 Public speaking is said to be the number one fear for most people. Not for Joze Piranian, who is grabbing fear by the balls. He is a lifelong stutterer who uses a breathing technique to control his stutter. He is on a mission to destroy his fears one stage at a time, starting with Speaker Slam. On November 21st 2017, Joze accomplished a major feat when he competed in the GRAND SLAM of Inspirational Speaking against the best speakers in Toronto and won. The 2017 GRAND SLAM – featured all the year’s winners. A roster that was the culmination of 8 Speaker Slams, brought together the best speakers of the year for the ultimate throw down in inspirational speaking. 14 speakers from all facets of life bared their souls on stage as they competed for a $5000 prize package.
Until just a few years ago, he avoided speaking at all cost, but now, actively embraces the challenge. It started at McGill University, Joze joined the debating club where he broke out of his thick shell and participated in tournaments. In order to overcome his fear of public speaking, he joined Toastmasters International; he still attends the meetings on a weekly basis in Toronto. Joze's recurring experience with adversity gave him the insight that fear is merely an indication that we must say YES and...just do it. "If we are afraid of something, it probably means that doing it would tremendously benefit our personal growth." That's how Joze wound up on the Speaker Slam stage. Unwilling to stop here, Joze continues to do stand-up comedy, where he combines his passion for comedy with his drive to master public speaking. Joze is deeply motivated to continuously self-improve while eliminating self-limiting beliefs, pushing his boundaries and meeting amazing people along the way. If you would like to follow Joze's journey, subscribe to his YouTube channel: Yes Way Joze Fun Fact: Jozé has lived in four countries and stutters in six languages.  Established in 2016, Speaker Slam attracts over 100 monthly visitors, showcasing the highest standard of public speaking in Toronto, while giving speakers an opportunity to meet and engage with other professional speakers with different backgrounds and nationalities. If you would like to get on the stage as well, you can apply to be a speaker here: http://www.speakerslam.ca/apply-to-compete.html Special thanks to all our speakers and our judges: Fay Chapple, Blake Fleischacker, Karen Donaldson and Sunjay Nath for making this night amazing for everyone!  Congratulations to Joze Piranian (1st), Jonathan Andrews (2nd) and Ande Clumpus for taking top spots at this years Grand Slam!
 Does the thought of public speaking leave you shaking at the knees? Do you have nightmares about the audience throwing tomatoes as you fall off the stage? If you’re nodding your head, it's no wonder you're nervous. That anxious feeling is a signal that you are focusing on yourself instead of the value you're giving to your audience. Focusing on ourselves leaves us vulnerable to disappointment. Focusing on our audience, and how to best serve them, is how we can feel like Rocky Balboa, at the top on the steps, jumping with our hands in the air and our theme song playing. Here's a story of what not to do… I recently gave up an entire hour of my precious time, listening to a so-called professional speaker who had just enough engaging energy to keep me curious as to what he would say next. I finally came to accept that he wasn't going to respect my time and give me a beneficial take away. There was no lesson, or inspiration, or unique perspective, or message that would improve my life in any way. He seemed to just like being the centre of attention. Technically, he used all the right actions; he had eye contact, asked questions, used tonal variety, moved with purpose, etc. But, as polished as he was, I felt like I needed to shower afterwards, to cleanse myself of my poor choice to stay and listen. Speaker Slam sets up success... Have you noticed that Speaker Slam incorporates a theme with each event? That theme is an element that encourages speakers to give something of value to the audience. We all have a unique perspective that we can share, and successful speeches leave listeners inspired in some way. It may be a lesson on how to overcome adversity, or a message on building resilience, or motivation to stand up for what you believe in. With a sincere and generous motivation, we’ll feel less anxious about getting on stage. Being genuinely helpful lessens the nervousness around failure and refocuses us on what we know we can contribute. When our motivation is based on giving, sharing and respect for our audience, instead of our desire to be a superstar, our anxiety will decrease. I just rewatched Michelle Emson’s very personal, Speaker Slam talk about her “butterfly” transformation. Michelle’s talk is successful because she uses her story to enhance the lives of her listeners. She gives her audience a great lesson to ponder about how transformation comes at a price. Then inspires us when she explains it's worth it. And she leaves us with a clear message on loving our own uniqueness, before we can respect the uniqueness of others. She has a smooth delivery, but even if she had completely blundered, tripped on her way to the stage, or did any of the things we get nervous about, she would still be winning because she’s sharing something beneficial with her audience.
If we reframe success as giving our audience something of value, and we do that, then we’ll achieve a great talk 100% of the time. There's no need to get jittery with a 100% success rate. Get on stage and be excited instead. -- Written by www.SmartLife.tips blogger, Yvonne Lines. The above post is inspired by a nugget of wisdom found in the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler’s book, The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living. Hi! I’m Dan Shaikh, one of the hosts for Speaker Slam and today I want to talk to you about having a KILLER speakers video. I’ve been video editing a lot of the speeches that go on at Speaker Slam and I've learned a thing or two on what looks good on camera. I want to share with you my insights on how to make you look like a SUPERSTAR on camera.
I have 7 tips that are going to take your speakers video to a whole another level.
There you have it! 7 Simple tips to approach the stage and look amazing on camera. A speaker video is a must for any speakers. It is the only way to demonstrate to your audience that you can carry yourself well on stage. It’s almost mandatory for becoming a paid speaker. If you don’t have one yet, you should consider speaking at Speaker Slam. Apply to be a Speaker at: http://www.speakerslam.ca/apply-to-compete.html - Dan Shaikh
6/21/2017
The Art of LosingI've entered speech contests before. There is no greater feeling than winning. It's a euphoric high that goes on forever. A moment of validation that YES you are on the right track, living your dream, and inspiring the masses. I've also lost - and those moments are a mixture of emotions ranging from disappointment, hurt, rejection, maybe self doubt... embarrassment... just an over all unpleasant feeling. And of course, there is the occasional feeling of being "robbed" by bad judging, popularity voting or an unfortunate speaking order.
As someone who organises speech competitions I can look into the room at the end of the night and identify all of these emotions. The winners are flying high - elated and ecstatic. There are always those who didn't win and yet are feeling super pumped to have done an amazing job, had the chance to share their voice or maybe gotten over their fears and conquered the stage. And then of course, there are those who are hurting. My heart goes out to those people. Sometimes they leave right away. Sometimes they openly question if they should even be speaking. Sometimes they don't even talk to me again after - as though I am now intimately connected to that negative experience. I want to share this one thought - something that I've really refined over the years of speaking: Take every opportunity to speak about the most important, most vulnerable, most intimate part of who you are. Share what you feel the world needs to hear the most so that even if you lose the prize, you've won by making that impact. I take every opportunity to talk about human connection, the homeless, people who are hurting and invisible... I talk about self acceptance and self love and dealing with my own internal struggles. And at the of the day no matter what the score card says, I always feel like I won. xo, Rinaeak Wow, I can’t believe six Speaker Slams have taken place! Thank you to everyone who has come out and experienced the community we are building. We have had some tremendous speakers take our stage, some very experienced and some just starting out, and boy have they surprised us! They have moved, touched and inspired us with their messages. Through these messages, others have been inspired to become speakers on our stage. We wanted to use this opportunity to look back at our previous winners and see what made their speeches stand out to our judges. Each speech is totally different from the other in the way it is delivered. However, each speaker does something unique and does it so well, that it is something that catapults them into the hearts and minds of the audience. These are the strengths the following speakers showcased:
1) Marcos Mendosa When you watch Marcos, there is one thing you can’t deny, he is passionate! That energy he shoots out electrifies the crowd. In the first Speaker Slam, Marcos did something, that he didn’t even expect. He had the entire audience join him as he led them through his “I Am” affirmation (see at 2.57). I still remember getting shivers in that moment. It was that moment, that really catapulted his speech into our hearts because we invested ourselves into it. Audience engagement is an amazing tool every speaker should try to incorporate into their speech. It allows people to become more present and invested in the speaker, allowing their message to carry more weight. A simple, “raise your hand, if you….” at the start of your speech can quickly make you stand out from others. 2) Joyce Dias Joyce takes center stage and holds it in her power pose, it was her clear gentle voice that opened the hearts of our audience that allowed us to listen. She tells a story about herself that ropes together one of the fundamental speaking mantras, “tell a personal story.” As the audience, it's difficult to be talked down too, so when a speaker shares something about themselves. It allows us to listen and be apart of their world. Joyce does this beautifully as she uses her words to paint a world of her past and takes us there with her. The perfect blend of humor and wisdom along the way, really made her message stand out. 3) Ted Lyberogiannis When you watch Ted, you can tell there's a certain charisma about him, the twinkle in his eye that he has this in the bag. There is a reason, he has his speech meticulously planned out through practice and visualization. Ted, not only crafted a beautiful speech with some laugh out loud humor. He incorporated props into his speech. He used protractors, magazine boards, gym equipment and even wore a t-shirt under his suit to end his speech. The level of thought that went into his speech was outstanding. What not a lot of people might know, but Ted came early to the venue and he studied the stage. He was visualizing and perfecting his movements on the stage before anybody. That is dedication to the craft and something to applaud. These were only a few examples of what makes a winning speech stand out. There are many different ways to rock the stage. Come be our guest and discover them soon at the next Speaker Slam live in person! Buy your ticket here: http://www.speakerslam.ca/nextevent.html
- Dan Shaikh |
AuthorsDan and Rina are passionate about speaking. One talks from the heart and the other from his mouth. Archives
January 2018
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