The Toastmasters rules
The six official contests
Toastmasters International recognises six speech contests, and a district may conduct no others. Each begins in the clubs: club winners go to the Area contest, Area winners to the Division contest, and Division winners to the District contest.
- International Speech Contest — Contestants present a five- to seven-minute speech on any subject they choose. This is the contest that continues past the district, to the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the World Championship of Public Speaking.
- Evaluation Contest — Contestants observe a five- to seven-minute test speech and then present a two- to three-minute evaluation of it.
- Humorous Speech Contest — Contestants present a humorous speech that must be thematic in nature — an opening, a body and a close — rather than a series of one-liners.
- Table Topics Contest — An impromptu speech. Every contestant answers the same topic, and learns it only when the contest chair introduces them.
- Tall Tales Contest — Contestants present a speech on a topic that is highly exaggerated and improbable in theme or plot.
- Online Speech Contest — Contestants present a five- to seven-minute speech on any subject they choose, live and online from physically distant locations.
Which contests a district runs
Every district must conduct the International Speech Contest, and Toastmasters requires that it be conducted in English. Beyond it, a district may conduct up to three further contests in English and up to four in other languages, each in a language its District Director chooses and its District Executive Committee approves at its first meeting of the program year. A contest held in another language under the rules of the International Speech Contest is titled with the name of that language — the French Speech Contest, for instance — and, unlike the International Speech Contest, it does not continue beyond the district.
When district contests are held
A district may hold its district-level contests at two occasions and no others: its annual district conference, and an event in October or November. The district-level International Speech Contest must be held at the annual district conference. A district running the Online Speech Contest may put it on a separate day so that contestants and officials can take part entirely online, and must hold it either in October or November or between March 15 and June 1.
Who can compete
A contestant must be a paid member of a club in good standing, in the Area, Division and District where they are competing. The International Speech Contest asks for one thing more: certificates of completion for Levels 1 and 2 of any Pathways path, or the Distinguished Toastmaster award. Incumbent district officers whose terms end on 30 June, candidates for district office, International Officers and Directors and their candidates, Region Advisors and immediate past District Directors may not compete in any contest.
How many contestants advance
One contestant normally advances from each contest to the next level. Where an Area has four assigned clubs or fewer, a district may choose to let two contestants advance from each club; the same choice exists from Area to Division where a Division has four Areas or fewer, and from Division to District where a district has four Divisions or fewer. The decision must be made and communicated across the district before any club contest is held, and applied consistently once made.
The Speech Contest Rulebook is Protocol, and it is the authority on everything above — speech lengths, timing signals, judging, disqualification and protests included.
Speech Contests on Toastmasters.org
