The winner of this year's International speech contest - tells his story

Lots of fun, lots of pause, and a strong conclusion.

Toastmasters Made Me Do It!

Ok, I admit it, I have always been a bit anti monarchy. In these modern times, I cannot see the point of its existence. Because of my opinions, I have never really bothered with the Queens Speech. That is until this year. My interest in the creation and delivery of Speeches (I blame Toastmasters for this) made me specifically turn on the box at 3pm yesterday to tune into the yellow-cladded senior sovereign wishing the nation a very Happy Christmas.

So how was it for me? Well given over 6 decades of practice, I wasn’t that impressed! That being said, there were some things I liked about the speech and in the spirit of Toastmasters, 'What was good', is what I shall focus on for the remainder of this post.

She started with a story

The Queen started with a story. Not a personal one, but one of a man in plaster cast. She managed to turn the man’s misfortune into a positive – i.e. he had time to reflect.

She drove home the underlying message

‘Reflection’ became the hook on which the speech hung. The Queen wanted us all as a nation to reflect. She empathised with us how difficult that is for us busy folk and made us see that reflection wasn’t just about looking back but also about looking forward to the future. This was her lead in to talking about the commonwealth, family ties and the lil baby Jesus. Oops, I mean baby George who did get quite a bit of airtime.
She let it flow

There was a strong beginning, a good painless middle where among other things, she acknowledged those in service, and fitting end which bought us right back to the man in the plaster cast. Actually I really appreciated how the message flowed. Kudos to Queen Lillbeths' speech writer!

In those 15 minutes of watching, I actually felt an incy bit sorry for her.  There were times where I’m pretty sure she wanted to unclasp her hands but she and her hands were bound by tradition.  To be honest, her whole delivery was a little antiquated, which I guess is the very essence of the monarchy and perhaps a reason why I don’t care for it much. The speech did however make me very grateful, for the fact that I can smile and be me when I deliver my speeches and how at Toastmasters, we learn how to deliver authentic messages from the heart.

So from my heart, I hope you are all having a fantastic festive season filled with food, fun and love.

Merry Christmas Everyone!