A PUBLIC speaking group is delighted by the success of its members in this year’s speech-making championships.
Two Wokingham Toastmasters have made it through to the organisation’s national finals.
They will compete in three categories, against other speakers from Southern England.
Elizabeth Queenan and Chris Merchant will both compete in the finals, which will take place in Bristol next month.
Ms Queenan will take part in the International Contest and Table Topics, while Dr Merchant will compete in the Evaluation Contest.
The Wokingham Toastmasters group has seen its members reach the finals before, but has never had two contestants reach that level in three of the five categories.
Graeme Hobbs leads the Wokingham group, and is delighted by his members’ success.
He said: “I’m exceedingly proud that we have two members going forward.
“Actually, when you look at the local talent we have here, and the standard in the club generally, I’m not so surprised.
“We had the first round of the contest in the Autumn, with six Wokingham speakers competing, and any one of them could have won.
“It has been very difficult to decide within this group, who was the best speaker.
“But since Elizabeth and Chris qualified here, they’ve just gone from strength to strength.
“I’m very proud of the fact that they showed nerve on top of the talent we knew they had.”
Toastmasters can compete in five categories: Humorous, Evaluation, Tall Tales, Table Topics, and International Speech.
Humorous, Tall Tales, and International Contest require speakers to give an original, prepared talk lasting between five and seven minutes.
Table Topics and Evaluation challenge the entrant to deliver an on-the-spot original speech, or in the case of evaluation, to comment on a speech they have just heard.
Ms Queenan said: “I was thrilled to be in the room with semi finalists, but to hear my name being called out as the winner of the Table Topics was unbelievable.
“I drove home with a giant smile on my face, looking at the trophy beside me.
“And then to win the International Contest too was a once in a lifetime kind of thing.
“People don’t really understand what it means to win a Toastmasters competition.
“But at this point we’re competing with the top 20 people in the country, and at the end of the competition there will be two champions in the UK.
“To know that you actually have a shot at that is completely astounding.”
The two Wokingham finalists will compete at the Toastmaster Conference in Bristol on the first weekend in May.
Dr Merchant said: “I didn’t expect to get through to the finals at all, so we’ll just see what happens.
“I will do some preparation and try to come up with some sort of plan, but it’s difficult to prepare for a speech that you have to give on the spot.
“I’m looking forward to the whole experience, to hearing Elizabeth speak twice, and to seeing what else happens at this conference.”
Wokingham Toastmasters meet fortnightly to improve their public speaking skills and gain confidence.
Participants give speeches for fun, within a supportive and encouraging environment, at the Bradbury Centre, on the first and the third Tuesday of each month.
Their next meeting is on Tuesday, April 16.
Doors open at 7.15pm, and visitors are welcome.
For more information, and to join, visit: www.toastmasterclub.org
