Toastmasters and Radiosport competition have in common is what I will call the 6 P's;
namely:
- PLANNING
- PREPARATION
- PRACTICE
- PERSISTENCE
- PRESENTATION
- [Proper] PROTOCOL
PLANNING
In radiosport, for me, planning begins with scanning the WA7BNM contest calendar to determine
the Date/Time for a given event, or, to discover what events are happening over a given weekend.
After one/more events are selected, I make a visit to the contest organization's website and read
the rules thoroughly. If a contest has been run before, it may have been written-up in the WQ6X Contest Blog, encouraging me to re-read what I wrote about previous operations in that contest GiG.
If a Multi-Operator event is to be run from NX6T in Fallbrook, a message to Dennis N6KI, will allocate one-or-more OP-time slots; Dennis sets things up, I just show up and operate. If I am single-OP'ing from NX6T it is up to me to set things up. Should I choose to run w/HP (which is most of the time)
it is usually necessary to start-up the A/C system; which can easily be done remotely.
PREPARATION
While Planning is largely Postulate-based, Preparation translates the plan into action.
In BOTH Radiosport & Toastmasters, reading the contest rules is one of the First Steps towards
being prepared to compete. In all contests, rules can change before every running of a given event.
In Toastmasters it is useful to view videos of previous contest winners to get a sense for what constitutes a winning speech contest speech. In Radiosport, I often look at previous years results and Soapbox comments, as well as re-read Blog entries I have written about the upcoming event(s).
Also in Radiosport, a thorough equipment checkout is essential, as well as an internet connection verification (if remote operation is part of the plan).
PRACTICE - PRACTICE - PRACTICE
In a Radiosport competition as well as in Speech Contests, practice is probably the most demanding and yet the most repeatable part of becoming a Top-Notch competitor.
In Toastmasters, after winning a given contest level you are faced with the best-of-the-best speakers from other Areas/Divisions; meaning, your competition will be even more of a challenge. I coach contest winners to practice/rehearse speeches in front of as many clubs as they can, bringing
about more Evaluations and different venues to work with. Also make time to watch other
winning speakers; live or via video. Become clear about what works and what doesn't.
In Radiosport participate in as many different contest events; BiG and Small. Just listening to other top-notch operators run frequencies can be very Instructive. For each GiG you participate in, be
sure to submit a LoG to the contest committee. The more your callsign is encountered, stations
will be more likely to remember you during future events, making operations all that much easier.
Before each event, check the Space-WX forecasts and thoroughly read the contest rules.
Studying the results from previous years can give you an idea of who you are up against this year. Consider making use of contest training software to improve your skill.
PERSISTENCE
In Summary: Persistence is NoT giving up.
In both Toastmasters and Radiosport, too many competitors give up on the process, too easily, usually "early in the game". While it's important to not waste time pursuing a station (Radiosport)
or Contest Level (Toastmasters) that is truly out of reach, all too often we underestimate our ability
to "rise to the occasion".
In Radiosport, Persistence means not giving up; additionally, it means to keep repeating that which works, while moving on from that which is NoT working (if it's TRULY NoT working). Determining whether to remain on a seemingly unproductive band or move onto a band which is an unknown
often determines success/failure of a given opening session - "Should I stay or Should I Go";
Band Conditions Let me Know.
Persistence becomes easier when we acknowledge our operating strengths and work these abilities to their fullest. In Speech Contests it is important to acknowledge effective speaking styles, taking them to the next level. Additionally, should the unexpected occur, we need to quickly adapt the speech flow to accommodate that shift, as if it was part of the plan along.
PRESENTATION
It could be argued that PRESENTATION is the whole point of what we are about. To make for more-perfect presentations, once the overall the structure is determined, practice allow us to hone the seeming-minor details to produce a more perfect product.
In radiosport, technically there is nothing to rehearse as each event is completely different. Radiosport is akin to Table Topics in Toastmasters; we don't know what to expect until that
very moment. In both cases, from that moment forward, it's ALL about Presentation.
PROTOCOL
Every Presentation has a Protocol - a specific order of delivery. In Toastmasters, every speech has
a Beginning, Middle & End. Every radiosport contact also has a Beginning & Ending; your callsign
at the beginning and my callsign at the end. What we call the "Exchange" constitutes the middle.
In order to be effective, the specific protocol should be repeated, over and over again, more-or-less unvarying. If a presentation is effective, there is no reason we shouldn't repeat it, making minor adjustments as the conditions vary.
However you look at it, when it comes to Competitive Communication (be it Radiosport or Toastmasters) a number of different factors come into play to be best each year. Should you
succeed at taking top honors in a given year - CONGRATULATIONS! Next year, it starts all
over again.
If your competition is on top of things, they will review your score placement, video, Blog entries and anything else to learn what it takes to take 1st place as you did the year before. It seems to me the competition continues to ascend each year, making a win-reprisal increasingly difficult; then again, that makes the challenge even more exciting.
What about You? Are You moved by competition in Toastmasters or Radiosport?
If so..... Tell me about it.
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