(no subject)

It's Toastmasters contest season again. This week was the local round of the International Speech Contest (prepared speech on a serious or inspirational topic of international interest) and the Evaluation Contest (in which a prepared speech is given and then each of the competitors gives a brief assessment of its strengths and of the locations of room for improvement).

I entered the Evaluation Contest, again, and didn't win, again. I think I'm doing all right on the assessment part, but I'm losing points on smoothness of presentation. This is not too surprising, as preparing a presentation on short notice is one of the skills I joined Toastmasters to practice and improve.