Sonya Fenton won the Toastmasters district 72 (which covers the South Island and Wellington) international speech contest held at Tūhura Otago Museum on Sunday.
Her speech has been recorded and sent for the regional finals to compete against submissions from Australia, the South Pacific and parts of Asia.
If she wins, she will go to Anaheim, California to compete in the finals of the international competition.
Miss Fenton said it was an overwhelming feeling to win the competition after seven months’ hard work refining her speech with other club members.
"It’s nice to see our hard work having an outcome but it’s more about the confidence I’ve gained over time around speaking in front of people and sharing a message with an audience."
Her speech explored themes of compassion, loss and understanding.
An interaction with a stranger who made her a cup of coffee and had a chat with her after she had lost a close friend inspired her to speak about being kind even to people whose circumstances may not be as obvious.
Growing up, she was extremely anxious about talking in front of large crowds and found it daunting to speak in group discussions at university, Miss Fenton said.
She joined the Dunedin Toastmasters Club after graduating and it helped her communicate with other researchers and patients in her job as an assistant researcher for bowel cancer treatment.
The club meets every Thursday at Age Concern Otago in the Octagon.
