World Championships of Public Speaking, professional speakers earn $220,000
May 26, 2006 (Press Release) --
PRESS Release: World Championships of Public Speaking
World Championships of Public Speaking
By Dante Scott
The World Championships of Public Speaking, the pinnacle of the Toastmasters International Speech Contest, may not seem like a big deal, but when you consider that the average income of a full-time professional speaker is $220,000 the competition takes on new meaning.
Regional Championships, which covers Northern Virginia to Nova Scotia, will be held on June 16 and 17, in New Jersey. The winner will continue to the World Championships, in August, in Washington DC.
Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization, dedicated to improving the public speaking abilities of its members.
A toastmaster must first compete to become the champion of his local club. Next, he competes at division level. Division winners go on to district competition. District winners go on to regionals.
Contestants will give a 5-7 minute, on any topic, before a live audience and a panel of judges. Competitors are allowed 30 seconds of leeway, but if they speak for seven minutes and thirty one seconds, they are disqualified from the competition.
“You would think speaking for seven minutes would be easy.” Says regional contestant, Antonio Graceffo. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Antonio is representing a club in Northern Virginia, where he has been working as a professional motivational speaker and sales trainer. “When I do paid-speaking, I am expected to fill a forty-five minute time slot. If I go over, the client gets more for his money. But in this competition, I have seven minutes to win the audience over, make them like me, suck them in, move them emotionally, and pass some meaningful information on to them. It is a huge task.”
Antonio, a published author, only began working as a professional speaker five months ago, when he returned from four years of adventure writing in Southeast Asia. “Although I have some clients, and make some money, I am counting on this competition to jump start my career.” For many competitors, the World Championships is a hobby, but for Antonio, it is business, and he trains accordingly. Antonio has spoken in public over eighty times since January. He has presented his contest speech, in front of a live audience twenty times already, and still has three weeks to go.
“Every element needs to be right, the timing, pacing, inflection, hand movements, facial expressions, and especially your timing. It is a lot to remember. And of course, you have to sound like it wasn’t memorized.”
Asking Antonio what keeps him going in competition, he had this to say. “I know a professional speaker. He earns $12,000 per booking, and he speaks three days per week. There is no other job that pays that kind of money. I am tow speeches away from being world champions. Any sacrifice I have to make is worth it.”
Contact Antonio: Antonio@speakingadventure.com
Listen to sample speeches on his website speakingadventure.com
World Championships of Public Speaking
By Dante Scott
The World Championships of Public Speaking, the pinnacle of the Toastmasters International Speech Contest, may not seem like a big deal, but when you consider that the average income of a full-time professional speaker is $220,000 the competition takes on new meaning.
Regional Championships, which covers Northern Virginia to Nova Scotia, will be held on June 16 and 17, in New Jersey. The winner will continue to the World Championships, in August, in Washington DC.
Toastmasters International is a non-profit organization, dedicated to improving the public speaking abilities of its members.
A toastmaster must first compete to become the champion of his local club. Next, he competes at division level. Division winners go on to district competition. District winners go on to regionals.
Contestants will give a 5-7 minute, on any topic, before a live audience and a panel of judges. Competitors are allowed 30 seconds of leeway, but if they speak for seven minutes and thirty one seconds, they are disqualified from the competition.
“You would think speaking for seven minutes would be easy.” Says regional contestant, Antonio Graceffo. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Antonio is representing a club in Northern Virginia, where he has been working as a professional motivational speaker and sales trainer. “When I do paid-speaking, I am expected to fill a forty-five minute time slot. If I go over, the client gets more for his money. But in this competition, I have seven minutes to win the audience over, make them like me, suck them in, move them emotionally, and pass some meaningful information on to them. It is a huge task.”
Antonio, a published author, only began working as a professional speaker five months ago, when he returned from four years of adventure writing in Southeast Asia. “Although I have some clients, and make some money, I am counting on this competition to jump start my career.” For many competitors, the World Championships is a hobby, but for Antonio, it is business, and he trains accordingly. Antonio has spoken in public over eighty times since January. He has presented his contest speech, in front of a live audience twenty times already, and still has three weeks to go.
“Every element needs to be right, the timing, pacing, inflection, hand movements, facial expressions, and especially your timing. It is a lot to remember. And of course, you have to sound like it wasn’t memorized.”
Asking Antonio what keeps him going in competition, he had this to say. “I know a professional speaker. He earns $12,000 per booking, and he speaks three days per week. There is no other job that pays that kind of money. I am tow speeches away from being world champions. Any sacrifice I have to make is worth it.”
Contact Antonio: Antonio@speakingadventure.com
Listen to sample speeches on his website speakingadventure.com
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