Chris Werner (DTM) wins both Humorous and Table Topics Club Contests

Club Contest Summary 19th October

Despite the ongoing easing of restrictions, DSTMs Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests were held online for the second year in a row. As one of the three big “Contest Nights”, it is one of the signature nights of the year. As always, it was a night filled with laughs and opinionated statements. At the end of it, Chris Werner, DTM, managed to win not just one, but both contests of the night.

We caught up with Chris shortly after his achievement to get his thoughts on his clean sweep.

“It was definitely a huge surprise to win both! I had taken a step back from contests for the past couple of years, so its good to know that I’ve still got it!”

“For the humorous speech contest, I decided to go for something we can all associate with, office life. It’s something we have all missed and the fun/pranks we can all have when we eventually get back. It still looks a long way off though! I want to also congratulate the other contestants, who all had strong speeches. It’s always interesting to hear other’s take on a humorous speech. It certainly feels different doing a humorous speech when you can’t see or hear others laughing!”

“As for the table topics, I was up last, so had no clue of what the other contestants had done. It was good as the pressure was off in that sense, and it was a good topic which expresses an opinion. I always find those to be the best ones. Table topics really is a toss of a dice, free game for everyone. Anyone can win on the night, and I am delighted to have won, especially as table topics is still an area which I need to improve on. There are longer standing members of the club who I still keenly look at regarding structuring a good response.”

Area Contest Preparation 02/11

Chris will now go on to the Area contest, where he will be Dublin South’s sole representative. He will be joined by the winners of club contests held by Dublin 18, Tara, Microsoft OneVoice and UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School clubs. Chris has had experience at competing at the Area level before, so we asked him to comment on what he expects at the Area level.

“The Area contests is where I learnt the most when starting out. I highly recommend other members from all across the Area to join in as well and listen. They were always jam-packed when in person, and its definitely a step up from the club level. I don’t know who I’ll be up against, but I know that I will have to perform even better than the other night!”

Dublin South Toastmasters will be hosting the Area 54 Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests on Tuesday November 2nd which will still be held online through Zoom. If you wish to attend, please email dublinsouthtoastmasters@gmail.com for the link and start time.

We look forward to welcoming you there!