wins Area Speech Contest
CUL DE SAC:--- Sharon Layne, Competent Communicator of the Disciples Toastmasters Club, opened up about an addiction she battled for years, wowing her audience once again to smoothly win Area 26 Toastmasters Speech Contest Wednesday night (April 1, 2015).
Toastmasters from the various clubs turned out to witness the Area 26 contest, which took place at St. Maarten Academy's academic campus. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the contestant from Soualiga Corporate Club was unable to participate, leaving Layne and Glendon Wilson of Philipsburg Club in the race.
Wilson, speaking first, took the audience on a scenic journey he and a friend had experienced while hiking, adeptly using a myriad of figurative devices to help listeners visualize the eventful trip. With a speech entitled "And then something happened" the unexpected twist at the end caused ripples of laughter from his peers.
Up next, Layne, a teacher of English by profession, presented a hotbed of analogies and puns in her speech, "TMAR – anonymous". Her effective use of dry wit and props underscored her addiction to procrastination, forcing her to join the Disciples Toastmasters Club, which she likened to a rehabilitation centre.
"With just a few of my cherished belongings - my keys, reluctant mind, [and] stubborn mindset...I reluctantly walked into Disciples rehabilitation centre one Sunday, pessimistic that this place could cure me, but was surprised to see addicts of all kinds. Some were addicted to speech presentations, evaluations, and role playing. The more I sat and observed, the more I was drawn into the peculiar mannerisms of these addicts," Layne stated.
The audience was enlightened of her struggles to conform to the regiment of the Toastmasters organization, which forced her to follow a 10-step programme "to get clean", otherwise known as the 10 speech project presentations needed to achieve the level of Competent Communication (CC).
"I left with my CC dosage of legal drugs...I opened the pill [the manual] and much to my amazement, saw my first project was 'Icebreaker'. No one has to teach me to break any white stuff. I am an expert. I should tell them a thing or two about that white stuff. And sure I did liquefy that ice in less than six minutes. For the next four months I went through my pills [speech presentations] in record time. There was no stopping me and in February, I was given the final dose of my 10-step programme and graduated, expecting to return to normal life."
Cured of one addiction, Layne said she started to experience withdrawal symptoms for another addiction - the TM drug on which she got hooked. "Jitter bugs, glossophobia, pause-filling accidents, Ah-Counteraction and ultimately time lapses," said Layne, parodying the various roles of Toastmasters. During her journey, she had concluded that "TM rehab is really hard". Nonetheless, she persevered with a drug called "mentorship".
Although Layne is cured of procrastination and she no longer puts off what can be done today for tomorrow, she is now battling her addiction to Toastmasters, and is steadfastly pursuing her goal to become a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM).
"The high I got from this drug [Toastmasters] will help me to become clean in the near future and I would boast that I am a DTM...I am still an addict. I just can't get enough of my addiction for Toastmasters."
There are five Toastmasters clubs on St. Martin, of which three – Disciples, Philipsburg, and Soualiga Corporate – make up Area 26. The other two – Evolutions and Achievers – along with the Anguilla Club, fall under Area 27.
Should there be an Area 27 contest, Layne would then have to compete with the winner of that contest for the right to represent territory Sint. Maarten at the Toastmasters International District 81 Contest, which will be held in Port-au-Prince, Haiti from May 15 – 17.