time 1 minute. Contestant #4, please turn on your video, unmute yourself and
wait for my prompt”.
After
timer confirms that one minute is over,
“Contestant #4, please let me know when you are
ready.” Wait for answer.
“Thank
you.”
SMILE and
announce the contestant.
Contestant
name
Speech
Title
Speech
Title
Contestant
name
Mute your sound and turn off your visual.
When
contestant’s speech is done, turn your visual back on, unmute your microphone
and say:
“We will now
have one minute of silence for the judges to mark their ballots. Timer, please
time 1 minute. Contestant #5, please turn on your video, unmute yourself and
wait for my prompt”.
After
timer confirms that one minute is over,
“Contestant #5, please let me know when you are
ready.” Wait for answer.
“Thank
you.”
SMILE and
announce the contestant.
Contestant
name
Speech
Title
Speech
Title
Contestant
name
Mute your sound and turn off your visual.
When
contestant’s speech is done, turn your visual back on, unmute your microphone
and say:
“We
will now have an indefinite silence for the judges to mark and tally their
ballots, and for the Ballot Counters to collect all ballots. Everyone, you may
turn on your video at this time but please keep your sound muted and refrain
from chatting.”
Alert the audience every 1-2 minutes as follows:
We
are continuing the indefinite silence to allow the judges to complete their
ballots. Thank you”.
When all ballots are collected, the Chief Judge
will let you know.
“Thank you,
Mister/Madame Chief Judge, the Sr. SAA will now move our Chief Judge and ballot
counters to the break out room.
Lead
the applause.
CONTEST MASTER
(Announce)
“Let’s
get to know our contestants. I will call
on speakers in order in which you spoke. I will ask you to unmute your
microphones in the order in which you first spoke beginning with the Tall Tales
Contest, followed by the Humorous Speech contest.
Lead
applause as the contestants return to the audience’s focus.
Ask these following
three questions AT ONCE:
Contestant’s name
“What
club are you representing?”
“How
long have you been in Toastmasters?”
“What is your Toastmasters educational level or, how many speeches
have you completed on your pathway?
Ask each contestant one question you’ve developed
using THEIR profile form or their speech. Keep the question brief.
Question:
________________________________________________________________________
“Thank
you. Please mute your microphone while we continue meeting other contestants”.
Ask these following
three questions AT ONCE:
Contestant’s name
“What
club are you representing?”
“How
long have you been in Toastmasters?”
“What is your Toastmasters educational level or, how many speeches
have you completed on your pathway?
Ask each contestant one question you’ve developed
using THEIR profile form or their speech. Keep the question brief.
Question:
________________________________________________________________________
“Thank
you. Please mute your microphone while we continue meeting other contestants”.
Ask these following
three questions AT ONCE:
Contestant’s name
“What
club are you representing?”
“How
long have you been in Toastmasters?”
“What is your Toastmasters educational level or, how many speeches
have you completed on your pathway?
Ask each contestant one question you’ve developed
using THEIR profile form or their speech. Keep the question brief.
Question:
________________________________________________________________________
“Thank
you. Please mute your microphone while we continue meeting other contestants”.
Ask these following
three questions AT ONCE:
Contestant’s name
“What
club are you representing?”
“How
long have you been in Toastmasters?”
“What is your Toastmasters educational level or, how many speeches
have you completed on your pathway?
Ask each contestant one question you’ve developed
using THEIR profile form or their speech. Keep the question brief.
Question:
________________________________________________________________________
“Thank
you. Please mute your microphone while we continue meeting other contestants”.
Ask these following
three questions AT ONCE:
Contestant’s name
“What
club are you representing?”
“How
long have you been in Toastmasters?”
“What is your Toastmasters educational level or, how many speeches
have you completed on your pathway?
Ask each contestant one question you’ve developed
using THEIR profile form or their speech. Keep the question brief.
Question:
________________________________________________________________________
“Thank
you. Please mute your microphone while we continue meeting other contestants”.
Repeat the same until all contestants have been
interviewed. If the same contestant spoke in
both contests, interview them in the order in
which they spoke first.
CONTEST MASTER
RECOGNITION OF HELPERS:
PowerPoint
Slide 11
Turn
the focus to the Contest Chair by calling him or her by name and thanking them.
Lead Applause
Thank
the judges for judging. BUT DO NOT ask the judges to introduce themselves or
unmute their microphones. Toastmasters rules requires judges to remain anonymous.
Lead Applause
Thank
the contest helpers: Timers, Sergeants-at-Arms, Ballot Counters and anyone else
who heled with the contest.
If
the Chief Judge has returned, turn the focus on him or her by introducing him
or her by name and thanking him or her. If the Chief Judge has not returned,
move to the District Announcements.
Lead Applause
When ballots have been counted and
the winners determined, the Chief Judge will ask Sr
Sr SAA to move the Contest Chair and
Contest Master to the breakout room.
PowerPoint
Slide 12
Turn
the focus to the District Representative for DISTRICT announcements
Lead applause.
DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE
Unmute
microphone and makes district 50 announcements
Note: Please allow time for the Contest
Master to collect info. Stall if needed.
In break out room, Contest Master/Contest Chair update
slides 14-20. Spell names correctly with education levels. Delete slides that
are not necessary (3rd place & 2nd place).
Sr. SAA will move everyone back over to the contest room
when complete.
When Contest Master is ready, return control to announce
winners.
(Lead applause)
CONTEST MASTER
(Announce)
“And now
the moment we have all been waiting for: the announcement of the winners. . .”
“We
had ____ disqualification(s) based on time/eligibility/originality”. Say this even if you have 0
disqualifications. Lead applause if 0.
PowerPoint
slides 14-20 as winners are announced.
“Our THIRD-place winner is
__________________________ “
“Our SECOND-place winner and the person who will represent the Area at the __________
Division contest, if the winner is unavailable is _______________________”.
“Our
FIRST-place winner and the person who will represent the Area at the __________
Division contest is _______________________”.
In contests with
three or more contestants, announce third, second, and first place.
In contests with two
contestants, announce only second and first place.
“Congratulations to all the
winners and special thanks to all contestants”.
PowerPoint
slide 21 as…
“This
contest is now adjourned!”
“We
will now have a debriefing with the core team.
Chief Judge, Area Director, Division Director, Sr SAA, Contest Chair and
Contest Master, please stay back.
Everyone
else, please log off at this time. I hope you enjoyed this contest and thank
you for attending.
1)
The
Contest Master serves as the Master of Ceremonies. Your objective, in addition to emceeing the
contest is to get the audience to come away feeling positively about their
experience and energized to participate more in Toastmasters activities.
2)
This
document serves as a guideline and provides you with a roadmap on conducting
the contest, but feel free to use your creativity during the contest which will
fit into your contest theme. Keep time in check.
3)
Rehearse
name pronunciations and speech titles beforehand.
4)
Avoid
even the appearance of exclusivity, favoritism, or unfairness. Try to stick to
the script as far as possible while introducing contestants before the
speeches. Use the same voice variation and tone for all contestants.
5)
There
should be no remarks about the contestant’s attire, accessories or props before
they start speaking.
6)
There
should be no commentary or remarks about the speeches after the contestant is
done speaking, other than a simple “Thank you”. Under no circumstances there
should be any references to the contestant’s club or education level, until
after the “Meet the contestants” section.
7)
This
document assumes a maximum of 5 contestants for each of the contests. You may
or may not have that many contestants. If you have less than 5 contestants, replace
the script after the 5th contestant in this document, to after your
last contestant.
8)
Be
prepared for “impromptu” conversations during the course of the contest. You
could have situations with technical issues, people speaking on mute, people
not turning off videos etc to name a few. Stay calm,
and work with the SAAs to address these issues. Never interrupt a contestant
mid-speech, unless authorized by the Chief Judge.
9)
Defer
to the Chief Judge for all decisions regarding technical issues that a
contestant may have.
10) Even
if you are an experienced Toastmaster, rehearse your role beforehand. You may
not be perfect, but learning and improving your skills is one of the reasons
you are in Toastmasters. Have fun!