The West Volusia Toastmasters Club today announced its club’s public speaking contest to be held in the Rinker Auditorium at Lynn Business Center, 345 N. Woodland Blvd. at Stetson University’s DeLand campus on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 6:15 p.m. The winner of this local contest will advance to the next level of the International Speech Contest—the world’s largest speech contest, with more than 30,000 presenters in 116 countries vying to become the next World Champion of Public Speaking. The contest begins at the local club level and proceeds through the area, division, district and final levels. The event is sponsored by the Stetson University Speakers Bureau. It is open to the public. Admission is free of charge. Food and drinks will be provided.

“Speech contests are a unique opportunity for the members of our Toastmasters club,” said Christina Mancil, 2011/2012 President of West Volusia Toastmasters Club 2138. “These competitions challenge us to speak in front of larger, less familiar audiences, while encouraging us to embrace any fears and perfect our communication skills. I invite everyone to come observe our club’s inspiring speakers and take a glimpse of what Toastmasters can contribute to your personal and professional growth.”

Active club members with at least six completed speech projects will be giving five to seven-minute, prepared speeches. Judging criteria include originality, speech content, organization, voice quality, gestures and timing. Additionally, there will be a Table Topics contest where competitors will improvise one to two-minute speeches based on a topic they receive when called upon.

The West Volusia Toastmasters are part of Toastmasters International, a global leader in public speaking and leadership skill-building. Both the International Speech Contest and the Table Topics Contest are part of the Toastmasters program. This year, the World Champion of Public Speaking will be crowned at the Toastmasters 2012 International Convention to be held Aug. 15-18 in Orlando, at Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort.

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Founded in October 1924, the organization currently has more than 270,000 members in 13,000 clubs in 116 countries. Each week, Toastmasters helps more than a quarter million people of every ethnicity, education and profession build their competence in communication so they can gain the confidence to lead others. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, please visit www.toastmasters.org.

For information about West Volusia Toastmasters, please visit http://wvtoastmasters.org or call or email Esther Lenssen, Vice President, Public Relations of West Volusia Toastmasters. The club is open to all and meets every Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. at Lynn Business Center, Stetson University, DeLand. It currently has more than 30 members.