The journey to the Top 10 : World Championship of Public Speaking, Vancouver - 2017

I write this as I leave Vancouver on an Amtrak to Seattle, USA. Its time to say goodbye to Vancouver - a city that's been my home for the last few weeks. 

The journey to the 'World Championship of Public Speaking' event begins at the club level contests, with close to 33,000 contestants across the globe, in the month of February and the championship ends in August with one winner declared the world champion. This is my first attempt at the world championship semi finals where the top 100 speakers compete to get into the Final 10 ! I was representing District 92. District 92 comprises of 160+ clubs with a membership base of over 4,000 members! I got an opportunity to speak to Kaishika Rodrigo over the phone in the month of May. She was representing District 82 again in the semi-finals this year. In 2016, she was one of the ten finalists at the WCPS in Washington, DC. Apart from helping me understand the nuances of the contest, she gave me an insight into how dynamic and fast paced the whole experience would be. It was extremely helpful for a first timer!

I landed in Vancouver, a few days before the convention in order to set myself up for this contest and also to get an idea about the audience beforehand. TMI currently has 3,52,000 members with 16,400 clubs in 141 countries that make up this global network. This annual convention held in Vancouver Convention Center, located on Vancouver’s waterfront with a scenic mountain backdrop - it offers one of the most picturesque settings for an event of this magnitude. This year the convention had over 2000 members from 141 countries. I had read about it, had watched a lot of videos on it and had spoken to people about it. But nothing comes close to the actual experience of being there. The pressure, the expectations and the final sprint!

When I landed in Vancouver, I knew nobody . But today as I leave, I know I have made some amazing friends. Barb, Cathy, Narinder, Wes, Leah, Margaret, Vladimira, Peter to name a few. I must thank you for the amazing support and the warmth that you have shared. I will cherish it for the rest of my life.

The preparation included, crafting of the speech, experimenting it with several local clubs in Vancouver, getting feedback on the delivery from mentors & friends, video reviewing and analysing and modifying it. As one of our inspiring leaders - DTM Nagraja Rao said - a speech is a living being. It grows. It transforms with time.

I can write a lot more on this "preparation" phase. But I realise that almost every semifinalist prepares more or less the same way with almost the same rigour. I was no different or special. Sometimes, I found it tough to travel in a new city. I had to travel about 4 hours one way ( took a bus, sky train, cab, sea bus, and walk) to get to a club to deliver a 7min. speech. It was an unbelievable experience with a total of 16 different versions of the same speech and how the speech transformed itself with every iteration.

Day#1 of the convention : 23rd August 2017

The grand event had begun!

The briefing for semi finals happened on a Wednesday - with the 100+ semifinalists in one big room. Some familiar faces whose videos I had watched from their previous attempts at world championship title; but, mostly unfamiliar faces from countries world over. We had to pick a card to get to know our slot. Talk about magic! I drew #6 . I walked out knowing that the next day will be a memorable one. Good or bad. Only time will tell...

Excitement + Nervousness = Unutterable feeling

At the convention, I got to meet & chat with Tony Busan - one of the world's leading experts on creativity. Thanks to @Dilip Abeyshekara.  I did get a few words of wisdom from the incoming International President - Balraj Arunasalam as well.

I left early from the opening ceremony as a good night's sleep is essential to feel alive the next day. The pressure was building. One of my good friends and my creative sounding board @Vikas Sangam told me : Over Prepare and Let it flow.

 Day 1 came to an end..

Day #2 of the convention : 24th August 2017

Woke up @5am! Waking up is easy when you hardly sleep. Did another round of rehearsals with the timings in order. The two strong pillars of my life and my coaches for all my contests in the last 6 years @shashikanth bhat and @sunil gave me a final go ahead and wished me luck ! Sometimes it felt like they were under a lot more pressure than I was :)

I had Rajkumar Bansal as my roomie who stayed stoic throughout my speech rehearsals (as requested) and yet would lend a helping hand every time I needed something. Every night he would religiously write his blog about the convention. We walked in to the room as acquaintances and walked out as friends. When two different metals can bond under pressure , we are just people !

The semi finals was slotted at 5:30 PM -7:30 PM on Thursday. The stage rehearsal for semi finals was at 12:30 PM. There was a seat reserved for my guest, but that person couldn't make it, so it remained vacant. Each contestant is given 150 seconds on stage with the microphone to ensure we feel familiar when we get up there. The entire process takes about an hour. In my semi finals #10, we had the local Canadian champion - Devon as one of the contestants and we expected a bigger crowd in our semi finals as compared to the other two semi finals that would run simultaneously in the evening.

I left the convention center immediately after the rehearsals, to meet my friend and mentor at his hotel. He had just landed in Vancouver. It was a 14min drive. Vancouver does not have Uber or Lyft services so getting a cab at times, can be tough. I finished the short meeting, got some advice, rather motivation and left the hotel. Took the lift down , and asked the Hotel staff to help me get a cab (call taxi) . He looked at me and said, generally we don't extend this service to walk-in guests who do not stay at our hotel, but you seem like you are going for something important so we will drop you to the convention center! In a BMW X6 ! I thought, "Hmmmmm that's a good sign." I reached the convention center back at 4 PM. I sat outside the room and took a power nap. Yes it is possible !!

The crowd gathered for the contest. The contest chair asked the audience "Are you ready?" The audience was extremely supportive and applauded each and every contestant with the same enthusiasm. The competition was extremely tough and I saw the audience roll over in smiles , laughs and tears. All the contestants were brilliant and some really impeccable speeches. I knew this would be the toughest competition I have ever been in. Most of the speakers ( all the ones that I spoke to before and after) bring the best speech of their life into the semi finals as this contest takes you to Top 10 in the world! I was all set to deliver my speech titled - "Extend your hand.."

The microphones are set up sequentially as per the speaking order. So I missed watching two speeches as I was zoning into my speech. The moment I got on stage, time flew and the whole speech was a breeze. Instinctively, I knew that I had given my best shot at the international semi finals. Everything was calm now.

To be honest, I could not predict where I would place, as all the speeches that I had watched, were fantastic. I could not watch two of them so I really couldn't predict. The results were announced, and I made it!! Only the first place winner in the semi finals can move up to the Top 10. I got a big congratulations from our current & past district officers from India who were sitting in the audience cheering – DTM Kumaran Pethi, DTM Gauri, Sheshadri, DTM Sudha Balajee and DTM Raj Kumar Bansal. Before this victory could sink in, the helping hands team ( volunteers group), escorted me out of the room immediately and I was taken for a quick "The Finalist" interview. I was handed a letter with details of the Grand finale.

As I was leaving the convention center, at the escalator, I met Bharat Sangekar - a competitor from my semi-finals contest who was representing Australia. We began chatting and ended up having dinner together. He was my new competitor - turned-friend ! A gem of a person.  

End of day #2: I had some unread WhatsApp messages and FB messages from my friends back in India. I blindly followed the advice "stay focussed for next 20 hours and it will change your life"

Day #3 of the convention - 25th August 2017 World Championship Grand Finale 

The World championship finale was scheduled at 8PM. And we had finished our semi finals at 8:30 PM the previous day. It was less than 24hours to go for the Grand Finale! As per the rule book, you cannot repeat the speech that you deliver in semifinals for the World Championship Finale! So here we are...

Contestant Agenda :

 -Briefing at 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

 -Stage rehearsals at 6:20 PM

 -World championship at 8 PM

@ 10:30 AM . I couldn't have my breakfast so I rushed in munching an apple. The size of briefing room considerably small as it was for 10 finalists. Jim Key - the past world champion and one of my personal favourite speakers was there at the entrance, handing out a personal letter wishing each one of us success. He delivered a short speech talking about his transformational journey in the world championship.

It was time to check that last box on the form that I have been seeing for the last six years. Again we had to draw a card to get our slot. I drew #5. Katina Hunter, returning finalist from 2016, drew #1 and was visibly disappointed. We confirmed our respective speech titles and walked out after a mandatory 'finalists selfie' as proposed by the fun-loving John, the finalist from Toronto, Canada. Aditya ensured we got the picture.

I rushed to my room. I checked the suit and accessories that go with it. Did another round of rehearsals. It included a dress rehearsal as advised by a trustworthy friend – Geetha Prasanna.

6:20 PM : On stage rehearsals begin. As per the speaking order, the entry and exit on stage was directed. Again, each contestant got 150 seconds on stage. It was the widest stage that I have ever been on. Felt like a kilometre wide!

8:00PM : Balraj Arunasalam - the incoming International President kickstarted the finale. The stage was huge and the audience were there in large numbers as well. All the contestants were asked to stay in the green room where there was a screen to watch the contest. All the contestants were in their own zone. I blanked myself out from the contest proceedings as well, in order to stay focussed. So I couldn't listen to any other speaker.

I was speaker #5 and as I went on stage, it was almost a breeze once again, however I felt that there were one or two glitches - the speech didn't flow as naturally as I thought it should have. Also the timing devices in the finale were two big television screens kept right in the front. It is unmissable!! The audience reaction at certain times was longer than I expected and I took some extra time to manoeuver the massive stage. So overall I was running a good 25 seconds slower at the first timing signal, and hence had to modify, edit on the fly and drop out one small part of the speech which didn't affect the storyline. Staying within the stipulated time was crucial at this stage. That was a huge relief else I would end up hurrying during the conclusion of the speech.

As soon as I got off stage, I knew I had a done a good job; however, I knew it was far from perfect. This is the first time I felt a strange feeling that I have never felt before. I cannot describe it clearly as of now. 

I hadn't listened to any other contestants, I was not in a position to predict the results. The results were announced, I didn't make it to the top 3. Disappointed! Yes. I got to listen to some razor sharp observations and some valuable inputs from a lot of people in the audience and from my friends who had live streamed the event. I felt the need to disconnect from the competition that had consumed me. I had enjoyed the whole experience. I got to make some amazing friends and witnessed greatness at play at several levels.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to take a fair shot at the title, in my very first attempt. I am extremely grateful to all those who believed in me, guided me and pushed me to be a better speaker or rather a better human being. The members in the clubs in Bangalore (Deejays Toastmasters and Dhwani Advanced) who have helped me grow and push boundaries - friends who sent me sincere wishes, celebrated the victory like it was thier own and held my hand when victory was far fetched, the people who shared stage with me at the fun PunchTantraa shows for last few years - this is the circle that has made me stronger. I am lucky to have a team at Unbox2Learn.com that resolutely stood behind me, despite my absence from work. They held fort allowing me to get into the groove and stay in the groove.  I am coming back soon..stronger!

And one man who has always inspired me to be a better me, is the man in the picture below - Dananjaya J Hettiarachchi. I would have never dreamt of being on this stage if it wasn't for him.

Never stop learning because a contest never stops teaching !

 Signing off from Vancouver...