I defeated La Oro - not in acting but in public speaking.
Last Saturday, September 13, I, together with Alex, our Area champion, was fortunate enough to be chosen to represent our Area in the Division A (half of Metro Manila) Toastmasters Triathlon Competition. 10 contestants showcased their impromptu speaking, prepared speech delivery and singing skills and competed in order to represent the division in the upcoming National contest to be held in Bacolod City this October.
As always, I hoped for the best but expected the worst. I was only notified that I'll be one of the contestants the other Thursday which only gave me nine days to prepare, which I also didn't make use because of my poor time management.
The moment I saw Raul, the former trainor of our company, I already knew in myself that I wouldn't win. My God, he's already a Distinguished Toastmaster, which means he has delivered at least 50 prepared speeches, while I only did five so far. But competing with him is already a pride itself. My only objective was to perform well, be competitive and not to humiliate myself which, fortunately, really happened.
Impromptu speaking was the first category where I was the fourth to speak. The topic was "What is something that you are most thankful for?" Other contestants (the remaining six) were so pageant patty that they said "life, love and (I forgot but I'm sure it's not lust)" while most of them said "life." Raul talked about "a thing's conclusion" because in every problem and question is a conclusion. That was a witty answer. Mine was a very basic but emotional answer - my Mom because she sacrificed her physiological and emotional needs in order to raise and send the three of us to school, narrating about how my father died to enumerating the hardships we've had in the family to the time where we all graduated from college. I forgot all about the format because the usual PREP (point, reason, example, point) wasn't applicable with this topic and it's only the pattern that I know. What I just thought was speaking from the heart, be conscious about the time (since being overtime will merit a disqualification) and call for an action when I end my speech. Raul placed first, another seasoned speaker placed third and I got the second place which was a big surprise.
Singing speech was the second category where I was the last to perform. Raul even said "At least I'm done with this category." Ha ha! Mechanics for the singing contest kept on changing that I was able to finalize my piece the night before the competition. On Saturday morning, early morning, I kept on singing "Say that You Love Me" multiple times that my sister already expressed her irritation towards the song but what could she do? I just wanted to practice the timing because the arrangement was quite different from the original one. I know the song too well that I thought I could sing it with my eyes closed. I was mistaken. I forgot the lyrics that I ended up repeating the verses and even the stanza. I also forgot to shift my voice from chest to head tone when the key had to change making me sounding like I was strangled to death. To those who love the song, I apologize for not giving justice to it. Janice and Hunnie even laughed with my performance level because they never thought I could do that dramatic face and the hand waves on stage. Ha ha ha! I didn't win in the category but what I really wonder about was why that woman got that third place when in fact she didn't give emotions to the song, there wasn't any timing, and yes, other contestants including me, had a better performance than her. The professional singer got the first place.
Then came the prepared international speech where I was the sixth to speak. I talked about my experience as a callcenter agent, wherein my opening salvo was "Whoever of you here would think that I am a callboy?" Everybody just laughed. For me, that was my best performance as a speaker, so far. For the first time, I didn't bring any notes, I made use of the stage, I had vocal variety and eye contact. Though people really laughed hard at my speech, I don't think the content was good enough to merit any placement. Raul got the second place , the one who placed third in the impromptu was the champion, and the professional singer was the third.
Over-all, Raul was the champion (who'll represent the Division), the lady speaker was the first runner up and the professional singer came out as third runner up.
Janice kept on complaining that the champion was a boring speaker and that the audience didn't laugh to any part of his speech but what could she do? She's not a Toastmaster nor a judge and she needs to be a seasoned speaker first before she could have a place in that panel. I wasn't really sore with it. For a first timer, and for a member who just started last June (or July), placing in a Division contest is already a big thing. The medal is really special.
As for La Oro, obviously, her change in costume, her stardom status, and her live guitarist didn't give her any advantage to win. The one who defeated me in the area-wide contest also didn't place in any event, which I understand because he's not in a winning form. I promise, I didn't sabotage his audio CD.
Last Saturday, September 13, I, together with Alex, our Area champion, was fortunate enough to be chosen to represent our Area in the Division A (half of Metro Manila) Toastmasters Triathlon Competition. 10 contestants showcased their impromptu speaking, prepared speech delivery and singing skills and competed in order to represent the division in the upcoming National contest to be held in Bacolod City this October.
As always, I hoped for the best but expected the worst. I was only notified that I'll be one of the contestants the other Thursday which only gave me nine days to prepare, which I also didn't make use because of my poor time management.
The moment I saw Raul, the former trainor of our company, I already knew in myself that I wouldn't win. My God, he's already a Distinguished Toastmaster, which means he has delivered at least 50 prepared speeches, while I only did five so far. But competing with him is already a pride itself. My only objective was to perform well, be competitive and not to humiliate myself which, fortunately, really happened.
Impromptu speaking was the first category where I was the fourth to speak. The topic was "What is something that you are most thankful for?" Other contestants (the remaining six) were so pageant patty that they said "life, love and (I forgot but I'm sure it's not lust)" while most of them said "life." Raul talked about "a thing's conclusion" because in every problem and question is a conclusion. That was a witty answer. Mine was a very basic but emotional answer - my Mom because she sacrificed her physiological and emotional needs in order to raise and send the three of us to school, narrating about how my father died to enumerating the hardships we've had in the family to the time where we all graduated from college. I forgot all about the format because the usual PREP (point, reason, example, point) wasn't applicable with this topic and it's only the pattern that I know. What I just thought was speaking from the heart, be conscious about the time (since being overtime will merit a disqualification) and call for an action when I end my speech. Raul placed first, another seasoned speaker placed third and I got the second place which was a big surprise.
Singing speech was the second category where I was the last to perform. Raul even said "At least I'm done with this category." Ha ha! Mechanics for the singing contest kept on changing that I was able to finalize my piece the night before the competition. On Saturday morning, early morning, I kept on singing "Say that You Love Me" multiple times that my sister already expressed her irritation towards the song but what could she do? I just wanted to practice the timing because the arrangement was quite different from the original one. I know the song too well that I thought I could sing it with my eyes closed. I was mistaken. I forgot the lyrics that I ended up repeating the verses and even the stanza. I also forgot to shift my voice from chest to head tone when the key had to change making me sounding like I was strangled to death. To those who love the song, I apologize for not giving justice to it. Janice and Hunnie even laughed with my performance level because they never thought I could do that dramatic face and the hand waves on stage. Ha ha ha! I didn't win in the category but what I really wonder about was why that woman got that third place when in fact she didn't give emotions to the song, there wasn't any timing, and yes, other contestants including me, had a better performance than her. The professional singer got the first place.
Then came the prepared international speech where I was the sixth to speak. I talked about my experience as a callcenter agent, wherein my opening salvo was "Whoever of you here would think that I am a callboy?" Everybody just laughed. For me, that was my best performance as a speaker, so far. For the first time, I didn't bring any notes, I made use of the stage, I had vocal variety and eye contact. Though people really laughed hard at my speech, I don't think the content was good enough to merit any placement. Raul got the second place , the one who placed third in the impromptu was the champion, and the professional singer was the third.
Over-all, Raul was the champion (who'll represent the Division), the lady speaker was the first runner up and the professional singer came out as third runner up.
Janice kept on complaining that the champion was a boring speaker and that the audience didn't laugh to any part of his speech but what could she do? She's not a Toastmaster nor a judge and she needs to be a seasoned speaker first before she could have a place in that panel. I wasn't really sore with it. For a first timer, and for a member who just started last June (or July), placing in a Division contest is already a big thing. The medal is really special.
As for La Oro, obviously, her change in costume, her stardom status, and her live guitarist didn't give her any advantage to win. The one who defeated me in the area-wide contest also didn't place in any event, which I understand because he's not in a winning form. I promise, I didn't sabotage his audio CD.
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