My Grandfather was the first speaker on stage that I was in awe with. He did not go to college and he was self-taught in English. But when he was on stage he was a different person. The stage loved him and the audience loved him. I loved him and my love for public speaking was set at a young age.
My English teacher wrote my first speech for a school competition. The title of the speech was “To Strive, To Seek, To Find and not To Yield”. I still remember the eloquent references to Michaelangelo and the Old Man and the Sea. I loved the way she was able to transform her well read thoughts into words that made an effect.
My Father wrote my first speech for the school Interact club president nomination. I made the speech and luckily won the election. I loved the way he was able to write for me and capture the needs of the school students in my speech.
My first Toastmasters Public Speaking club in Heidelberg introduced me to a varied range of speakers. These speakers were my first audience in building the confidence that I needed for my journey into becoming a speaker.
My speech Mentor in Toastmasters helped me grow from the club all the way to the District in four disciplines of Inspirational, Humourous, Impromptu and Evaluation speeches. Winning the Evaluation contest in the European level and placing on the top three in other disciplines cemented my lifelong love for using the power of words to move an audience.
I see my role as a “Speaker” now to help other speakers in their journeys to find the “Speaker” in themselves and let it shine!