Solihull Speakers Club

Winner: Elaine Shiels

The 2008 Club Evaluation Contest was held on 23rd January. The winner was Elaine Shiels with John Wood as runner-up. Elaine, an experienced speaker, will now go forward to represent Solihull Speakers Club in the South Midlands Area Evaluation Contest to be held soon.

There were 5 members who took part and the way the Evaluation Contest is run is quite complex, and necessarily so ---

Contestants listen to an assignment speech given by a member of the ASC. Having heard the speech, the evaluators all move into a separate room and have just 8 minutes to prepare their evaluation notes. So that no evaluator can hear the other evaluations, only one contestant at a time is called back into the auditorium to deliver their own evaluation. The order is decided by a draw. Each evaluation must last no more than 4 minutes exactly. A panel of 3 carefully chosen, experienced contest judges from outside the Club then decide on the 3 best contestants.

In this year’s Contest the speech to be evaluated was to be geared to demonstrate ability to use the voice – volume, variety in pitch and pace, with pauses to add effect. Pronunciation and enunciation have also to be considered.

An evaluation must be a speech in itself, giving praise where due and sound advice as needed, with a decision as to whether the speaker must repeat the assignment or has performed well enough to progress to the next assignment.

We shall be supporting Elaine in the Area Contest. Last year Elaine made it through the Area Speech Contest to compete in the District Contest. Who knows, she may go all the way in the Evaluation Contest this year and become National Winner, like our member Tom Foulerton did in 2007.