One of the highlights of EVV CON, the Elevate the Value of Virtual event on April 23, will be our webinar contest. Online clubs have until April 10 to nominate a contestant under the rules laid out here.
In a traditional speech contest, contestants deliver a mini-keynote address. In the EVV CON Webinar Contest, they deliver a speech specifically designed to be delivered online — maximizing the opportunities and overcoming the obstacles to engaging with an audience online.
Over the past couple of years, many traditional speech contests have been held online out of necessity. The webinar contest is intentionally an online contest, freeing speakers to show off their technical skills as well as their speaking skills — although any technical wizardry should be in support of their message, not meaningless razzle-dazzle. While it is not an official Toastmasters contest format (and EVV CON is not an official Toastmasters event), both were created as learning opportunities for online Toastmasters club members.
In this video, EVV CON chair David F. Carr provides an overview of the goals of the contest and techniques for creating engagement in an online speech.
Chartered online Toastmasters clubs have until April 10 to submit a video of their webinar contestant giving a speech conducted according to webinar contest rules. Five contestants will be selected to compete live at EVV CON on April 23.