Every year, 30.000 Toastmasters in 135 countries compete for the title of World Champion of Public Speaking. After winning their club and area contests, the Division contest on Saturday 23 April in Lille will determine who will represent our Division at the District 59 Spring Contest in Luxembourg, on 20-22 May in Luxembourg.
The International Speech Contest culminates in the semi-finals and finals of the World Championship of Public Speaking at the Toastmasters International 2016 Convention, to be held on 17-20 August in Washington, D.C.
Judging criteria include speech content, originality, organisation, gestures, style and timing.
“Becoming the World Champion of Public Speaking was the culmination of a dream I didn’t think was possible,” says Mohammed Qahtani from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who is Toastmasters’ 2015 World Champion of Public Speaking. “When the competition began at the club level, it was hard to imagine that, at the end of the journey, I would be crowned the winner. The reality was much more satisfying than a dream.”
Watch Mohammed Qahtani’s winning speech from the 2015 World Championship of Public Speaking.