Imagine being called upon to deliver a two-and-one-half minute speech in front of an audience of about 200 people on the spur of the moment.  Your assigned topic: “Personal success is . . .” That’s all you know. Now deliver your speech!  Don’t let those heart palpitations and sweaty palms stop you.

For many people, that would seem an utterly terrifying prospect. But Toast of Jax Toastmaster David Rafanowicz, a Julington Creek Plantation resident, rose to the challenge this weekend in an impromptu speech contest and brought a coveted first place trophy back to his Toastmasters club in Mandarin.

The annual competition, held at a hotel outside Orlando this year as part of a Toastmaster’s district conference there, included participants from throughout Florida and the Bahamas. 

Toast of Jax Club President Danny Pritchard explained, “Toastmasters District 47 includes 5,200 members in 314 Toastmaster clubs in Florida and the Bahamas. The competition begins with each club holding its own contest. Club level winners then progress to an area level competition. Area winners then compete in one of the district’s ten geographic divisions. Finally, the ten division winners compete at the district contest. It’s actually quite an accomplishment just to make it up to the district level. David is the first Toast of Jax member in recent memory to actually bring home a district trophy. We’re delighted!”

Toastmaster Rafanowicz commented that he only heard six of the other competitors speak since he drew the number four slot for speaking order. He elaborated, “All contestants leave the hall and are called in one at a time so that none know the topic until their turn on stage. I heard six exceptional speeches and suspected the three I didn’t hear were also very good. Because of what I perceived as good audience response, I thought I perhaps had a good shot at winning third place.”

“After the judges deliberated, I was somewhat disappointed not to hear my name called when third place was announced,” Rafanowicz said. “Then they called second place and the contestant I had pegged for first place went up to accept his trophy. At that point, I expected one of the speakers I hadn’t heard would win.  I was totally shocked to hear my name called for first place. It was a very competitive contest.”  

Asked what he did to prepare for the contest, David explained that the only preparation possible for an off-the-cuff speech was to develop the confidence necessary to speak before an audience. “That’s really the basic goal of a Toastmasters club,” he said, “building confidence.”

He compared Toastmasters to learning to ride a bicycle, “When first starting out, the club provides the training wheels necessary to overcome your speaking fears. Once you’ve delivered several speeches to a supportive audience, taking on the challenge of addressing a large gathering just seems like a natural progression. It’s like riding a bicycle after you’ve overcome the initial trepidation. After a while, speaking to a group of 200 is no different than talking to a small group of close friends.”

Rafanowicz emphasized that he would recommend Toastmasters to everyone interested in improving their communication skills, whether they simply wanted to hone their ability to communicate individually or to take on the challenge of speaking to a larger group.

“Effective communication is an integral part of everything we do,” he said.  “Being able to think on your feet and respond coherently is very much a part of any job interview. And being called upon to comment on something in a business meeting can unfortunately leave some feeling like a deer caught in the headlights. Toastmasters helps people overcome the fear of speaking, something people fear more than death according to the Book of Lists.”

A non-profit organization founded in 1924, Toastmasters International has over 9,300 clubs and more than 195,000 members in approximately 80 countries. The 26 Toastmasters clubs in the Jacksonville area meet at various times throughout the week in all parts of the city, Orange Park and St. Augustine. Further details are available on the Toastmasters International website at www.toastmasters.org.

Toast of Jax Toastmasters, chartered in 1973, has 40 members and meets at 7:30 a.m. every Saturday morning, except holiday weekends, at the Ramada Inn at I-295 and San Jose Boulevard. Guests are welcome. The club maintains its own website at www.toastofjax.org.