Online Speech Contest
Best Practices
2021-2022 Toastmasters Contest CycleTOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

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Item 479 Rev. 11/2021

Table of Contents
Online contest requirement......................................................................................................1
Overview.............................................................................................................................................1
Preparation and Technology.....................................................................................................2
Choose your platform and settings (contest chair)..........................................................2
Establish processes (contest chair and chief judge).........................................................2
Conduct a judge’s briefing (chief judge)...............................................................................3
Meet with timers (contest chair)...............................................................................................4
Conduct a contestant’s briefing (contest chair).................................................................5
Set cameras and speaking area (contest chair)..................................................................6
During your contest.......................................................................................................................7
Share expectations (contest chair)..........................................................................................8
Have clear cues and transitions (contest chair)..................................................................8
Collect and count ballots (chief judge)..................................................................................9
Conduct interviews and give awards (contest chair).......................................................9
After the contest...........................................................................................................................10
Finish paperwork (chief judge and contest chair)...........................................................10
Evaluation and Table Topics Speech Contests................................................................10

Missions, Values, and Promises
Toastmasters
International Mission
We empower individuals
to become more effective
communicators and leaders.

District Mission

Club Mission

We build new clubs and support all
clubs in achieving excellence.

We provide a supportive andpositive learning experience inwhich members are empowered
to develop communication andleadership skills, resulting in greater
self-confidence and personal growth.

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 Integrity
 Respect Service Excellence

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Empowering individuals through personal and professional development.
This is the promise Toastmasters International makes to club members. Once we have reached this goal consistently,
through all clubs across the globe, we will have achieved club excellence.

A Toastmaster’s Promise
As a member of Toastmasters International and my club, I promise To attend club meetings regularly
 To prepare all of my projects to the best of my ability, basing them on the Toastmasters education program To prepare for and fulfill meeting assignments
 To provide fellow members with helpful, constructive evaluations
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Toastmasters activities

Online Contest Requirement

For the 2021-2022 speech contest cycle, the decision of the Board of Directors was that each District Executive
Committee (DEC) may choose a format of either in-person or online. Each District was required to communicate
their selected format to Toastmasters World Headquarters by July 31, 2021. The selected format applies to all Area,
Division, and District contests.
Online contests are an exception to General Rules for all Toastmasters Speech Contests, 2. Eligibility, C., 11. whichstates, "Each contestant must be physically present to compete beyond the club level. Participation by audio, video,
or other remote technology is not permitted beyond the club level." Other than this exception, the Speech Contest
Rulebook must be followed as far as it is applicable.

Overview
The best practices and tips outlined here will help you prepare forand conduct a successful online speech contest. While using thisguide to help plan your online contest, it is critical that you also review andfollow all rules outlined in the Speech Contest Rulebook.
If you are conducting your District-level International Speech Contest,
remember that the contest must be recorded. In addition to the International
Speech Contest Rules in the Speech Contest Rulebook, make sure to also
review the Video Recording Guidelines for Online Speech Contests.

1Preparation and Technology
Choose your platform and settings(contest chair) Determine how you would like to run and organize
your contest, and select a platform and settings thatwill meet your needs.
■ For example, if you are conducting your contest
via Zoom or a similar platform, you may havethe choice to organize your contest as either ameeting or a webinar.
• A meeting will allow you to create separate
breakout rooms but will also mean that audience
members can unmute themselves and turn on
their cameras at any time.
• A webinar does not allow for breakout rooms but
will automatically keep all audience members
muted with cameras off.
■ Consider the needs of your contest when selecting
your platform and settings.
• For example, breakout rooms may be helpful fora Table Topics or Evaluation Contest. However,
if you have a large audience, it may be more
important to ensure no one can accidently
unmute themselves during a contestant’s speech.
 Test your platform and settings well in advance ofyour contest. You may want to set up a test call withsome of your contest officials in advance. This willallow you to ensure you know what settings areavailable to you and can determine the best way touse each one.
■ For example, if your platform includes a chatfeature, you will want to test it. Find out if theplatform will let you turn chat off, and decide how
and if you want to use it during your contest.
• If you are leaving a chat feature on during thecontest, ensure you know who will receive chats
and that messages won’t be inadvertently sent tocontestant’s while they are speaking.
• If you use breakout rooms during your contest(for ballot counting, protests, or as holding

rooms), make sure that the platform keeps
the communications in the breakout rooms
confidential.

Establish processes (contest chair andchief judge)
 Prior to the briefings and the contest, share tutorials
for the platform with contestants, contest officials,
and attendees.
 Encourage all participants to download andfamiliarize themselves with the platform ahead oftime.
 Create a meeting moderator or technical expert
position. This person is responsible for setting up
the meeting and handling all of the technology. This
could be your Sergeant at Arms, or you could assign
someone else entirely, but make sure the person
assigned to this role is comfortable with the platform
you are using.
■ If you are recording your contest, ensure themeeting moderator has the capability to recordand understands how recording works on yourselected platform.
■ You may also consider appointing a second
meeting moderator whose sole responsibility isrecording the contest.
 If you choose to leave the chat function on during
the contest, you may want to designate a teammember to moderate that chat.
 Decide in advance what, if anything, you will show
during the minute of silence. Ensure you do notinclude audio so as to fully respect the minute ofsilence.
 Consider appointing backup contest officials (judges
and ballot counters) who can step in should one ofyour officials lose connection partway through thecontest.
 Determine a process for protests in advance andbe ready to share this with judges and contestants
during your briefings.

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■ Remember that if there is a protest, you will want
a way for the judges to join the counting room
to confer.
 Decide how you plan to respond should atechnology issue cause a contestant or official
to lose connection during the contest. It is
recommended that the chief judge pause thecontest to provide opportunity for the contestant orofficial to regain connection.
■ The chief judge decides how long thecontest should be paused for in the eventof a technical issue.
• The chief judge must communicate this decision
to all contestants and contest officials prior to thestart of the contest.
■ The chief judge is responsible for pausing thecontest. Determine ahead of time how thedecision to pause will be communicated.
• It is recommended that all contest officials have ameans of communicating with the chief judge. If
a contest official cannot hear or see a contestant,they should contact the chief judge immediately.
■ If a contestant loses connection during the contest
but is able to regain connection, they should pickup their speech at the point where they left off.
The contest chair can indicate the last word or
sentence that was heard so they know where theylost connection.
■ If a contest official loses connection and you
have a backup official to take their place, confirm
the process for communicating with the backup
official that they are needed.

Conduct a judge’s briefing (chief judge)
 The judges must be briefed using a live audio andvideo conferencing tool via an online platform.
 Ensure contest officials receive all necessary forms inadvance of the contest. Fillable versions of all speech
contest forms are available on the Toastmasters
International website.
■ Have judges sign and submit the Judge’s
Certification of Eligibility and Code of Ethics aheadof your contest. Digital signatures are accepted,
and the fillable version of this form includes adigital signature field.

 Inform judges of the process for submitting
the ballot.
■ All contests must use the official Judge’s Guide
and Ballot specific to the contest type.
• As much as possible, maintain the standard
process for speech contest results submissions.
• Avoid using external voting systems.
 It is recommended that you hold your briefing using
the same platform and settings you plan to use
for your contest so that judges can ensure they are
comfortable with the technology.
■ Provide some time for them to ask questions
about the platform and let them know if there isanything specific they should be aware of related
to settings or other features.
 In addition to the information shared in a standard
judges briefing, also include the following:■ The judging criteria remains the same; judges
should adhere to the items outlined in theJudge’s Guide and Ballot, just as they would in an
on-premise contest.
■ For the sake of an online contest, looking at thecamera is considered eye contact.
■ Judge’s should not take into consideration acontestant’s audio or video quality■ Should technology issues occur to a degree thathinders the contest, the chief judge can make thedecision to stop the contest and resume when theissues are resolved.
• Let judges know the plan for responding totechnology issues.
■ Tell judges how the speaking area was or will bedefined during your contestant’s briefing.
• Remind judges that the limitations of the online
setting mean they will likely not be able to see
contestants’ entire bodies and that contestants
will be speaking from a limited space. Ensure
they are aware that these limitations should not
be counted against contestants. Judges should
focus on how each contestant used the speaking
area as it was defined to them.
■ Provide guidelines for how protests will behandled.
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 Ensure judges know how to rename themselves on
your selected platform and are aware of how theyshould rename themselves.
■ The chief judge, contest chair, timers, andcontestants should rename as: role + name.
■ Judges and ballot counters should remain
anonymous and will want to name themselves
based on their role only. You may want to assign
them a number to distinguish between officials(e.g. Judge 1, Judge 2, etc.).
■ If your platform allows participants to upload aphoto, ensure all judges and ballot counters
have removed their photo or replaced it with ageneric image.
 Share information about how judges cancommunicate with the chief judge, contest chair, or
meeting moderator during the contest.
■ If possible, use an instant messaging service as
the primary form of communication, so thatyour conversations take place outside of thecontest platform.
■ Ensure you have a method to share files (such ascompleted ballots and timing sheets) and answer
questions.
■ Confirm that all contest officials and contestants
have an account for whatever service you’re using.
 It is recommended that you set up multiple chats on
your selected messaging service:■ Ensure that all contestants have the chief judge’s
information.
■ Ensure that all contest officials have the chief
judge’s information.
■ Create a timer chat containing both timers.
■ Ensure the timers have the chief judge's
information for submitting timing sheets.
■ Ensure that all judges have the information of theballot counters to be able to submit their ballot.
■ Create a ballot-counting chat, containing the chief
judge and all ballot counters.
■ Ensure the tiebreaking judge only has contact withchief judge and remains anonymous.
■ Be prepared to create a protest chat, containing
the chief judge and all voting judges, shoulda protest be lodged. You could also set up a

breakout room in the online meeting platform
you are using. However, you will want to ensurethat it can only be accessed by invitation from themeeting moderator.

Meet with timers (contest chair) The timers must be briefed using a live audio andvideo conferencing tool via an online platform.
 Determine the method you plan to use for signaling
timing during your contest.
■ If your platform allows virtual backgrounds, yoursignaling timer could use green, yellow, and red
backgrounds to signal time.
• Virtual timing backgrounds are available todownload from the Toastmasters International
website.
• If using virtual backgrounds, you may want toconsider having your timer cover their camera
lens. This will ensure that only their backgroundshows and their facial expressions do not
become a distraction to contestants.
■ If your platform does not allow virtual
backgrounds, another option is to have the timer
hold up green, yellow, and red cards or paper infront of their camera at the appropriate times.
 Conduct a timer’s training or similar meeting toshare details of how you plan to conduct timing andsignaling.
■ Ensure timers have the opportunity to practicewith your selected signaling method.
■ Agree on and practice a method ofcommunication for indicating when each minuteof silence has concluded.

4 Review timing procedure and have each timer selecttheir role:■ Timer 1 uses a stopwatch to time each speaker
and is considered the official timekeeper of thecontest. They report speech times on the Time
Record Sheet and deliver this to the chief judge.
■ Timer 2 uses a stopwatch to time each speech inorder to operate the signaling device. Timer 2 does
not submit a Time Record Sheet.
■ If either the signaling device OR the stopwatch
fails, this means the contestant receives 30 seconds
extra overtime before being disqualified.
■ If either timer loses connection partway throughthe contest, this also means the affected
contestant receives an extra 30 seconds.
 Ensure that timer 2, with the signaling device, isclearly visible to the contestants at all times.
 Review the cues and transitions section of thisdocument and decide if you plan to allow an audio
test for each contestants. If you plan to include an audio test, let timers know and ensure they areaware of when time should begin.

Conduct a contestant’s briefing(contest chair) Contestants must be briefed using a live audio andvideo conferencing tool via an online platform.
 Ahead of the briefing, ensure you are aware of
any accommodations that need to be made forcontestants who have a disability; speak withthem privately about accommodations for things
like timing signals etc.; ensure they will have theopportunity to practice with any alternate signaling
methods.
 Determine a way to draw for speaking order that
promotes fairness, and ensure contestants know
how speaking order will be determined.
■ One option for speaking order is to use an online
randomization tool.
 Ensure contests receive all necessary forms inadvance of the contest. Fillable versions of all speech
contest forms are available on the Toastmasters
International website.

■ Have contestants sign and submit the Speaker’s
Certification of Eligibility and Originality aheadof your contest. Digital signatures are accepted,
and the fillable version of this form includes adigital signature field.
■ Run a separate eligibility check on each contestant
to confirm that they are eligible to compete.
■ If you are planning to record your contest, ensure
contestants also sign the Video Release Form.
■ If you are recording your District contest for region
quarterfinals, also ensure all contestants sign the
Region Quarterfinals Video Release Form.
 Cover the process for communicating with the chief
judge in case they lose connection with the contest
or need to lodge a protest.
 Confirm speech titles with contestants in advance ofthe contest.
■ Ensure contestants know how to notify thecontest chair if their speech title changes before
the contest.
■ Practice name and speech title pronunciation with
contestants as necessary.
 Remind contestants that they will be shown on
camera during the contest and should consider thisin their attire and location.
■ Contestants will want to avoid busy patterns,
distracting jewelry or hats, or colors that may washthem out our blend in with their background.
(The contest chair will be on camera and will wantto keep these guidelines in mind as well.) Talk through contest logistics. Review the cuesand transitions section of this document and talkthrough the contest flow with contestants.
■ Ensure contestants know how to control theiraudio and video and are aware of cues for when toturn these on and off.
• When the contestant is speaking, all otherparticipants should mute their microphone andturn off their camera, except for the current
speaker and the timer.
• If you plan to allow an audio test for eachcontestant, make sure they are aware of this andunderstand when their time will start.

5 Ensure contestants know what will be used fortiming signals and how timers will be briefed.
■ Provide each contestant with an opportunity topractice with the timing signals. Ensure they can see
all signals and know how to keep the timer in view.
• For example, some platforms will allow
contestants to pin the timer’s video so that itremains the primary video on their screen.

Set cameras and speaking area
(contest chair)
During the contestant briefing, you will need to set a
standard speaking area and help contestants adjust
their technology. While all contestants will be speaking
in their own space, using their own technology, thespeaking area should be set to roughly the same sizefor each contestant. When setting speaking area, thegoal is to maximize the view of the contestants without
sacrificing audio quality.
To set the speaking area:
 Have each contestant stand roughly the same
distance from their camera. For example, you
may want to have everyone start 3 to 5 feet fromtheir camera.
 Have each contestant check their audio and ensurethat their microphone is clearly picking up their
voice from where they are standing.
■ If a contest has a limitation that prevents themfrom standing as far back as you direct (such as
wired headphones), have all contestants step
forward until everyone is roughly the same
distance from their camera. This will be the main
center point of their speaking area.
 Work with each contestant to ensure they know how
far they can go to each side (as well as forward andback) without stepping out of frame.
■ Contestants should carefully mark their entire
speaking area. You will want them to come to thecontest with these marks in place, ready to speak.
If recording your District International Speech Contest,
keep in mind that you will need to submit video forregion quarterfinals, and review the Video Recording
Guidelines for Online Speech Contests, available here.
For all online speech contests, provide each contestantwith an opportunity to practice with their equipment
at the contestant’s briefing and work with them on any
necessary adjustments.
Work with each contestant to adjust their technology,
using the following guidelines: Camera equipment■ Place the camera equipment eye level with the
speaker, if possible.
• For the sake of an online contest, looking at thecamera is considered eye contact. (This noteshould be shared with all contestants.)■ Ensure that the camera is mounted or secured toprevent movement during the speech.
• Contestants should avoid having someone
hold the camera, as this can cause unwanted
movement.
 Lighting■ Have the main source of light be from behind thewebcam, if at all possible, so as to illuminate thespeaker’s face and body.
■ If relying on natural light, practice at the same timeof day as contest will be held.
■ If the contestant’s face is shadowed, have them
fix a light in front of them and behind the camera,even if this means someone outside of camera
view holds a cell phone with flashlight on.
■ Ensure that no light sources are pointing directly at
the camera.
 Gestures/Movement■ Have each contestant practice planned movement
and gestures to ensure they will remain in frame.
 Sound■ Have contestants set up their technology in aspace that reduces echo and background noise as
much as possible.
■ Test any microphone or audio options on theplatform you will be using and select the one thatallows for the clearest sound.

6 Device■ Recommend that contestants avoid using amobile device, if possible.
• If a contestant will be using a mobile device, havethem practice to ensure their device is set up to
capture the best possible image and that they
are able to see the timer.
 Background and props■ It is recommended that contestants do not use
virtual backgrounds for an online contest.
• Virtual backgrounds can become easily distorted,
particularly when using gestures or movement,
and this distortion could distract from acontestant’s speech.

• If a contestant chooses to use a virtual
background, this is considered to be a prop;
ensure that they tell you in advance and practicewith it during your briefing.
■ Rather than using virtual backgrounds, it isrecommended that contestants set their speaking
area in front of a neutral background with limited
distractions such as a blank wall. Alternatively, asheet could be hung to eliminate distractions in
the background.
 Once contestants have set their speaking area,
technology, and lighting, it is recommended thatthey leave everything in place until after the contest.

During Your Contest
Share expectations (contest chair) Ask all participants, including audience members, toarrive early so they can set up and ensure they can
see and hear the contest.
■ Your meeting moderator, contest officials, andcontestants may want to arrive 45 minutes to anhour in advance to allow time for technology
setup and troubleshooting.
• Depending on the settings you are using for yourcontest, you may ask judges to arrive earlier thancontestants so you can ensure they are re-named
and fully anonymous before contestant’s arrive.
• While contestants should come with thetechnology setup as it was during the briefing,
you will want to allow time for a quick test toensure everyone’s audio is working as expected.
■ Audience members may want to arrive 15 to 30
minutes in advance.

 Recommend that your contest officials andcontestants have a primary device and a backup
device, if possible.
■ For example, a hot spot on a cell phone could be
used as a backup source of internet.
■ A tablet or iPad camera could be used as a backup
computer and/or camera should the primary
computer or camera fail.

7 At the beginning of the contest, provide guidance toeveryone attending on how to use the platform; besure to point out any features that they may need to
be aware of in advance.
 If you are using a meeting feature, or another setupthat allows participants to unmute and turn on
cameras:■ Ensure that judges are aware their webcams needto remain off during the entire contest in order tomaintain anonymity.
■ Tell audience members that they must keep their
webcams turned off and microphones muted at
all times.
• Webcams can slow down internet bandwidthand distract from a clear view of contestants.
• While verbal reactions (laughter, etc.) fromaudience members are often welcome in aspeech contest, microphones in an online
speech contest setting will also pick up
distracting background noise.

Online speech contest statement
By attending this remote Area, Division, or District
speech contest, you agree to the privacy policy of
Toastmasters International as well as the unassociatedremote hosting service. Some of your personal
information, such as name, image, and any shared
messages may be shared with other meeting
participants and will be recorded by Toastmasters
International who may use the recording in the future
as it sees fit. Your remote attendance hereby discharges
Toastmasters International from all claims, demands,
rights, promises, damages and liabilities arising out ofor in connection with the use or distribution of said
video recordings, including but not limited to any
claims for invasion of privacy, appropriation of likenessor defamation.

Have clear cues and transitions(contest chair)• Many platforms limit the number of participants
who can speak at once and audio froman audience member’s microphone could
completely cut off the speaker’s audio

Your online contest can be conducted very similar to an
on-premise contest. However, you will want to expect
the logistics and transitions of your online contest to
take longer than in an on-premise contest.

 Ensure that the meeting moderator or anotherindividual is able to mute attendees; place thisperson in charge of monitoring audience members
to ensure no one unmutes during the contest.
 If you have meeting chat turned on, set expectations
for how you would like this to be used. For example,
you may ask that audience members only use chatto indicate technical issues and that contestants only
send chats directly to the meeting moderator or
chief judge.
 Before the contest begins, have the moderator
ensure that all contestants and contest officials
are present.

 Consider how you will transition from the contest
chair to each speaker. Provide each contestant with acue so they know when to turn on their microphone
and video.
■ While contestants’ technology will have beentested before the contest, you may want toconsider adding a brief test for them to confirm
they are unmuted and their audio is working justbefore their speech.
■ If you plan to include this opportunity, let theaudience know what to expect.
 Introduce each contestant at the appropriate time. It
is the contestant’s responsibility to show up for thecontest in time to compete. If a contestant does notshow up for the contest, allow a reasonable amountof time for them to begin. If they do not begin,
introduce the next contestant.
 After the contest chair introduces the contestant,

Because your contest is being held on an online
platform, you will need to read the online speech
contest statement at the start of your contest or include
it in writing in a location that will be visible to all
attendees and participants.

8the contestant should enable their microphoneand camera, then say, “ready,” indicating that theequipment is working.
■ This does not count as the start of their time.
■ The contest chair should verify the identity of
the contestant, based on attendance at thecontestant’s briefing.
■ The contest chair can confirm that they can hearand see the contestant. The timers should be
briefed that the first word or gesture following
this audio check starts the contestant’s official
speech time.

Collect and count ballots (chief judge)
 Each judge should be ready to submit their ballot
digitally via the agreed upon communication
method.
■ Judges and timers should email their completed
ballot to the chief judge and counters directly, or
submit their ballot using an external messaging
platform that allows file sharing.
■ Ensure judges know at what point in the contest
they should submit their ballot.
 The official Judge’s Guide and Ballot should be usedand can be submitted in two ways:■ Complete the entire ballot, then screenshot andcrop the bottom section of the ballot and only
send the screenshot.
■ Complete the bottom section of the ballot andleave the scoring section blank and submit theentire file.
■ Either way, judges should keep in mind that thescores they gave each contestant should not be
submitted.
 Ensure that each submitted ballot includes thejudge’s signature.
■ They may use a digital signature on a fillable
version of the ballot.
■ They may use a stylus on their device to sign
the ballot.
■ They may sign the form and then email a legible
photo of the signed form.

■ They may take a photo of their signature and enter
it on the ballot.
 Have all counters meet together with the chief judge
to tabulate results. The chief judge can determine
the method that should be used for counting.
■ You could set up a meeting separate from yourcontest to allow counting to take place or, if
allowed by your platform, use a breakout room
within the platform. Ensure that no one can enter
the separate meeting room or breakout room
without the approval of the meeting moderator or
chief judge.

Conduct interviews and give awards(contest chair) Contestant interviews can be conducted as theywould in an on-premise contest.
■ Decide in advance if all contestants should turntheir cameras on at once, or if they should dothis one at a time when it is their turn to beinterviewed.
 When announcing results and presenting awards,
you can determine the method that works best foryour contest. For example, you could:■ Deliver first, second, and third place awards at theend of the contest.
• You could have the meeting moderator
screenshare certificates with the winning
contestants’ names entered. If you choose thismethod, be prepared to fill time while the results
are being tabulated.
■ Pause the contest and end the online meeting
after the final contestant interview. Then restart
the meeting and reconvene when results havebeen determined.

9After the contest
Finish paperwork (chief judge andcontest chair) Ensure that all contest officials delete digital files that
include information about scoring, contest results, or
judging notes.
 File any paperwork that you need to hold onto (suchas contestant forms).

 For your District-level International Speech Contest,
submit video including only first-place winner andtheir introduction to World Headquarters within one
week of completing the contest.
 If you have digital certificates or other types ofawards, ensure these are provided to contestants.

Evaluation and Table Topics Speech Contests
If you are conducting an Evaluation or Table Topics
contest, arrange a method for contestants to leave themain meeting to an online location where they can bemonitored until it is their turn to speak.
Some online platforms will allow you to set up breakout
rooms. In this instance, all contestants could be moved
from the main meeting room to a breakout room. Alternatively, you could set up a separate meeting link forcontestants to join; contestants would sign out of themain meeting, join the secondary meeting, and then rejoin the main meeting when invited to do so. In either
instance, the Sergeant at Arms should be present in thecontestant room and main meeting to monitor contestants and ensure they know when to return.

 Evaluation Speech Contest:■ Make the test speaker’s name on the platform“Test Speaker” and have them keep their camera
off until they are announced by the contest chair.
 Table Topics Contest■ Audio lag could cause the topic to be missed by
the contestant, so it is recommended that it istyped privately in chat directly to the contestant,as well as read out loud.

 Table Topics and Evaluation Contests:■ When contestants are invited back, they should
enable their microphone and camera, then say“ready,” indicating that the equipment is working.
This does not count as the start of their time.
 Make sure the contestant’s hands are visible in theframe of the camera. This will allow you to confirm
that they are not using a device

Created with thanks to leaders from Districts 85, 88, 89, and 118.

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