Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Let’s Do This! by Monty Ray Davidson

Since coming back from the World Conference of Public Speaking last summer, I’ve had many requests to share what it was like to compete in the WCPS.  What was going through my mind during the competition?

That-I remember vividly. 

“What if my shoe comes off during my speech and goes flying across the stage!!??  I’m sure the Judges will pick up on that!”  This is what’s going through my mind waiting to go on stage at the 2013 World Championship of Public Speaking.  This is it! The Finals! The Big Show!   Here I am obsessing about loose footwear.  That’s typical for me.  Stooping quickly in the semidarkness back stage, I re-tie the laces.  There!  It’s fine, now focus up.  “Let’s do this!” I say with the conviction of an action hero in a summer blockbuster movie.

Let’s do this!  It’s been my mantra since starting on this incredible journey that started at the Club level back in January 2013 (light years ago it seems).  A journey that’s led all the way to Cincinnati , Ohio, and the World Stage.  I’m honored to share this moment with eight other talented speakers.  Together, we represent Bulgaria, Dubai, The U.S., South Africa, and New Zealand.  48 hours ago, I didn’t know any of them.  Now, I count them among the bravest people on earth.
All of the Finalists opted to be backstage, to utilize every possible moment to warm up - vocally, mentally, and physically.  All of us want to be at the absolute best we can be when we step out there live.  Yes, LIVE!  Around the planet on this early August morning, Toastmasters from thousands of locations are tuning in to catch this broadcast.  Who wouldn’t want to be at their best?

As I pace the hallways, running my speech, I quickly check the pockets.  Cell phone turned off?  Check! As an added precaution it’s also powered off, wrapped in a wash cloth, and locked in my hotel room safe.  All pockets are empty, and so is my stomach.  A reverberating growl through my lower intestinal tract reminds me that the half an energy bar at 4 am that morning is long gone.  So what?  I’ll eat later, sleep later, do everything later!  Right now, it’s all about this speech, this moment, this shoe that won’t stay tied!!!

In the labyrinth of backstage hallways and storage rooms I pass my fellow Finalists. Some are mobile like me, constantly on the move.  Some have “staked out” little areas to practice their presentations.  In the midst of the focus and preparation we acknowledge each other with a nod, fist bump, hand shake, hug, and a word of encouragement.  Then back to the focus.  Right now it’s about getting the message right, the story, and the connection with the audience; fine tuning each sentence, gesture, and beat.

I pass one of the backstage monitors.  I hear generous laughter and clapping. Everyone’s doing so great.  A Tech signals me by holding up 4 fingers.  Number 4, that’s me.  I go and get fitted with a mic.  I make sure it’s anchored, as I’ve got some big physical movements coming up.  I pass behind the big screen, following the white tape arrows to the ramp leading up to the entrance on Stage Right.  I take a last sip of room temperature water.  I check my shoes one last time.  Top of the ramp, we’re in the one minute of silence zone (The longest minute ever!).  I hear flashes of inspirational quotes from Joan of Arc, Sir Winston Churchill, my daughter.  “I love you most, like jelly on toast Dad!”  I hear my heart pounding in my chest, and hope the mic isn’t picking that up!  I hear my name, the curtains part, there’s thunderous applause.    I see the lights, the International flags, the Contest Chair, the audience.  I step through the parted curtain onto the World Stage, and I think, “Let’s do this! And my shoe had better not come off!”

Monty Ray Davidson, ALB/ACG, belongs to the World Toasters at Walt Disney World Fl. and the Orlando Advanced Toasters in Orlando Fl.  He is currently working on his first book, King of the Monkey Bars.   


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