Maryam Ganni: 3rd place winner, 2023 World Championship of Public Speaking 

Absolutely. No idea how she didnt get first place!!! Maryam you are beautiful.

Agreed. Touching, captivating and a beautiful voice.

it is the Toastmaster template :) Having competed and learned quite a lot about the Toastmaster template, I find that theatricality is necessary for winning.

@@thescribblerinthebooth winning at TM yes. But give this attitude in a real world scenario and you just look ridiculous to the uninitiated

@@qamstel yes, I agree. I competed at district level this year, and my speech did not allow for a lot of body language, or more correctly to say - I used approrpriate body language. The reason why I did not even place was my lack of theatricality... this is a good and touching speech, but her gestures are unnatural

@@thescribblerinthebooth I’m also not a big fan of these overly life changing speeches. It’s all like chocolate after awhile. After hearing few of them I couldn’t stomach any more life changing catharsis. TM is a place for wannabe actors and life coach gurus and I don’t see that changing. With that being said it was the best place in the world for me to overcome my shyness and fear of speaking. I always say the same thing to people that are interested in joining. If you want to learn how to not stress at work and talk whenever you need to without worrying, that is the place for you. Then leave unless you like all that fakery.

Preferred the second place getter personally but hyperventilating sums it up :)