University of Toronto Toastmasters Presents

TOAST TALKS

Two days, three competitions & a plethora of public speaking workshops.

Click here to RSVP.

May 7th & 8th

Schedule

DAY 1
May 7th

11:30am-11:40am

11:40am-11:55am

12:00pm-12:45pm

12:45pm-1:00pm

1:00pm-1:30pm

1:30pm-3:00pm

3:00pm-3:45pm

3:45pm-3:55pm

3:55pm-4pm

Opening Remarks

Toast Talks Overview

#HowToWorkshop

Intermission

#SocialSpeeches Workshop

Speech Competition

Guest Speaker

Announcement of Winners

Concluding Remarks

DAY 2
May 8th

11:30am-11:35am

11:35am-12:20pm

12:25pm-1:25pm

1:25pm-1:40pm

1:50pm-2:50pm

2:50pm-3:35pm

3:35pm-3:45pm

3:45pm-3:55pm

Get Settled

#HowTo Workshop

Table Topic Competition

Intermission

Spontaneous Argumentation Competition

#EffectiveEvaluation Workshop

Announcement of Winners

Closing Ceremony

Competition Rules

The speech competition, which must be conducted in English only, follows all rules outlined in the sections below.

Participants should send a backup video at least 8 hours beforehand in the event that technical difficulties occur
Audio - The audio must be clear and without echo, static or other excessive noise.
Camera - The camera must record in high definition. Only single-camera setup is permitted; use of multiple camera angles is not allowed. The camera must be placed on a tripod to maintain stability and prevent unwanted movement. The camera must have an unobstructed, in-focus view of the contestants. The entire speaking area must be visible throughout the recording. The camera must be monitored by a camera operator at all times to ensure it is recording properly.
Lighting - The speaking area must be fully lit. The speaker’s facial expressions must be visible throughout the speech; the image should not be too bright or dark. No lighting, artificial or natural, should point directly at the camera.
Pre-sent Video Recording - The recording must only contain the introduction of the winning contestant’s speech by the contest chair and the entire winning speech. The recording may not be edited in any way, such as by adding text, graphics, images, or anything that does not meet the requirements above.

SPONTANEOUS

Arugmentation

The topics of the debate will be announced the day of.
Participants will receive 30-minutes of preparation time.
Participants will be randomly assigned a position — either ‘for’ or ‘against’ the motion.
The competition should follow the given format
- Pro Opening statements
- Con Opening statements
- Pro Rebuttals
- Con Rebuttals
- Pro Cross-examinations
- Con Cross-examinations
- Pro Closing statements
- Con Closing statements

Example Rubric

All participants must prepare a 5 to 7 minute speech on a common theme that would be announced a week in advance of the competition
Participants should send a backup video at least 8 hours beforehand in the event that technical difficulties occur

SPEECH

Competition

All contestants will receive a similar topic of a general nature.
The topic must be of reasonable length, must not require detailed knowledge, and must lead to an opinion or conclusion.
Contestants will receive no advance knowledge of the topic until the moment they are introduced by the contest chair.
Contestants must not use digital or other devices during the contest to gain an unfair advantage.

TABLE TOPICS