By Dongyun Kwon
Healesville Toastmasters Club has finally produced a member qualified to compete in the district stage of the speech contest for the first time.
Bruce Argyle, an active member of the Healesville Toastmasters Club, took first place in the Table Topics category of the Toastmasters division speech contest held in Ringwood on Sunday 23 March.
In the Table Topics category, the topic of the impromptu speech is the same for all contestants who only learn about it when they are introduced by the contest chair.
“The topic for the day was ‘What things in life should not be for sale’,” the category winner said.
“I said there were three things, people in relationships, our hobbies and our interests that we enjoy doing, and the things that give us pleasure.”
The division winner has gone through club and area stages to advance to the division level and is now looking forward to competing in the district, the final stage.
Mr Argyle shared tips for public speaking and impromptu speech.
He emphasised the importance of a well-organised structure.
“A good speech should have an introduction, three main points, and a conclusion or a summary,” the Healesville Toastmasters Club member said.
“That is supported by good vocal variety, hand gestures, body language, and eye contact with the people in the audience.
“I suppose the other thing is originality, being original and using your own experience, your own thoughts.”
Toastmasters Club is an international organisation, originally established in California in 1924 by Ralph Smedley.
Mr Smedley came up with the idea that he needed to create a collaborative learning environment to improve speaking ability and confidence.
After 100 years, Toastmasters Club has over 8 million members in over 148 countries.
The Healesville Toastmasters Club was founded in 2007.
“I joined in 2010 mainly to develop speaking and leadership skills, and to become more confident,” Mr Argyle said.
“It’s been a great journey. I’ve been able to put together some great speeches. I’ve spoken at (Healesville) Anzac Day (service) a few times.”
In addition, two other Healesville Toastmasters Club members were successful in the contest.
Edwina Ricci placed second in the Evaluation category and Hannah Poppins placed third in the Humorous category.
Despite the outstanding results, both failed to get a ticket for the district competition as only first-place winners for each category qualified for the next stage.
Mr Argyle will compete in the grand final, against seven other finalists, at the annual Toastmasters Convention held in Melbourne from 16 to 18 May.
“What will happen in our next few meetings is (Healesville Toastmasters Club members) will give me some impromptu topics to practice on,” he said.
“But the trouble is, you don’t actually know what the topic is going to be, so it makes it very hard to prepare.”
