Contest.

On Monday, David was a contestant in an International Speech Contest for his Toastmaster's group. This was his first speech in front of the adults and his peers. He has given several other speeches, but always in front of his friends/group....so he was just a "tad" nervous. His speech could be on any topic and needed to be from five to seven minutes long. It was also required to wear formal attire (this was really exciting for him). He had it practiced and just about perfected his monologue to about six minutes and a few seconds more. When we arrived, the speaking order was selected by drawing numbers...yep, you guessed it! He drew numero uno!

I thought for his first time, it was an extremely well delivered speech. He only glanced at his index cards a couple of times, his eye contact was exceptional (this is something we work on a lot with Aspergers), and he demonstrated with gestures and it wasn't obvious to anyone that he was nervous (speaking with him later...he stated that he was shaking on the inside).

So the results.....David was disqualified. His speech lasted only four minutes and thirty-some seconds. He never did rush any of his material (his words were all perfectly delivered speed-wise), but he did leave a chunk of his material out.....oops. Oh well, I am very proud of him for getting up in front of all of the adults and his peers. That is not an easy thing to do for a thirteen year-old or a forty year-old.

A first, second, and third place trophy were awarded and David was given his participation certificate. There were other disqualifications as well. The most eloquently delivered speech was given by a kiddo that has been in Toastmasters for five years and is just a fabulous speaker. He deserved first place until he was disqualified for going over time.....oops! That would have been in David's favor, though. If his speech would have lasted just a little longer, I know he would have placed somewhere in the top three, but no worries......he did a great job and I am a very proud mom.

Next speech: March 22nd!