{"id":786,"date":"2012-04-11T17:11:24","date_gmt":"2012-04-11T22:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/?p=786"},"modified":"2013-09-30T11:11:06","modified_gmt":"2013-09-30T16:11:06","slug":"contest-questions-what-would-you-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/11\/contest-questions-what-would-you-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Contest questions: What would YOU do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Contests are one of the easiest places to make a mistake — and yet, one of the most important events to get right, especially for members who are planning on becoming the World Champion of Public Speaking!\u00a0 Here’s a few scenarios to think about.\u00a0 What would YOU do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of them have “right” answers per the rules, some have “right” answers per most peoples’ understanding of fairness … and some have no good answer at all.\u00a0 Regardless, they are likely to start a good conversation at contest training.<\/p>\n

Contest program & preparation
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Do you include contestant names on the program?\u00a0 Speech title?\u00a0 Their club name and number?\u00a0 Educational award level (like CC or DTM)?\u00a0 Title (like club president or past district governor)?<\/p>\n

For the evaluation contest, do you include the model (target) speaker’s name, speech title, objectives, and\/or club information?<\/p>\n

For the evaluation contest, is it better to have a model speaker who is relatively new, moderately experienced, or a highly-polished speaker?<\/p>\n

You want to include the judge’s ballot in the program for the audience.\u00a0 Can you do this?\u00a0 Is there anything special you should do?<\/p>\n

You’ve set a date for the contest several weeks out and publicized it heavily.\u00a0 There’s only three contestants, and one of them tells you that they can’t make it that day.\u00a0 Can you, should you, change the date or time?\u00a0 What if it was one of two contestants, or one of ten?\u00a0 Does the reason for not making it that day matter, such as a child’s surgery vs. an unspecified vacation plan?<\/p>\n

Sergeant at arms & logistics
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Before the contest, a contestant asks you to help with their props (e.g., put a chair on stage).\u00a0 Do you?<\/p>\n

Should contestants be allowed to wear their Toastmaster name badge or similar when competing?<\/p>\n

The contest venue has a portable stage with a few steps.\u00a0 At the contestants’ briefing, you realize one of the contestants has mobility limitations (maybe a wheelchair), and cannot possibly get up the steps.\u00a0 What do you do?<\/p>\n

A contestant asks if a friend can video record their speech.\u00a0 Can they?\u00a0 What if they want to record the whole contest?\u00a0 What if they didn’t ask and then you see someone recording?<\/p>\n

A contestant wants to use PowerPoint.\u00a0 What do you need to do, if anything?<\/p>\n

It’s time to begin, and a contestant hasn’t arrived yet.\u00a0 When is the contestant disqualified?<\/p>\n

It’s time to begin, and a contestant hasn’t arrived yet.\u00a0 Someone says the contestant called, is caught in traffic, and will be there in 10 minutes.\u00a0 Do you wait?\u00a0 30 minutes — do you wait?\u00a0 An hour?\u00a0 What if the contestant told you the day before that they would be 30 minutes or an hour late?\u00a0 What if it was the only contestant for that contest?<\/p>\n

The room has been brought to order, we’re ready to begin, and it’s time to introduce the dignitaries.\u00a0 Except one of the dignitaries is a contestant!\u00a0 What do you do?<\/p>\n

Should evaluation contestants be left in silence while waiting for their turn to speak?<\/p>\n

The holding room for the table topics contests is right next to the contest room, and you can clearly hear the contest master through the thin wall.\u00a0 What can you do?<\/p>\n

You’re monitoring the table topics or evaluation contestants in a room down the hall as they wait for their turn.\u00a0 One pulls out their phone and begins to tap away on it.\u00a0 What do you do?<\/p>\n

For the table topics contest, where should the contestants be when they are introduced?<\/p>\n

Are audience members allowed to enter and leave during the one minute of silence between speeches?\u00a0 During the two-plus minutes after the last speech, while judges are finalizing their ballots?<\/p>\n

During a contest speech, you notice someone in the front row discreetly holding their phone for the contestant to see, with a timer apparently showing how long they’ve been speaking.\u00a0 What do you do?\u00a0 What if you were a judge?<\/p>\n

Contest master<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There’s only one contestant.\u00a0 Do we still need a contest?\u00a0 What if they go under or over time?<\/p>\n

You’re planning the area contest, and it’s going to be a very small affair (just a couple contestants).\u00a0 A neighboring area has the same problem.\u00a0 Can you combine the contests?\u00a0 What special steps do you need to take?<\/p>\n

While preparing for the division contest, you send a the list of the area contest winners to WHQ to confirm their eligibility.\u00a0 They respond saying one of them hasn’t paid their dues and is ineligible.\u00a0 Does this affect their title of area contest winner?\u00a0 Can they be in the division contest?\u00a0 What if there was no runner-up in the area contest?<\/p>\n

It’s time to draw for the speaking order, and a contestant is still missing.\u00a0 Do you draw for them, or do they just get last in the order?<\/p>\n

At the contestant briefing, the speaking area has been defined as the area in front of the first row of chairs.\u00a0 One speaker says they wanted to walk around the whole room as part of their speech — can you change the speaking area?\u00a0 Do you?<\/p>\n

Can the speaking area be defined as the whole room?\u00a0 Is there any reason to make it less?<\/p>\n

It’s the table topics contest, and after reading it (twice!) to the first contestant, you realize it’s much too long.\u00a0 Can it be shortened (or even just read once) to the subsequent contestants?<\/p>\n

Should there be a printed version of the table topic to show the contestant?\u00a0 Can they hold onto it during their speech?<\/p>\n

During the speech contest, the sound system fails completely halfway through the first contestant’s speech.\u00a0 What can you do?<\/p>\n

During the speech contest, the building fire alarm goes off halfway through the first contestant’s speech.\u00a0 What can you do?\u00a0 What if it was during the last contestant’s speech?<\/p>\n

There’s two contests being held back-to-back, the same evening.\u00a0 One contestant is in both of them, and the agenda has contest interviews after each contest.\u00a0 Do you interview that contestant twice?<\/p>\n

Your club holds a contest for two speakers, and both go over time.\u00a0 What can you do?\u00a0 What if there’s a third person who wanted to compete, but couldn’t be there that day?<\/p>\n

There are 5 contestants, 1 is disqualified over time.\u00a0 Do you present the planned 3rd place award?<\/p>\n

Timers<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You’re in charge of the contest timing, where should you set up your equipment and sit?<\/p>\n

There are two timers and you’re given two timing devices.\u00a0 Should you both actively time the speeches?<\/p>\n

You are one of two timers, and you are each actively running a timing device.\u00a0 At the end of a prepared speech (international or humorous), one device says 7:30, the other says 7:31.\u00a0 Is the speaker disqualified?<\/p>\n

For the evaluation contest, should you time and signal the model (target) speaker?<\/p>\n

When a contestant is introduced, some audience members start chanting.\u00a0 When do you start the clock?<\/p>\n

Contestants<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The speech contestant mentions their club name, or their educational award level, or a title, or winning the contest last year, in their speech.\u00a0 Is this a problem?<\/p>\n

Two members want to give a speech together, as one speech, a dialog.\u00a0 Is this against the rules?<\/p>\n

Can a contestant have friends planted in the audience to react loudly and hysterically to their humorous speech?<\/p>\n

You’re the first evaluation contestant, and the sergeant at arms cannot find your notes that they took away.\u00a0 What do you do?\u00a0 What if they have them but misunderstand the rules and refuse to give them to you?<\/p>\n

Judges<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The contest master forgets to allow one minute for you to mark your ballot, and instead immediately starts introducing the next speaker.\u00a0 What can you do?<\/p>\n

The contestant clearly leaves the defined speaking area during their speech.\u00a0 How does this affect your scoring?<\/p>\n

Near the end of the second speech out of five, you realize you’re becoming urgently in need of going to the restroom (and it won’t be less than a minute).\u00a0 What do you do?<\/p>\n

You’re chief judge and happen to casually observe one of the judges isn’t making any marks on their ballot at all during the speeches or the one minute of silence.\u00a0 Should you do anything now, or after the contest?<\/p>\n

You dutifully fill out your ballot, tear off the bottom, and give it to the ballot counters.\u00a0 What do you do with the top part?<\/p>\n

After the district contest, you discover that one of the judges is a member of the same club as the winner.\u00a0 What can you do?<\/p>\n

Ballot counters<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

You’re the chief ballot counter, and you know that 7 judges got ballots at the briefing.\u00a0 The contest is over, you’re collecting the ballots, but you’ve only gotten 6 so far, and have no idea who has the 7th one.\u00a0 What can you do?\u00a0 What if you get 8 ballots but only expected 7?<\/p>\n

It’s time to count the ballots, there were at least three contestants, and one of the judge’s ballots lists only one name.\u00a0 Or lists two names on the same line.\u00a0 Or isn’t signed.\u00a0 What can you do?<\/p>\n

Feel free to add your own scenarios, or comment on how you would handle these situations!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Contests are one of the easiest places to make a mistake — and yet, one of the most important events to get right, especially for members who are planning on becoming the World Champion of Public Speaking!\u00a0 Here’s a few scenarios to think about.\u00a0 What would YOU do? Some of them have “right” answers per […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,8],"tags":[130],"class_list":["post-786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-contests","category-miscellaneous-toastmasters","tag-contests"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":968,"href":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions\/968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikeraffety.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}