Speech Contests FAQ

The decision of the Board of Directors was that, for the 2021-2022 speech contest cycle, each District Executive Committee (DEC) may choose a format of either in-person or online. Each District was required to communicate their selected format to Toastmasters World Headquarters by July 31, 2021.

The format selected by the DEC and communicated to World Headquarters is the only format in which contests may be held at the Area, Division, and District levels. Hybrid contests, in which some participants are in person and others are online during the contest, are not an option.

In-person contests may be broadcast to a live audience only if all contestants and officials are present in person. If a contestant cannot participate in person, the District will need to determine if the contest needs to be switched to online only. There are no exceptions in allowing a contestant or official to participate remotely if the contest is held in person.

Contests that are conducted with all contestants and officials online can be broadcast for the general audience (in-person, online, or hybrid).

Online speech contests must be conducted with each contestant participating from physically-distant locations, using equipment that each contestant obtains themselves. All contestants and contest officials must be present in real time for a live, online contest. The contest may be broadcast live or recorded and then shared with general audience members.

Best Practices for Online Speech Contests are available here, and video recording guidelines for online speech contests can be reviewed here.

To ensure that member health and safety remain a priority, Districts may switch from in-person contests to online contests. This is the only change permitted. Districts cannot switch from online to in-person contests.

Please continue to monitor local guidelines and restrictions within the District. Should a District need to change from an in-person to online contest due to local restrictions or health and safety concerns, this decision must be made by the District Director, Program Quality Director, and Club Growth Director. The change in contest format should be communicated to the District Executive Committee and World Headquarters (via districts@toastmasters.org) immediately.

It is recommended that reaction buttons, emojis, or other similar interactions are not used during speech contests. Such reactions could be distraction to contestants and judges. If your online platform allows for reactions to be inactivated, it is recommended that you take this approach. You may also want to consider turning off chat for similar reasons. If you are not able to turn off reactions or chat, ensure that contestants, judges, and audience members know not to use these features, as they could disrupt the contest. If chat is disabled across the platform, please ensure all officials and contestants have a way contact the chief judge and contest chair if needed.

If a recording is made for any purpose other than to be used in region quarterfinal judging, Districts determine the guidelines regarding video or audio recording. Any guidelines established must not contradict the Speech Contest Rulebook and must consider the safety of contestants and audience members.

Any recordings to be submitted for region quarterfinals must follow the rules outlined in the Speech Contest Rulebook.

All region quarterfinal contestants must complete the Speaker’s Certification of Eligibility and Originality form (Item 1183) and the International Speech Contest Region Quarterfinals Video Release form (Item 1193).

If you are conducting your speech contest online, you must also read the below Online Speech Contest Statement and have anyone who will be on camera sign the Video Release Form.

Online speech contest statement By attending this remote Area, Division, or District speech contest, you agree to the privacy policy of Toastmasters International as well as the unassociated remote hosting service. Some of your personal information, such as name, image, and any shared messages may be shared with other meeting participants and will be recorded by Toastmasters International who may use the recording in the future as it sees fit. Your remote attendance hereby discharges Toastmasters International from all claims, demands, rights, promises, damages and liabilities arising out of or in connection with the use or distribution of said video recordings, including but not limited to any claims for invasion of privacy, appropriation of likeness or defamation.

The first place to look for further information is the Speech Contest Rulebook. This contains all the rules for speech contests, several checklists with common steps to run or participate in a contest, and a list of available resources. Additionally, you can find more resources included in the speech contest kits, which are all available for free as digital downloads. These downloads include certificates, ballots, tally sheets, and other resources for conducting a speech contest. For general information about the different types and levels of Toastmasters Speech Contests, visit the speech contest webpage.

Toastmasters International World Headquarters does not track the dates and times that contests will be held for club, Area-, Division-, or District-level contests. We recommend speaking with your club or District leadership for further information on speech contest dates.

In general, any individual who is performing the role of a contest official including judges, counters, Sergeant at Arms, and a contest Toastmaster cannot compete in a contest in which they are serving or in a contest in which the outcome of the contest they are officiating will be affected.

Additionally, District, region, and international leaders should not be competing in speech contests. This includes current officials and candidates for future roles.

Lastly, education session presenters and event committee chairs for the event where the contest is being held may not compete.

For a full and complete list of all individuals who are ineligible to complete in Toastmasters Speech Contests, review section 2.A. of the Speech Contest Rulebook.

Unfortunately, in this instance, you are ineligible to compete. To compete in a Toastmasters Speech Contest, you must be a paid member of a club in good standing in the Area, Division, and District in which you are competing. The only way to maintain your paid membership is to make sure your Club Treasurer submits your dues to World Headquarters by October 1 for the October renewal period and by April 1 for the April renewal period. For new, dual, transfer, or reinstated members, the membership application and applicable dues must be received by World Headquarters prior to competing in the first contest.

The only speech contest with an education requirement is the International Speech Contest. To participate in any level of the International Speech Contest, a member must have completed Levels 1 and 2 of any path in the Toastmasters Pathways learning experience.

Only members who joined Toastmasters prior to the rollout of Pathways in their region can apply speeches from the Competent Communication manual to speech contest eligibility. For members who qualify, at least six speeches in the Competent Communication manual must have been completed.

For clubs that chartered less than one year before the club contest, the charter members are permitted to compete without having completed this requirement.

No. A member can only compete in one Area contest of a given type.

Yes, as long as the contest where the member is competing and the contest where the member is serving as a contest chair are not at the same event.

Example Scenarios: Jane Doe is competing at District G's annual conference in the Tall Tales Contest. She cannot serve as a contest chair for any contests at District G's annual conference.

The following are contest officials included in the Speech Contest Rulebook: contest chair, contest Toastmaster, event committee chairs, chief judge, voting judges, tiebreaking judge, timers, sergeant at arms, and counters. Contest organizers may establish additional roles to assist with their contest as needed.

Officials should not serve in more than one role at the same contest, and they may not compete in the contest at which they are serving as an official.

The alternate speaker is the next person who is eligible to be a contestant at the next level after the first-place winner, when applicable. The alternate speaker is not limited to the next person in line for the contestant spot. For example, if the first-place winner from Division A is not available for the District-level contest, then the second-place winner from Division A would be considered the alternate. If the second-place winner from Division A is unavailable, then the third-place winner would be the next alternate, and so on until the last place contestant would be the alternate. If no other contestants are available, there would be no alternate.

Yes, the names of the voting judges must remain anonymous, as much as is practical. Judges are not known to contestants, and no judges' names or contact information is provided in any contest materials. Judges’ decisions and identities are confidential. Sharing the names of judges could lead to confrontations with contestants or audience members who do not agree with the contest results. Anonymity helps the judges be more effective. They can make more objective decisions because confrontations after the contest are less likely.

No. While the chief judge is a judge, they do not judge contestants. The role of the chief judge is to appoint and advise the judges, counters, timers, and tiebreaking judge. The chief judge also conducts the judges’ briefing before the contest, collects the time record sheet from the timers, collects the ballot from the tiebreaking judge, handles protests, and provides the list of winners to the contest chair at the end of the contest. Because the chief judge does not judge contestants, their identity does not need to remain anonymous.

Beyond the club level, a member cannot judge a contest where the contest result could lead to the member competing against the contest's winner.

Example Scenarios: John Smith wins Area B's Evaluation Contest. He is asked to judge Area C's Evaluation Contest. If he judges at Area C's Evaluation Contest, he is ineligible to continue competing in the District's Evaluation Contest.

Jane Smith is disqualified from Area B's Tall Tales Contest. Because she is no longer competing in the Tall Tales Contest, she can judge Area C's Tall Tales Contest. Similarly, if Jane Smith loses Area B's Tall Tales Contest, she can judge Area C's Tall Tales Contest because she is no longer competing.

Yes. Areas with four assigned clubs or fewer in good standing may have clubs send two contestants to the Area contest.

Note: The decision whether or not to allow two contestants to advance from club to Area, from Area to Division, and/or from Division to District must be made and communicated throughout the District prior to any club contests being held as per Rule 3.B in the Speech Contest Rulebook. Once the decision is made, it must be implemented consistently throughout the District in all clubs, Areas, and Divisions affected.

Twenty-five percent or less of the speech may be devoted to quoting, paraphrasing, or referencing another person’s content. Any quoted, paraphrased, or referenced content must be so identified during the speech presentation. Each judge must determine if they believe that 25 percent or less of the speech was devoted to quotes, etc.

No. You cannot nominate a new contestant to compete at the next level of competition, nor can you allow the disqualified contestant to compete.

No. Requiring members to pay an entry fee would be considered an addition to the eligibility rules outlined in the Speech Contest Rulebook. Rules can only be added through the administrative protocol with the approval of the Chief Executive Officer and International President. This provision is found under Speech Contest Policy in the Speech Contest Rulebook.

Example: Contestant A is competing in a speech contest at a District conference and intends to only compete in the contest. Contestant A is not attending any of the other conference sessions. Contestant A cannot be charged a registration fee. Contestant B is attending education sessions at the District conference in addition to competing in the speech contest. Contestant B can be charged a registration fee.

The use of props (including music and PowerPoint presentations) are allowed during speech contests in accordance with speech contest rules. Please review the Use of Props section of the Speech Contest Rulebook for complete details.