Aisling’s gift of the gab wins public speaking contest

CARLOW Toastmasters have been talking the talk for almost 30 years, and now they have the trophies to prove it!

President of Carlow Toastmasters Aisling O’ Halloran proved that she was all talk and all action when she took first place in the ‘humorous speech’ contest held recently in Waterford, and will now advance to the next stage of the public speaking competition in Solihull, Birmingham next May.

This is the first time that a member of Carlow Toastmasters has progressed to this level with a speech and the club is delighted for Aisling and her win.

For the contest, Toastmasters must write and deliver an original humorous speech on any topic of their choosing. The speech must be between five and seven minutes long and follow Toastmaster guidelines and rules on speechcraft. Carlow Toastmasters compete twice a year in a series of club, area and divisional contests and have always performed well.

Former president Kae Slattery also competed in the Table Topics contest and took second place in the area contest held in early November. In Table Topics, contestants are given a topic and must immediately deliver a short speech on it for two minutes, without any chance to prepare. Kae, who is no stranger to Table Topics, has had plenty of success in this contest and had previously progressed to the international rounds in 2022.

Both Aisling and Kae competed against other speakers and clubs from across Laois, Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford and Tipperary.

Toastmasters is a club for anyone looking to develop and practice their public speaking, communication and speech-writing skills in a fun and supportive environment. Carlow Toastmasters meets on the first and third Wednesday of every month from 8pm to 10pm upstairs in Teach Dolmain, Carlow. Guests, and anyone curious to see what happens, are always welcome to come along.