Dorothy Jno Baptiste and Marva Baptiste win Toastmasters National Public Speaking Contests

Marva Baptiste (left) and Dorothy Jno Baptiste
Marva Baptiste (left) and Dorothy Jno Baptiste

The Northern District Toastmasters Club (NDTC) located in Portsmouth, together with the Nature Isle Toastmasters Club (NITC) of Roseau faced off in the annual national Prepared & Impromptu Speech competition recently, in Portsmouth.

The contest featured 1st and 2nd place winners of these contests held at the respective club levels. The winners of the national contest will
represent Dominica at the District level to be held this year in Jamaica from May 20-22, 2016, which will feature representatives from 21 Territories within the region.

This year’s Prepared Speech contest winner Dorothy Jno Baptiste from the Nature Isle Toastmasters Club (NITC) presented a speech entitled: “Turn it Around”.

Toastmaster Jno Baptiste is the Immediate Past President of NITC and managed to capture the judge’s attention through her effective communication style and skillful use of vocal variety and gestures.

Second place went to Fredericka James, of NDTC who delivered on “Demystifying Deviant Behavior”. Julius Francis also of the NDTC who spoke on “Talking to the Moon” came in third.

The Impromptu Speaking Contest brought about the usual excitement amongst the audience, as contestants delivered a two (2) minute speech on a topic not previously known to them. Here, the speaker’s ability to think and speak on the spur of the moment is tested.

Marva Baptiste of the NDTC won first place through her superior display of a calm and collected thought process and speaking technique. Kamisha Dominique and Brenton Hilaire, both of NITC won second and third places respectively in this category.

Area 18, to which Dominica belongs, also features Toastmasters clubs in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Current Area Director for Area 18 and Co-Founder for the Toastmasters program in Dominica, Phoenix Belfield, explained that speech contests are a Toastmasters Tradition, “Annually Toastmasters from all walks of life participate in local club, territory, Area, Division, and District levels”

He further posited that “ This year the caliber of speeches delivered, displayed not only the pedigree of the individual speakers but also the level of preparedness and rigorous training of the Toastmasters program within the ambit of public speaking and leadership development.”

The Area Director also emphasized that “ever since the launching of the Toastmasters program in Dominica, we’ve witnessed noteworthy improvements in the professional lives of our members due in a large part to the strides in their personal development as better communicators and leaders.”

The Nature Isle Toastmasters Club meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month at 6pm at the DSC Bath Estate campus and the Northern District Toastmasters Club meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month at 6:30pm at the Central Cooperative Credit Union Ltd conference room in Portsmouth.

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development and provides opportunities for the development and application of effective communication and leadership skills through a series of organized self-paced basic and advanced projects with the ultimate goal of self-development. Members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 15,400 clubs in 135 countries that make up our global network of meeting locations

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9 Comments

  1. Dr. Sam
    April 22, 2016

    Dorothy & Marva, you make us proud!

    Your excellence in coherent, persuasive communication sets a high standard for the quality of our national discourse.

  2. Free Thinker
    April 20, 2016

    Congratulations Dorothy and Marva…….this is a stepping stone for you….go with God.

  3. Joy
    April 20, 2016

    Congratulations Marva. I’m proud of you!

  4. possie girl
    April 20, 2016

    Well done Marva! Continue striving for the best.

  5. Butter Scotch
    April 20, 2016

    I thought is young people wi

    • Nameless
      April 20, 2016

      LOL how you mean nuh …is one set then

    • Critical thinker
      April 20, 2016

      Butter Scotch why are you so myopic in your trend of thought? I guess you can only see beyond your nose. With people like you Dominica will get no where.

    • abc
      April 21, 2016

      excuse you i see young people ….keep on striving

  6. Andy
    April 20, 2016

    congrats to Marva Baptiste……I wish you God blessing and this is a stepping stone

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