2022 ISC and TT Contest update
Here I am back with the updates of 2022 - International Speech and Table Topics contests. I came Second in the club level for TT contest and third in the ISC. Represented my club in the area level for TT contest and lost there. Though I am showing my trophies here, I am going to talk about failures this time.
Talking Loudly about Failures
While many of my blog posts were about success and the path travelled, it would be unfair if I fail to talk about failures and hide my take on that. I see Toastmasters as a small replica of the real world outside. The more we fail here and learn, the more we are strong to face the challenges of our real world. There are many Toastmasters who quit this movement just because they failed in a club/area/division contest. Some of them continue their membership but make sure they don't participate again in contests. I am no saint either ;). I have undergone such emotions and misconceptions too. So I thought it is really important to talk loudly about failures than success. As long as it helps people to endure failures and bounce back, I would not be ashamed to let out my emotions on my failures.
My failures
I had been in Toastmasters since 2015. It took a year for me to simply participate in the club contests. I failed miserably in the club level many times. I never had the courage to participate in both the contests at the same time. I used to think that it is better to focus in one of them and do my best, but ended up failing in that too. It took me 5 years to reach the division level.
How do we Feel After Loosing?
Since I had lost several times, I am the best person to talk about this :)
1. We might have spent a lot of time writing and rehearsing our script. So, our family members would be eager to know our result. It is definitely embarassing to confess that, 'I lost'.
2. It might also be embarassing to face the club members after we loose.
3. We might feel that we are not designed to be public speakers and it is not really our area of interest.
4. We might feel inferior to the other participants.
5. We might even go to the extent of blaming the judgement of the judges. I have seen people saying, the judges were biased, they were not intelligent enough to understand my script etc.
Reasons for Failure in a Contest
While there are many reasons, for loosing in a contest, these are a few I can think of:
1. An excellent, heart touching speech might also fail to come up in the first 3 places. We should understand that the judges have many criteria to judge a speech. Only if it qualifies with a good score in each criteria, can the speech make it to first 3.
2. While the judges are always fair when it comes to marking the scores, we should also understand that they are also humans. A speech can impact a judge depending on their own experiences in life. A relatable speech is more appealing to anybody. As a speaker we can't help it, as the judges are invisible. The only remedy is to write a script that appeals to the masses.
3. While the script plays a vital role in deciding the victory, the presentation plays an equally important role. A bad script presented well or a good script presented badly may not win. Rehearsing the script atleast 50 times is a vital preparation. Recording the video and watching it also helps to improve the vocal variety and body language.
4. The most important factor is the performance of the other participants. In the end, it is a competition, and the result is only a comparative ranking.
Facing Criticism
Facing criticism is an important part of failing and bouncing back. Toastmasters is a platform that introduces you to many positive people who can give really useful feedback that can be used for our upcoming speeches. There may be critical feedback from others that might hurt our ego. If the intension is good and the point is valid, we should always take the feedback for our betterment. If it hurts and was given with that intention, then ignoring and moving on works well.
People might also criticise based on the results. Eg: My speech on the physical and emotional difficulties during my C-Section delivery was appreciated when I had won the best speaker award for a CC project, but was criticised when I lost for the same speech in a club contest. I was even told "All women deliver. There is nothing challenging or difficult about it" :) I gave a smile and moved on with the learning, 'Criticism is sometimes result based'.
Bouncing Back
After undergoing all these emotions and criticism, how do we bounce back? When we move to Area, Division and District levels, we should understand that we are raising our bars and competing with seasoned speakers who might have attempted several times and had been trying for years, and reaching this level every year. We should gain more experience year after year with perseverance to get there and compete with them. We should also remember that we might go upto the division level and loose in the club level during the next year. Like we talk about career, Toastmasters' path is also not a ladder where we keep moving vertically, but a jungle gym. As long as we keep trying, we are there in the game.
Enjoying the Journey
While we talk about failures, emotions and bouncing back, we should also remember to cherish and enjoy every moment in the journey. In the end, if the butterflies in your stomach, when your name is read out during the contest, is giving you excitement every year, there is no need to worry about the results :)
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