The Area 11 contest participants and officers. (Below) The 2012-2013 Area 11 officers. From left: Andrea Taguibao, Treasurer; Gina Casino, Assistant Area 11 Governor- Education & Training; Reema Barqawi, Assistant Area 11 Governor- Marketing; Shadi abil Alji, Secretary; Noriza Guerra, Area 11 Governor. — Courtesy photos Sana Abdul Salam Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The clubs of Area 11 in Toastmasters International (TI) came together at the Village Restaurant to conduct an area level contest on Wednesday. Participating were the Tanglaw Club, Effat University Club and the Bahaghari Advanced Club. The different categories for participation were humor speech, table topics, international speech and speech evaluation. Harry Hariharan from the Bahaghari Advanced Club won the first place in the humor speech segment. Afnan Linjawi, from Effat University Club, won second place. Contestants in this category were required to give a speech that had an element of humor and could also possibly convey an important message. Anbreen Shaikh from Effat University Club won the first place for table topics, while Hariharan won second place. Table topics required an impromptu response from participants, who are presented with a question on the spot. The first place for speech evaluation was won by Aiman Alharby from the Tanglaw Club, and second place was won by Karima Khandaker from Effat University Club. Speech evaluation required contestants to evaluate the speech of a guest speaker by judging it based on strengths and weaknesses. They were also to suggest points for improvements. Adel Radwan from the Tanglaw Club won first place in the international speech category, while Reema Barqawi from the Effat University Club came second. Speeches by contestants were judged on different parameters, such as content, body language, variety and appropriateness. Noriza Guerra, Governor for Area 11, noted, “I had confidence that the participants will do well, and everybody enjoyed the contest and praised the participants' performances.” “It was wonderful to see students competing with top managers from different companies, and even winning! Toastmasters International really does much to improve a person's communication skills; leaders are truly made here,” said Andrea Taguibao, Treasurer for Area 11. “What I really gain from being a part of Toastmasters International is training in speaking to a diverse group. In university, we generally tend to speak to a female audience of the same age group, but here the audience is a mixed group of different nationalities and ages,” said Anbreen, winner of the table topics category. The winners in each category will move on to the division level contest to be held in March at the Effat University's campus. Subsequently, the winners of the division level contest will participate in the district level contest, which will be held in April at Hotel Sheraton, Dammam. Prince Sultan College Club and the ALJ-DAO Club are also a part of Area 11, but were unable to participate. Prince Sultan College Club could not participate due to issues with registration, but were in attendance at the contest. The members of ALJ-DAO were unavailable due to corporate responsibilities, and had informed TI of their absence beforehand.
