World Championship of Public Speaking

Last updated
World Championship of Public Speaking
Tournament information
Established1938
Number of
tournaments
81
Current champion
Jocelyn Tyson

The World Championship of Public Speaking began in 1938 and has grown to over 50,000 participants in 149 countries in 2022. In its early decades, it was referred to as the Toastmasters Speech Contest. [1] By the 1990s, there were about 10,000 participants every year. [2] The contest's popularity grew rapidly in the 2000s. [3] The contest has been called the "largest speech contest in the world" by Daijiworld. [4]

Contents

History

1960 champion Glenn E. Carroll is the first non-American (from Canada) to win the title. 1977 champion Evelyn Jane Burgay is the first woman to win the title. 1982 champion Kenneth Bernard is the first from outside North America (Australia) to win the title. 1985 champion Marie C. Pyne is the first European (Ireland) to win the title. 1995 Champion Mark Brown is the first and only Jamaican to win the title. 2014 champion Dananjaya Hettiarachchi of Sri Lanka was the first Asian to win the championship. In 2008, Lashunda Rundles became the first African American woman to ever win the title of World Champion of Public Speaking. She also was the first woman to win in almost two decades. In 2018, Ramona J. Smith became the second African American woman to win, it had been a decade since a woman took the title. Also in 2018, for the first time ever in the history of Toastmasters International, three women became the top speakers in the world. Sherri Su of China took 2nd place. Anita Fain Taylor of Florida, USA took 3rd place, Ramona J. Smith took 1st place. In 2021 Verity Price (South Africa) became the 6th woman to ever win the international speech contest, and the first speaker in history to win from Africa.

[5] [ relevant? ]

YearNameFrom
1938Henry WiensReedley, California
1939William RobertsHuntington Park, California
1940David MacFarlaneSanta Monica, California
1941John McGinnisSan Francisco, California
1942Cavett RobertPhoenix, Arizona
1943Lloyd PranteMonrovia, California
1944NO CONVENTION
1945NO CONVENTION
1946Thor MyhreSpokane, Washington
1947Douglas SherwinClearlake, Iowa
1948Robert DellwoSpokane, Washington
1949Dalton McAllisterFort Wayne, Indiana
1950Charles HiltonMason City, Iowa
1951Albert Green Jr.Seattle, Washington
1952George W. ArmstrongOmaha, Nebraska
1953Theodore B. FurlowLong Beach, California
1954Herbert ThompsonWood River, Illinois
1955Charles W. BryantTacoma, Washington
1956David Holmes Jr.Toledo, Ohio
1957Charles JonesFort Smith, Arkansas
1958Edmund J. ShineHamburg, New York
1959Dean F. BerkeleyBloomington, Indiana
1960Glenn E. CarrollKitchener, Ontario, Canada
1961John J. CarverSeattle, Washington
1962Robert GartonColumbus, Indiana
1963Larry BeitelWinston-Salem, North Carolina
1964Anthony C.L. BishopNorthridge, California
1965John L. NydeggerLewiston, Idaho
1966Michael YaconelliSan Diego, California
1967Dale SmithGoshen, Indiana
1968Grant R. SheehanWashington, D.C.
1969Dennis MangersDelano, California
1970Stephen D. BoydBloomington, Illinois
1971Bert AngusTranscona, Manitoba, Canada
1972Rudy ValleCanoga Park, California
1973Charles W. StewartSan Antonio, Texas
1974Bennie PowellLos Angeles, California
1975Andy McKayRochester, New York
1976William JohnsonAberdeen, Maryland
1977Evelyn Jane BurgaySpringfield, Virginia
1978Michael Aun IILexington, South Carolina
1979Dick CaldwellCalgary, Alberta, Canada
1980Jeff YoungLos Angeles, California
1981Jim JoelsonReno, Nevada
1982Kenneth BernardAustralia
1983Roy FenstermakerDowney, California
1984Joe BoydBellingham, Washington
1985Marie C. PyneIreland
1986M. Arabella BengsonIslington, Ont., Canada
1987Harold PattersonOklahoma City, Oklahoma
1988Jerry StarkeMilwaukee, Wisconsin
1989Don JohnsonTorrance, California
1990David BrooksAustin, Texas
1991David RossNorman, Oklahoma
1992Dana LaMonLancaster, California
1993Otis Williams Jr.Cincinnati, Ohio
1994Morgan McArthurIdaho Falls, Idaho
1995Mark BrownMount Vernon, New York
1996David NottageAuckland, New Zealand
1997Willie JonesHonolulu, Hawaii
1998Brett RutledgeAuckland, New Zealand
1999Craig ValentineEllicott City, Maryland
2000Ed TateAurora, Colorado
2001Darren LaCroixAuburn, Massachusetts
2002Dwayne SmithDecatur, Georgia
2003Jim KeyRowlett, Texas
2004Randy HarveySherwood, Oregon
2005Lance MillerGlendale, California
2006Edward HearnChicago, Illinois
2007Vikas JhingranCambridge, Massachusetts
2008LaShunda RundlesDallas, Texas
2009Mark HunterAlbany Creek, QLD, Australia
2010David HendersonSan Antonio, Texas
2011Jock ElliottBongaree, QLD, Australia
2012Ryan AveryPortland, Oregon
2013Presiyan VasilevChicago, Illinois
2014 Dananjaya Hettiarachchi Nawala Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka
2015Mohammed Abdullah QahtaniDhahran, Saudi Arabia
2016Darren TaySingapore
2017Manoj VasudevanSingapore
2018Ramona J. SmithCleveland, Ohio
2019Aaron Beverly [6] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2020Mike CarrAustin, Texas
2021Verity Price [7] Cape Town, South Africa
2022Cyril Junior Dim [7] Wrocław, Poland [8]
2023Jocelyn Tyson [7] Mt. Laurel, New Jersey

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public speaking</span> Performing a speech to a live audience

Public speaking, also referred to as oratory, is the practice of delivering speeches before a live audience on varying matters. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills in order for one to convey their view.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toastmasters International</span> Nonprofit organization promoting communication, public speaking and leadership

Toastmasters International (TI) is a US-headquartered nonprofit educational organization that operates clubs worldwide for the purpose of helping people develop communication, public speaking, and leadership skills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Althea Gibson</span> American tennis player (1927–2003)

Althea Neale Gibson was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam event. The following year she won both Wimbledon and the US Nationals, then won both again in 1958 and was voted Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both years. In all, she won 11 Grand Slam tournaments: five singles titles, five doubles titles, and one mixed doubles title. "She is one of the greatest players who ever lived", said Bob Ryland, a tennis contemporary and former coach of Venus and Serena Williams. "Martina [Navratilova] couldn't touch her. I think she'd beat the Williams sisters." Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. In the early 1960s, she also became the first Black player to compete on the Women's Professional Golf Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debate</span> Formal conversation, often between opposing viewpoints, on a topic

Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for common opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, academic institutions, debate halls, coffeehouses, competitions, and legislative assemblies. Debates have also been conducted for educational and recreational purposes, usually associated with educational establishments and debating societies. These debates emphasized logical consistency, factual accuracy, and emotional appeal to an audience. Modern forms of competitive debate also include rules for participants to discuss and decide upon the framework of the debates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allyson Felix</span> American track and field athlete (born 1985)

Allyson Michelle Felix is a retired American track and field athlete who competed in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters. She specialized in the 200 meters from 2003 to 2013, then gradually shifted to the 400 meters later in her career. At 200 meters, Felix is the 2012 Olympic champion, a three-time world champion (2005–2009), a two-time Olympic silver medalist, and the 2011 world bronze medalist. At 400 meters, she is the 2015 world champion, 2011 world silver medalist, 2016 Olympic silver medalist, 2017 world bronze medalist, and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist. Across the short distances, Felix is a ten-time U.S. national champion.

Toastmaster is a general term, prevalent in the United States in the mid-20th century, referring to a person in charge of the proceedings of a public speaking event. The toastmaster is typically charged with organization of the event, arranging the order of speakers, introducing one or more of the speakers, and keeping the event on schedule. Such meetings typically include civic events, service organization meetings, and banquets for various purposes.

The World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) is an annual English-language debating tournament for high school-level teams representing different nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Quizzing Championships</span>

The World Quizzing Championships is an individual quiz contest organised by the International Quizzing Association. The competition has been staged annually since 2003 with an increasing number of contestants from an increasing number of nations. Since 2006, the competition has been staged on the first Saturday of every June.

The World Yo-Yo Contest (WYYC) is the culminating yo-yo competition of the worldwide competitive circuit and is considered the most prestigious yo-yo competition in the world. The winner of this competition in any of the six championship divisions is deemed the World Yo-Yo Champion; the World Yo-Yo Contest is the only event to award such a title. The contest attracts competitors from all over the world and an increasingly large number of spectators. The annual competition is currently run by the International Yo-Yo Federation (IYYF) and the national organization of each year's host nation. As of 2015, 33 countries have sent competitors to the World Yo-Yo Contest from their respective national yo-yo contests. The World Yo-Yo Contest is also known as YoYoCon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1</span> Professional association football league in Algeria

The Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1, known as Championnat National de Première Division or Ligue 1 for short, and formerly known as the Championnat National 1, is the Algerian professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the Algerian football league system. Administered by the Ligue de Football Professionnel, it is contested by 16 clubs, with the two lowest-placed teams at the end of each season being relegated to the Ligue 2 and replaced by the top two teams in that division. In 2009 it was known as Championnat d'Algérie D1 Nedjma and from 2010 to 2014, it was known as Ligue Professionnelle 1 Nedjma as it is sponsored by Kuwaiti telecommunications company Nedjma. From 2014, the league is officially known as Ligue Professionnelle 1 Mobilis as it is sponsored by Algerian telecommunications company Mobilis.

Ralph C. Smedley was the founder of Toastmasters International, an international speaking organization with more than 352,000 members in 141 countries and more than 16,400 individual clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanne Robertson</span> American comedian (1943–2021)

Jeanne Flinn Swanner Robertson was an American athlete, teacher, humorist, motivational speaker, YouTube personality, and Miss North Carolina 1963.

The World Billiards Championship is an international cue sports tournament in the discipline of English billiards, organised by World Billiards, a subsidiary of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA). In its various forms, and usually as a single competition, the title is one of the oldest sporting world championships, having been contested since 1870.

Table topics are topics on various subjects that are discussed by a group of people around a table. As practiced by Toastmasters International, the topics to be discussed are written on pieces of paper which are placed in a box in the middle of a table. The participants pick up one paper each and start talking about the topic written on the paper. Speeches given by the persons are extemporaneous or Ad libitum. The purpose is to develop the speaking skills and thinking processes of a person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murielle Ahouré-Demps</span> Ivorian sprinter (born 1987)

Murielle Ahouré-Demps is an Ivorian sprinter who competes in the 60 meters, 100 m and 200 m. She was a double silver medalist at the 2013 world championships in Moscow. She came second in both the 100 and 200 meters at this event. Ahouré was the gold medallist in the 60 m at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

Mel Kelly is an Irish stand-up comedian and international speaker based in Munich since 2003. Kelly began his speaking career in 2004, has spoken on stages in Europe, the US and Thailand. He has also won several European Speaking Contests in English and in German.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships</span> Gymnastics competition

The 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships was the 48th edition of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. The competition was held from October 25 – November 3, 2018, at the Aspire Academy Dome in Doha, Qatar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manoj Vasudevan</span>

Manoj Vasudevan is an International speaker, author, consultant, and coach. He is the founder of Thought Expressions. Vasudevan is best known for winning the World Champion of Public Speaking by Toastmasters International in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in chess</span> Womens participation in chess

Women represent a small minority of chess players at all ages and levels. Female chess players today generally compete in a mix of open tournaments and women's tournaments, the latter of which are most prominent at or near the top level of women's chess and at youth levels. Modern top-level women's tournaments help provide a means for some participants to be full-time professional chess players. The majority of these tournaments are organized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and revolve around the World Championship cycle, which culminates in a match to decide the Women's World Chess Champion. Beyond those events, among the most prominent women's tournaments are women's and girls' national and continental championships.

Dananjaya Hettiarachchi is a Sri Lankan internet personality, motivational speaker, trainer, human resource development specialist, dancer, educator and public speaker. He rose to prominence and limelight after winning the 2014 World Championship of Public Speaking.

References

  1. "Toastmasters Speech Contest Begins in Boston Tomorrow (A 1)". Boston Globe. 23 March 1958. ProQuest   845465194.
  2. Santos, Jenny Delos (23 June 2017). "Hawaii News Maui orator gets set to enter Toastmasters championship". Honolulu Star-Advertiser . Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  3. Blake, John (14 October 2016). "Stop texting and start speaking: The Olympians of storytelling show you how". CNN. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  4. "Mangalurean advances in the world's largest speech contest in USA". Daijiworld. July 9, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  5. "WORLD CHAMPION OF PUBLIC SPEAKING TO VISIT BAHRAIN". Daily Tribune. 22 October 2014. ProQuest   1615139200.
  6. "Toastmasters International -2019 World Championship of Public Speaking".
  7. 1 2 3 "Toastmasters International -Word Championship of Public Speaking". www.toastmasters.org. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  8. "Cyril Junior Dim Linkedin profile". www.linkedin.org. Retrieved 2022-08-22.