6 Valuable Lessons From The World Champion of Public Speaking, 2022

AND THE WORLD CHAMPION OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 2022 IS.....?Cyril Junior Dim, a software engineer from Zimbabwe, representing Poland in the contest. ??

His speech titled. Ndini, a word from his native language Shona was centered around the theme of self acceptance

?For people who've been living under a very big rock, here's what Toastmasters is :)

"Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills through a worldwide network of clubs. Headquartered in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, the organisation's membership exceeds 345,000 in more than 15,900 clubs in 142 countries."

You are likely to find a Toastmasters club near you. Just google your area and you should find leads.?

Coming back to the winning speech this year, watching it made me realise that Dim has definitely broken a few myths with this feat:

?? Tech people aren't great at language skills

?? Non native English speakers can't express in English

?? Just 4 years into Toastmasters, Dim proved that hard work beats length of time

What worked for Dim in the speech:

? He takes the time to explain his speech title

The title is a word from his native language, Shona and isn't a familiar concept for western audiences in general. But he takes the time to help us understand.

He gets the audience to repeat it and ensures that the meaning is understood by everyone.?

? The concept is very simple

His story is very simple - from self-hate to self-like. The evolution of the self-image. The journey from rejection to acceptance of himself.?

This is not just easy to understand but also something that all of us can recognise with. We all have hated parts of ourselves. This speech gives us hope to examine those parts and move towards acceptance.?

? His rate of speech is surprisingly slower for a contest like this

And necessarily so! He's taken a big chance of coming to an international stage with a very regional concept!?The slow delivery helps people stay with him as he goes on to explain what he is talking about?

(Something that the first runner up wasn't able to and could be one of the reasons to have lost the title)

? The speech is liberally sprinkled with humour

Well! This is THE World Championship of Public Speaking and humour is a given. It relaxes the audience and puts them at ease. Dim does that with flawless execution.?

? By involving the audience in his speech, he gets them to be invested in it

I love his 2-way communication technique! The audience could have found themselves zoning off at the unfamiliarity of what he was saying. But this ensured that they stay interested. He invited them to become a part of his speech.?

? Relevance of the theme to humanity in general

The one thing that the judges in a contest like this is the connection of the theme to humanity as a whole (I still believe that Maoj Vasudevan won because of his theme and not so much his delivery)

Don't forget to watch the winning speech I have shared above?

I also like the speech of Alexandre Matte, the first runner up - centered around local traditions, with great camera presence!

I think one thing that went against him was delivering virtually.?

Watch my 3-part series on Toastmasters membership here: How to join Toastmasters?

Here are the other 2 winning speeches:?

Second place: Alexandre Matte:?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFqt9d7XRIA

Third place: Mas Mahathir Bin Mohamad:?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7-acVDpCyU

Would you like to know more about Toastmasters and how you can start your journey of becoming a confident public speaker? You can talk to me for free here?

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