I recently completed my second Competent Communicator. What'd I get out of it, if anything?

Finally, the area contest is over. I didn't place, but I (re) learned some important lessons that any contestant (or speaker for that matter) needs to keep in mind.

For those of you unfamiliar with Toastmasters, there are typically two contests held every year, with a variety of 'themes' [1]. Every year, TM has the "International" Speech contest, which has you deliver a five to seven minute speech on a topic of your choice. It's labeled "international" because it leads to the World Championship of Public Speaking, a title that only one person out of thousands takes away. Many of these speakers have leveraged their wins as a way to start their public speaking and coaching careers, for example: Darren LaCroix.

Yes yes, yet another "blog" on the internets. I know, there are already more of these things out there than atoms of hydrogen already, but I thought this one would be good reading for others looking to improve their speaking, leadership, and other skills by reading about what I do right and wrong, and what I've been interested in.