March Madness and the World Championship of Public Speaking

I just finished sweeping my Area Contest last Friday night, both Table Topics and International Speech, as I make yet another run at a third District Trophy in Topics, and hopefully, finally, a 1st place trophy at the World Championship of Public Speaking (WCPS).

Similarly (or not), Duke, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Michigan State all won their Elite Eight games to send them into next weekends Final Four in the NCAA Basketball National (USA) Championships, where one of them will end up winning it all, and be considered the best team in the country, out of a couple hundred overall, and 68 who ended up in the tournament, commonly referred to as March Madness.


They say that between 30,000 and 40,000 contestants start at the club level, and average of roughly 2.7 per club (15,543), which is where we get the statistic oft used in marketing the WCPS - best out 35,000 speakers worldwide. Once you get past club, you'll compete in one of 3277 Areas, 712 Divisions, and 97 Districts (thanks George Marshall for running these stats down), meaning at any various level you can say you're in top 10 percent of competitive TM speakers after winning Area, the top 2 percent after Division, the top two hundredths percent (I think that's how one would say it - .00277) after District, and so on....whether you win the Final or not. Not bad, right?

Both March Madness and the WCPS have six rounds, though it can have seven, if, in basketball, you end up in a 'play-in' game, of which there are four, or in the Int'l Contest, if you're in a large district that has a run-off after the Division level. But basically, the best team plays six others teams out of the 68 to claim their title - in a seeded tournament, with the 'best' ranked teams facing off with the worst - one seeds down to sixteen seeds.

The World Champion goes through Club, Area, Division, District, the Semi-Finals, and the Finals. During that run, the Champ will face anywhere from no competition to 5 competitors at the average club and Area contest - so let's be optimistic and say 10 total (your mileage may vary). At Division, I've seen as few as two contestants, as many as 8, so lets be optimistic again and say 5, and most districts have between 4 and 10 competitors, again we'll go with 8 as a high average. The semi's feature 9-10 competitors, the Finals, nine.

OK math majors, that means the World Champion actually faces, in direct competition, around 39 other speakers, with gusts up to 50. We won't even go into the fact that all these speakers are Toastmasters, leaving out the vast world of professional speakers who typically aren't members of TM, much less interested in competing for a trophy they don't 'need'.

Surely, though, these are 50 of the best speakers Toastmasters has to offer, right? Well, it depends. The path for some of the best speakers can end early, if two (or more) top-notch competitors face off too early. I knew a WCPS finalist who lost the next year, at club, to someone else who then went to the Finals for the SECOND time in her career. So the equivalent of two #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament faced off in ROUND ONE! This can happen at any round, and who knows if all the speakers in, say North Carolina are better than all the speakers here in Colorado.

When I compete at Division on the 11th, I'll be facing the fall District Humorous Champion - meaning the two of us hold the last two speaking trophies in District 26, and neither one of us is guaranteed to even PLACE. Will we suddenly fall of the the map as quality speakers?

Additionally, in any given year, a large number of top-notch speakers aren't even competing, as they've taken a year off either in leadership roles, or just to rest awhile.

So, if you can be a World Champion after facing as few as, perhaps, 30-50 other speakers, is there true value in the title?

Elsa/Getty Images

Considering I've been going after this title since 2001, I really have no choice but to say YES. Just as one of the four teams in the NCAA Tourney will eventually be considered the best, even if it's Michigan State, with 11 losses, who gets hot at the right time.

Contestants can only compete with those put before them, after all. They aren't responsible for the format, just as the basketball teams can't always control their seeding in the tournament, or who they will play from round to round. The speech contest is equally unpredictable, thanks to the diversity of judges, and the randomness of speeches created from talented speakers throughout the organization.

And the pressure - oh the pressure. Whether you're facing an audience of 10 at club, or 2000 at the finals, the one loss and you're done nature (in most cases, though some Clubs, Areas, and Divisions send the top two) of the event puts the pressure on.

Craig Valentine, 1999 World Champion of Public Speaking

Winning the championship of public speaking, much like winning any contest, takes a unique combination of talent, performance, and plain old luck. Whether you win on your first try, a la Craig Valentine and Ryan Avery, or after several false starts, like Lance Miller, or several close shaves, such as Jim Key, Mark Hunter, and of course, the King of also-rans, Jock Elliott, who won on his record sixth try in the Finals, you're a champion. You're a great speaker, with a marketable title who has achieved something that, by design, only one person per year can achieve.

Does it mean you're the best? Maybe. Maybe not. It does mean you're a champion - and the truest champions always get better, and usually faster than non-champions. After all, now everyone expects them to be the BEST of the best, not just 'pretty good'. Craig Valentine famously said that the first thing he did after winning the championship in 1999 was to go buy a book on speaking. Good move, I'd say.

Am I trying to run down the credibility of the champs, or the contest? No, not by any means. I still want to win this thing some day before I die. But I am saying that if you don't win, that if you NEVER win, such as John Howard, 5x finalist who died as he went up the leadership ranks, just before he was to take on the Int'l President role, it doesn't mean you aren't a great speaker. If I'm counting right (he says he doesn't remember), J.A. Gamache has gone to the Semi-Finals 8 times, the Finals twice, but hasn't won. He's still a great speaker, right? Rory Vaden? Twice in the Finals, took 2nd in 2007 - seems to be doing fairly well.

It may mean you aren't a CHAMPION, and that you didn't WIN. But as I like to say - WIN ANYWAY. Find your own victories outside of the trophies. Be a champion to your audiences that aren't awarding you little plastic trophies - that's where the victories truly await.

Speaking isn't about Championships, and neither is basketball. They're both about developing skills, promoting emotional (and physical) growth, and sportsmanship. Go Speak & Deliver - and Go Wildcats :)

What I Learned From Ryan Avery: 2012 World Champion of Public Speaking

Ryan is Really Tall - at least compared to me.

'Rich, did you learn anything from Ryan today?'

I was asked this question a couple of times yesterday, and it was difficult for me to answer.

Ryan Avery, at the age of 25, won the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking last August - a title I've chased for the better part of the last 12 years, coming up just short as 2nd Runner Up in 2006, when Mr. Avery was probably just a Sophomore in college....!

Yesterday, on his trek moving himself and his bride, Chelsea, to Texas, he stopped to give a free 2 hour speaking seminar about 'How to Give a Great Speech' to 70 local Toastmasters in an event sponsored by our local District 26.

Ryan was energetic. Funny. Humble. Transparent about his failings. Occasionally kept in-check by his wife and his mother-in-law, as most men are. His presentation was well-organized, had a strong power-point that supported his presentation without overwhelming it, and he supported his information with personal examples that kept our attention and interest.

'Rich, did you learn anything from Ryan today?'

No. And Yes. 

No.

I've been studying speaking methods in one way or another, through Toastmasters, through sales training, through drama, and through my own personal passion for the subject for the last 32 years. Ryan and I both had 2004 World Champion Randy Harvey as coaches, so even that homespun advice was old hat. Even his wonderful motivational review of Simon Sinek's 'What - How -Why' model was familiar to me through the teachings of many other speakers I've followed, most specifically John DiLemme's 'What's Your Why?' programs.

And Yes.

First, hearing all this information in such a compressed and concise manner helped me refocus on a few things I want to accomplish. Writing in this blog for one. Possibly competing next year, for another.

Second, I learned a lot about HIM - and all the hard work he put into winning the trophy in just his first nine months. He talked about the hundreds of hours he put into practicing. Probably more hours that I have in my 12 years competing combined. Six kids tend to dominate my hours - just saying.

Third, I learned that he has probably learned more about speaking and the speaking business in the nine months SINCE winning than in his journey to winning in the first place. His presentation and product table was as professional as I've seen from most any World Champion.

Fourth, I learned that my concept of Win Anyway is more important than ever. When someone wins a championship, a gold medal, a political office, whatever, on their first try - it colors their perspective. People teach what they know - and Ryan teaches visualization, writing goals down, hard work, positive attitude - all within the scope of achieving his victory. He says he refused to let the thought of losing enter his mind for any length of time. For him, it worked out. For 29,999 other competitors, it did not.

I don't believe for a minute that Ryan thinks that if we all work as hard as he did, if we all follow his track to the WCPS religiously, that we will all win. It's an impossibility. Still, for him, he doesn't know what it's like to lose in that venue - to get so close you can taste it, and then watch another grasp it for themselves.

He was asked what would happen if he lost, and he really had no answer, beyond 'I couldn't have lost'. I think he meant this, at some level, in a 'Win Anyway' kind of way - that by doing his best he couldn't have experienced a loss. He came close to saying this, but always came back to the statement 'I already knew I was the World Champion'.

You don't know what you don't know - and Ryan doesn't know what it's like to lose the World Championship. Tough to fault him on that, right?

Fifth, and most importantly, I learned that sometimes I just don't work hard enough. On my speeches, on my life in general. Maybe this is a lesson more appropriate for my Win Anyway blog, but I learned it both from 2001 World Champ Jim Key a few weeks ago, and Ryan, so here it is.

Yes, I may have six kids. Yes, we may have a tremendous amount of medical stuff going on, from brain tumors to Aspergers to Degenerative Disk Disorder to Scoliosis to Neurofibromatosis. But it doesn't give me a pass to stop working towards my dreams. Not necessarily winning the World Championship, though that would be nice, but of really getting out there with my speaking career, of making a bigger difference than I've been making.

Ryan Avery was and is all about playing big. As much as I've accomplished, as many people as I've had the privilege of helping, I've still been playing small.

'Rich, did you learn anything from Ryan today?'

No. And Yes. No, I didn't learn how to play big from him - I think Tony Robbins taught me that years ago. And Yes. Ryan reminded me that I SHOULD play big, that I CAN play big, and that I am cheating myself, my kids, my clients, my readers, if I don't.

I doubt Ryan intended that to be his message yesterday. Regardless, that's what I learned. Because Ryan Avery can Speak....& Deliver.

'Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others' - Marianne Williamson

Time Flies When You're Having Fun...

Nearly a month since my last post? Doesn't feel like it, that's for sure.

This may seem odd, but I've actually been busy speaking...and coaching...even coaching someone giving a speech about being - wait for it - too BUSY!

How do you handle it when you realize you've left a project, or a blog, unattended to far longer than you imagined? My clients often tell me how easy it is to put off writing their speeches, finding stories for their story log, and contacting potential places to speak. Indeed - I completely understand.

The only answer is to get back to it - to put aside the feeling of overwhelm, the worry that you must come back with some gargantuan effort, and just write, or speak, or call, or whatever it is that you have put aside for so long, and build momentum.

So what have I been busying my time with?

Doris Duke Theatre, filling up for SPEAK.

A trip to Hawaii, for one, where the Toastmasters of District 49 welcomed me to a screening of Speak the Movie. 200 people showed up at the Doris Duke Theatre in Honolulu for a movie style showing. Afterward, I took questions for about 45 minutes, on everything from my mindset to my future plans to how my kids are now, five years later.

Willie Jones - 1997 World Champion of Public Speaking

Sheryl Roush - Accredited Speaker, Author

My host, Cain Kamano, and his wife Liz, showed me a great time the rest of the week, and had arranged for me to give an abbreviated version of my Win Anyway keynote to three Toastmasters clubs in the area, including the home club of World Champion of Public Speaking Willie Jones - who actually showed up and provided me with some valuable feedback afterward.

My last night there was yet another Toastmaster meeting, this time sharing the stage with Accredited Speaker Sheryl Roush, as she and I were assigned to evaluate two speeches that were just a day away from being given at their District contest. If you haven't experienced Sparkle-Tude in person, you can't miss a chance to spend time with Sheryl. Watch for her coming to an event near you!

Coming home, I began going down the homestretch with a few clients competing at Divisional and District rounds of the Toastmasters International Speech Contest here in my home District 26. It's been tremendous working with so many speakers, helping them take their speeches to a higher level than before, and creating a wonderful gift for their audiences. 

At the conference itself over the last weekend, after watching the inimitable World Champion of Public Speaking Jim Key give two outstanding sessions focused on achieving excellence and the value of storytelling, I delivered my own 45 minute breakout session on Creating Championship Speakers with Championship Evaluations - stressing the importance of giving, and RECEIVING, feedback in the most effective ways possible.

Surrounded by 2003 World Champion of Public Speaking
Jim Key and Vocal Coach and Voice Actor Hilary Blair

Before he flew off Sunday morning, Jim kicked off a morning devoted to professional speaking by giving us tips on starting a business as a speaker, followed by some individual coaching. Rounding out the morning, Hilary Blair, professional vocal coach and voice-over professional, offered an entertaining and informative review of vocal exercises and a look into how our voice works both for and against us. I closed the event with 45 minutes with an interactive look at Discovering and Defining your Message, ending with a quick tutorial about product creation.

A whirlwind month, and I've only shared some of the highlights. What have you been doing - what have you been busy with? What stages have you graced? Are you out sharing your message and making an impact? I know you are - many to a much greater extent than I have this month. Share your story in the comments - I love hearing about your successes!

In the meantime, it's OK to get a bit busy, and to get caught up in the gust of wind as time flies. As long as you always remember to occasionally land and catch up, and always, of course, to Speak...& Deliver!