SPEAKER_00 0:00

For the past 10 years, my kids have watched me every year start again trying to achieve that goal. And up until now, you know, it sometimes it would go well, sometimes it wouldn't go well. But what they did see is me trying again and again and again. And they saw me practice and they saw me put in the work and they saw me put in the effort. And finally having achieved that goal. Now, this is a lesson that I could have told them, I could have said it, but I'm really proud that I was able to show them that putting in the effort, never giving up, trying again and again, working on your craft, mastering your skills, trying to improve yourself can eventually lead up to you achieving your goal, your dream, whatever it might be.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Hi, my name's Brendan O'Sullivan, a Toastmaster from Brisbane, Australia. Welcome to my Toastmaster's World Tour podcast. Please join me as I travel virtually around the world and chat to Toastmasters from different countries and all walks of life. Let's explore. This episode, our yacht's secret winged keel, has bottomed out in the low tide, so we're stuck in Rotterdam. Which is a happy happenstance. I get to continue the chat with the current world champion of public speaking, De Sot de Silva, so we can all learn from his experience.

The Poet Behind The Name: Marília de Dirceu

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Diddy, there was a famous 18th century Portuguese-Brazilian poet by the name of Tomas Antonio Gonzaga. Are you familiar with him?

SPEAKER_00 1:39

I am not.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

He was a powerful judge, but as part of the Arcadian literary movement that was fashionable at the time, he took on the pen name of DeSult. He wrote the love poem Marilla de Dassault, hosting humble shepherd in a heart writing love poems. I'm wondering if there's a connection and whether such poetry has helped inspire your speeches.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

You said it, and then I was I imagine you were telling me, I'm like, wait a minute, I do know this story. I actually have the book, Marilla de Dussio. And at one point it was it was also because you said about the poet, that the name Disso was sort of associated with somebody who could tell poetic stories. And yes, because I've did some etymological research about my name, and I did realize that the publishing or the publishing of that of that poem was actually the reason why the name Dichsel became so worldwide spread. Before that, it was very, very few instances where people would have that name, and after the publishing of that poetry, it became much more popular. But still, up until this day, like I believe there are three of us in the Netherlands with the same name. So it's very uncommon, but of course, this is Netherlands. And in Brazil, there are way, way more. Even the past president of Brazil was also named so, so we have that in common. But yeah, it did definitely bring around the popularization of that name.

Brazilian Roots & The Cape Verdean Connection

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Do you have any Brazilian connections?

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Well, I have relatives living there, and well, the connection is I'm from Cabo Verde, right? Capredian Islands, and this is an island group on the coast of West Africa, and that used to be a Portuguese colony. The same as Brazil used to be owned by the or well taken by the Portuguese. So that is the connection that there's some cultural similarities, and of course, the language, the type of music. So there's there's a pretty deep history between Cabo Verde and Portugal and Brazil. That's why

Named After A Brazilian Footballer?

SPEAKER_00 3:57

there's also a lot of Cripp Verdians living in Brazil, including relatives of mine. And I've been there, and my name is Brazilian because the year that I was born, there was also the World Cup. Just like we had this year, there was also the World Cup. And my father, he he was really rooting for Brazil. Of course, it's the country that he spent some time in. And Brazil made it all the way, and they were playing against Italy, which they won. And the winning goal was scored by a player named Difseo. So that's who he named me after.

SPEAKER_02 4:32

Oh, okay. Awesome.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

Yeah. He was probably thinking, you know what? If I name him after this amazing football player, he will be an amazing football player. But unfortunately, it's uh I'm better at basketball than uh than playing football.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

And you're a world champion, so what else could he ask for? So were you born in Capo

Born In The Netherlands, At Home In Cape Verde

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Verde or Netherlands?

SPEAKER_00 4:53

I am born in the Netherlands, but I've lived in Cabo Verde. And um, and as you might know, we did Cabo Verde did really nice this uh this did World Cup. Like surprised the hell out of everybody. Really proud. In 2018, um I went to live there with my wife and my kids just so their kids could, you know, reconnect with their culture and everything. It was an amazing year, um, saw some beautiful things, and it's an experience that no matter what happens in the future, you will always have that.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

What

What I Love Most About Cape Verde

SPEAKER_01 5:27

was your favorite part of Capa Vene?

SPEAKER_00 5:30

The I don't want a specific favorite place, but what I do love about it is that even though the fact, and I think a lot of children of immigrants will recognize this, even though I wasn't born there, every time I go there, it feels like home. There's this instant the moment you step out of the airplane and and the air hits you, and you're looking around, and you have this feeling like this is my home, this is where I belong. Like I said, I'm a child of immigrants. I believe that a lot of children of immigrants share that same feeling, which is which is to say that there's some type of, I don't know, like universal thing about going back to the country where your ancestors are from and just feeling that connection. That that I I love that part about it. And even though uh even my kids felt it, like when we're there and they're like, yeah, this this walking down the street, this feels like this feels like home. So it's that's what I love the most about it.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

I love that and I totally relate to it as well. And I've got Irish ancestors. I was I was gonna ask you, uh Sullivan, it's gonna be

Studying Philosophy

SPEAKER_01 6:41

I believe that you studied philosophy to so I did.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

I did not get a degree in it, but I did study philosophy because I love it, I still love it. I started doing it as an extra challenge. I was already working, and I was thinking to myself, you know what, I would like to do another educational tour, uh like to study something. Then I realized, oh, you've always had this interest in philosophy, let's do that. And I really love it, just the classical uh philosophy, the ancient Greek from way back to up until now, the things like uh epistemology, which I really love about how do we derive knowledge, and I think it's helped me, especially in in storytelling and in presentation and how I present myself, the way how do you challenge people to think differently. So in that way, it has really helped me. Are you a philosopher, semi-philosopher, amateur philosopher, philosopher aficionado?

Sophie's World & A Love For Philosophy

SPEAKER_01 7:52

I love the concept of philosophy, and I did read a book in 1991 called Sophie's World by the Norwegian novelist uh Jostin Garda, which is about the history of philosophy, you know, following Sophia Manson, the Norwegian teenager that were kept getting these letters from different philosophers, and it was amazing. It was just such a beautiful book, such an amazing introduction, like an overview of philosophy. We've read that book.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

Yeah, I have it here. Also, a very easy-to-read book about the subject. Like most philosophy books are really tough reads. So it's also very very relatable and a very very easy language, taking you throughout the history. Yeah, great book. Definitely.

Descartes: I Think, Therefore I Am

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Well, I'm so happy to be able to chat to someone who studied philosophy because I do have a question for you that's been worrying me. René Descartes, the French philosopher from 1637, said in French, Je pense donc je suis, which means I think, therefore I am, or I exist.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

I've been told, Brendan, you just don't think.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

So if I don't think, does that mean I don't exist?

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Yeah, maybe in that moment you're existing outside of our reality. Um, I think I think what a lot of uh that's really funny, and I know it was meant as a joke, but I I would do want to step into it into it because Descartes' famous saying that that there's some context to it, because it was it was an answer to a thought experiment about the brain in the vet, right? Or maybe taking it to modern times, like the matrix, right? What if uh the the world that experience, what if it's not real? What if I'm just hooked up to a machine? And the the reason why his answer is is is amazing is because, well, even if that were true, right, there has to be some type of thinking agent. And the reason the fact that I'm thinking does mean that I exist no matter what the reality is. And when you take it to that context, it's like, oh yeah, can I can I bring it can I bring it back into the reality as I as I see it? It doesn't really matter because there it's still I experience the reality as it is. Oh wait, I'm getting really off-hook. I'm I apologize, Brendan. If you start talking asking me questions about philosophy, we will go another three, four hours. That's right, we'll go we'll go deep.

SPEAKER_02 10:30

And I got lots of questions. So I still haven't worked life out, you know. So I'm hoping you can help me.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

That is my trap. That is actually one of the reasons why I joined Toastmasters is to you know have a

How Philosophy Shapes A Speech

SPEAKER_00 10:43

structure in in what you want to communicate and avoid the trap of sidestepping and going off track, because that is definitely one of my biggest learning points, is to not go off track.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Okay. I could learn from that too, I think. It was interesting to me that you have studied philosophy because you know, ultimately with our speeches, we're trying to deliver a message for our audience, you know, and it's often Toastmasters love three. Often we've got three points. It doesn't have to be three, it could be just one point, but we're trying to deliver something that maybe is a bit life-changing or something that they can learn or benefit from. So I'm wondering, has philosophy informed your take-home messages in your speeches?

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Well, here's the thing. I find it difficult to say I've I've used philosophy because philosophy is so much bigger, it's it's it's not just a a subject uh in in what I believe. But I do try to ponder some philosophical, uh uh philosophical, I mean, questions and weave them into my speech because I do think, and I think I believe I said that uh before also, I do believe that it changes the way people look at things. So I'm not stating actually I I don't do that in most of my speeches, just state something is true or false. I just ponder a question and let the audience come to their own conclusion, which is my favorite way of doing speeches. I will tell a story, ponder a question, or have have this message message in it, um, instead of just putting a really black and white message out there. So yeah, it has played a big role in the way that I do speeches, not only in the structure, but also in the content. If I look back at the past speeches, a lot of them were heavily influenced by some type of philosophical thought from the past, or maybe even more modern one, and then taking it really back to the like the time of Socrates and Plato Aristotle, their way of operating, they already put the foundation for the tips and tricks that we used up until this day for public speaking. So that is, if you think about it, a wonderful idea that you're using techniques that was discovered about two and a half thousand years ago. Like the logos, the ethos, the pathos.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

I

Deconstructing The Winning Speech: 801 Words & Silent Acting

SPEAKER_01 13:16

would like to get back to talking about your winning speech. I had a look at the word count. 801 was what I found was the word count for your speech. And it reminded me of when I started out, I would have been closer to double that. I realized that's why I was always going over time and speaking way too fast. And so that was a really good example of how less is more. You had not just pauses, but you had silent acting as well. You know, we that was giving the message by your facial expressions and body movements. So it was a real masterclass. I think anyone in the world that listened to your winning speech would have been quite blown away by just how good it was, non-Toastmasters included. But once you've done Toastmasters for a while, it's a bit like being a wine connoisseur, you have a greater appreciation. It's a lot harder to impress seasoned Toastmasters, isn't it? As you said, the basketball thing wasn't really the main message. That was just a device to lead us along the journey. Just having all those boxes, textile and acting, the delivery, the the but the way you crafted it was pure genius.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

Thank you. Thank you. And it's like you said, you have then the Toastmaster audience and you have the non-toastmasters, and you have the public speaking professionals, like the three uh divisions. And they all judge it in a different way, right? Because the non-toastmasters will tell me, Oh, I loved it or I didn't love it, right? It's just between that.

SPEAKER_02 14:52

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

The Toastmasters audience will appreciate certain nuances, certain techniques used within the speech that maybe non-toastmasters don't even notice. They just look at it as a whole, that oh, I love that part, and oh yeah, you did the cliffhanger, it was awesome, but that's it. And toastmasters will actually look and say, Oh, wait a minute, do you see how you wrote that, that, that? So you will actually get recognition for the effort that you put into writing. Like some of the things are really deliberate, and then when somebody says, Oh, I noticed that you did that, that's that's amazing. But you will get that from the Toastmasters because they know what to look for, they know what you did. And then you have the public speaking professionals, which are not necessarily people with a Toastmaster's background, but they are people with a lot of public speaking experience. And they will also look at different types of things. Like the the Toastmasters audience will appreciate the also the more theatrical side of the speech, while uh the non-of the public speaking professionals will look at at things like the message and the and the structure and the build-up and sec those things. But it's amazing if you if you put a lot of effort in a speech and you get that recognition from people, like, oh, I saw what you did there was really smart and this, and then you did that. Yeah, that's a that's a type of validation that I think uh everybody would enjoy.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

Yeah,

From Good To Great: Tips For Any Speaker

SPEAKER_01 16:21

there's a finer appreciation. But it does lead on to a couple of questions for you. So, first of all, for listeners that are perhaps non-toastmasters or toastmasters, but in a general sense, what tips would you have for people just interested in public speaking in general to take something from a good to a great speech?

SPEAKER_00 16:42

Ah that's an amazing question, friend. Let's see. General audience, you mean? I think the magic most of the time comes out when rewriting. A lot of I've noticed, and a lot of people have talked to me about this, is then they they write a speech, and then they're like, okay, this is okay, this is okay, it changed some couple of things. Awesome. I think the magic in rewriting is when you when you practice out loud and you notice that some things don't work out, and you go back and you rewrite, that's where the actual magic happens. Like the original speech was so different than from the final speech, and it wasn't a one-step thing. I wasn't sitting there and coming up with the let's say, for example, the parts that worked out the best weren't things that were in there from the beginning. It's the rewriting and where the magic comes up. So I would definitely start with that. The second part is how that was something that I was really looking for. I know there's going to be a lot of contestants. I was looking for how can I differentiate myself from the rest. That was something that was I was really looking for. And when I look back at the past um the previous world champions, I believe every single one of them had something that made them just a little bit, or sometimes in some cases, a lot different than the other contestants, which makes it stick in the mind. And most of the times these were like surprising things or unexpected. I believe that trying not to be predictable is a very big part of that. Because when you're in Toastmasters or even out Toastmasters, you hear a lot of the same techniques, the same points are being made. And I believe that finding the originality and and of course authenticity, I believe that that's where the magic happens.

Can AI Write A World Championship Speech?

SPEAKER_01 18:49

I was going to ask that actually, tips for Toastmasters themselves about how they could go all the way to win the world championship, but I think you've really just answered that point of difference because they have heard it all before. They want to hear something new and fresh. I'm wondering, Dee Dee, do you think that a speech could be won at the World Championship just being completely 100% written by AI?

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Oh, no. No. Not in this moment. I don't believe AI is that that far at this moment. The reason why I think that is that because I and many other people have tried asking AI to write us a speech. And I've seen the outcome. No, it's not there. It's not there yet. It's and I believe the reason why it's not there yet is because AI at this point is looking at certain patterns, which creates maybe a very well-structured speech, but the the emotion that you put into it, um, it doesn't have the the trying to find the connection and also the reason why something is in it, I believe AI is not at that point yet. Are you going to do like a five-minute presentation at your job? And could AI have written that speech? Probably, probably. But for a world champion final stage, I don't believe it's there at this moment because it will lack the most important or one of the most important elements, which is the authentic interaction, which is also AI if you look at the letters.

Using AI To Organize 10 Years Of Stories

SPEAKER_00 20:34

You have AI as an authentic interaction. But I heard that somewhere. It's not mine, so I'm not going to take credit for it. I heard it somewhere. But it will it will it will lack that, and I've tried it. I do believe that using AI will help you in the preparation part. For example, I have all my stories in a database, and it used to be just a Microsoft OneNote that I used to use all these past years, and last year, yeah, a little over a year ago, I switched to having AI organize all my stories and all my database and all my speeches and everything. And that has actually been a wonderful help because I can ask it, do I have a story about this subject? Or which stories do I have about this subject? And it makes it much easier to look. I could ask it, oh, I want to do a workshop about this, you know, what have I done in the past? Because also all my workshops, of most of them, are written out. I have this huge, huge like database of stuff that I've done in the past because I've been collecting it ever since I started it. It was probably, I think, one of the best advices that I got is you know, save everything that you create, every piece of content that you create, every workshop, every training, every masterclass, you know, keep it. So I've I've switched many times from computer to computer, taking every time the same, you know. Copying the files and everything, and then at one point I was like, Yeah, you know, maybe I should put it in the cloud, and then I put it in the cloud so that I would never lose it. And throughout the years, it's grown to like this really massive database with so many, so much content in it. And I do believe that AI can help you in that part, in organizing your thoughts. Sometimes we don't know where our best idea comes from. We might be sitting in the car, we might be doing something, and then the idea for a speech pops up, and you're like, oh, um, grabbing your phone, telling AI what your idea is, and to organize it so that later on you can find it back. That is amazing.

SPEAKER_01 22:37

You mentioned before that you don't think AI is there yet. I would propose that the fact that it's going to therefore lack authenticity is going to be a permanent problem. And I don't know that we would ever get to that point where AI will overcome that, and particularly with a savvy audience.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

Yeah, you know, technology can sometimes surprise us. So I don't know if at one point it will be able to mimic like complete human behavior. I I don't think so. I believe that there are so many factors that it cannot be replicated by a machine, but you never know. You never know. Fair enough, I can mind it, yeah. Philosophical on

Life After Winning: How To Fill The Void

SPEAKER_00 23:16

the whole.

SPEAKER_02 23:17

Maybe philosophy.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

So, Didi, you were saying before, now that you've won the world championship, you are not eligible to compete again. So much of your life has been consumed with practicing, rehearsing, you know, focusing on this goal. Let's leave a bit of a void. How are you going to fill that moving forward?

SPEAKER_00 23:37

I'm gonna fill that enormous void by doing something differently. And what do I mean by that is that I realize that now that I've won this title, it also comes with certain responsibility. It's not just having fun and bragging to my high school mates about, hey, well, where did you end up in life? I end the double world champion. What did you what are you doing? It's not about that.

SPEAKER_02 24:03

I'll come on, do that a bit.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

Have a bit of fun with it. Of course. I'll be like, hey, Jack, remember that time when you used to tease me back then? Well, look at me now, man. Um, of course, of course. No, but it does come with, I believe, certain responsibilities. And I believe that one of those responsibilities is that there's still a lot of people out there who might share that dream of becoming a world champion themselves. And it is up to us to give them that belief and give them the right tools and tell them how our experience was, how our journey was, the lessons that we've learned, the mistakes that we've that we've made along the way. And it that could be very valuable to other people. And so putting that back to how are you gonna fill that void, I believe that now is a time for also giving back at one point, and at the other point, I'm not done learning random. I'm I I so competition was a big part of my learning experience, and now I'm gonna find different ways to increase my learning experience because you know there's there's no end level to it, there's no final destination within achieving public speaking excellence or or whatever you might call it. There's always room to grow, and now I'm gonna find a different way outside of competitions to keep continue growing.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

So in terms of giving back, and you've been so generous today, what has been your biggest mistake that you've and what have you learned from it?

Biggest Mistakes: Time, Balance & The Stress Diet

SPEAKER_00 25:38

Do you have an extra hour? Let's go through all the mistakes that I've made. No, I I'm not gonna call it a mistake. I switched the final speech pretty recently or pretty close to the final, which people are really advising against, but I don't believe that was a mistake. I believe that was in the end the right choice. The mistakes that I've made, first of all, looking back, I think I could have started earlier with preparing. I really underestimated how fast time goes. I was actually told by Tzabi right after the district, he told me, start preparing. I said, I don't even know if I'm gonna make it past quarterfinals. He said, Doesn't matter, start preparing. It's like, okay, okay, okay. So I start thinking about it, like, okay, I need a second speech. But it was on a very low priority level. Then they announced the quarterfinals, and you're like, oh my god, I'm going to Canada. Yay! I gotta start preparing. Oh, but you know, it's beginning of July, and we have until the end of August. You know, on the current tempo that I'm preparing, it's probably gonna be okay. And then you blink twice, Brendan, and you open up your eyes, and it's the beginning of August. You're like, whoa, what happened? I really gotta step up a nudge, especially when you hear that other people were doing like 30, 40 club visits in a very short period just to pre rehearse their speech. And like, okay, I'm practicing a lot, but I'm not doing 30 or 40 clubs visiting. Maybe I should do that. So, and what that leads to is a lot of worrying. And when you're worrying, you're not focused. So that's very important. But keep the right mindset, you know, just don't just be practicing your speech 24-7 because your mind will get crowded. You know, have a good balance between practicing but also, you know, spending quality time with your family or friends, thinking about your health, exercising, eating well, don't go on that stress diet that I've done for a uh done multiple times that I wouldn't eat right, I wouldn't exercise, I would be so focused on just doing that one thing that I would forget other parts, but it would still impact me. So find the right balance. Don't make the same mistake that I did. I even lost weight. People came up to me and said, Oh Diddy, you lost weight, but you're looking good. I said, Yeah, I'm doing the stress diet. So uh that's it. Don't don't don't make that don't make that mistake.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

I think that's great advice, looking for balance. I mean, if you become so obsessed with your speech that that's all you're sort of doing day and night. Imagine going to the bakery and you know you order a loaf of bread and there's a you know, you hold the bag and say, take the shot. It's your speech gets incorporated in everything you say and do.

SPEAKER_00 28:33

True, true, true, true. So finding the right balance in that, and I think the nother part is I should have reached out much sooner, asking for help. That's uh I believe that would be the biggest mistake that I regret. I did ask for help, but it was pretty late in the stage.

The Dream Coaching Team: Sabi, John Zimmer & Pres Vasiliev

SPEAKER_01 28:53

Who did you get help from?

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Oh, I got help. Oh, I got I got wonderful coaches. I got wonderful coaches. I got I got help from Sabi, so the most recent world champion, which is awesome. And like I said, we've we've been friends for a long time, so that was that was pretty easy. I got uh help from John Zimmer, who also coached Sabi last year. So he has coached now two world champions in a row. That's gotta be an amazing feeling, also, for him. So thank you, John. And I got coached by Prez, Prez Vasilev, the 2013 world champion. And it's really funny because you were saying about having 800 words in your speech, that's that is really condensed. That is that is Press. He was the one who helped me condense the speech without it losing its value. Like he's really good at that. Like, okay, you have three sentences here to make this point, you can do it in one sentence. He's that type of guy, really with an eye for detail and the and the technical speech structure building everything up for it. John Zimmer was my creative mentor. Like he would come up with with ideas to include in the in the speech. Oh, you know what would be really funny if you did this or that. You know what would be really funny if at the end, you know, it's not the ending, there's still a little bit part. So John Zimmer is the creative uh assistant, and Sabi, Sabi was my mental coach. Sabi was because I could ask him things because he had gone through the same road that I was on. I was like, oh, but oh, and how did you deal with this? And how did you deal with that? And he would like, oh, this and this, and this is what you can expect. And he would give me advice to okay, don't focus on those things. Those things don't matter at all. Just leave it be. Just focus on this, this, and this. So there was great support from Sabi, and just as valuable, or maybe even more valuable than just speech feedback.

SPEAKER_01 30:56

That's wonderful. It sounds like you have a really winning formula with those coaches in the Netherlands. Now we've got a quarter of a million Toastmasters around the world. Is the Netherlands got enough room for us all to move there and get coached?

SPEAKER_00 31:12

Well, that's but of course, that's there's enough space. Might be a small country, but we have uh we have a big heart and the huge willingness to help everybody. But then again, it is global because Jan Zimmer is actually Canadian who lives in in Switzerland now. Uh Pratt is Bulgarian, but he lives in Chicago now. And Sabi is Indian but lives in Amsterdam. So we've got people from different places living in different places, but the Toastmasters community brings us together. So it's a really international connection. That's wonderful. I love that. Amazing, right?

The One Thing That Mattered More Than The Trophy

SPEAKER_01 31:48

Is there anything else you'd like to add today, DD?

SPEAKER_00 31:53

It's been a month now since the convention and the world champion title, and I've been reflecting on it, like, okay, what exactly did happen and how did it go, and how do I feel about it? And also, what is my what is my takeaway, right? So this experience has brought a lot of wonderful things, and I'm I'm getting invitations to travel all over the world. Uh, like I said, my my network is is so much bigger right now with with amazing people from all walks of life, getting to hear also amazing stories from other people. So all of those things has been has been wonderful and amazing and great, and my gratitude is immense. But if I had to pick out one thing, just one thing that stood out maybe a little bit more than everything else, it is the fact that for the past 10 years my kids have watched me strive for this goal. I've never made it a secret to anybody that one day I would hope I would want to be world champion. I don't care. I didn't care if it was 10 years, 15 years, 20 years. I had it on my vision board every year. Right? It was on my bucket list. I made no secret about it. So what happened is that for the past 10 years, my kids have watched me every year start again trying to achieve that goal. And up until now, you know, you sometimes it would go well, sometimes it wouldn't go well. But what they did see is me trying again and again and again. And they saw me practice and they saw me put in the work and they saw me put in the effort. And finally having achieved that goal, now this is a lesson that I could have told them, I could have said it, but I'm really proud that I was able to show them that putting in the effort, never giving up, trying again and again, working on your craft, mastering your skills, trying to improve yourself can eventually lead up to you achieving your goal, your dream, whatever it might be. And I, of course, I acknowledge that not everybody has the goal of becoming a world champion. It's not about that. It's about having a goal at all, having a dream that maybe might seem impossible, that might seem out of reach, but putting in the right effort, putting in the work, doing it again, never giving up, going, discipline, achieving it will get you that goal. And I'm I'm really proud that I was able to give my kids that message.

SPEAKER_01 34:29

What

Being A Role Model For Your Kids

SPEAKER_01 34:30

a wonderful, wonderful not only message, but example in going for your goals and your dreams, no matter what they are, but also teaching them resilience, you know, you're not always going to achieve it straight away. Just stick at it, believe in yourself, aim for the stars, and yeah, well done. I think that's that's gonna be, yeah, I I could get that that would be the most satisfying thing, giving your own kids that example. That's beautiful. There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, the 2026 World Champion of Public Speaking, the So de Silva. Round of applause. Thank you so much for coming on the show, Dee Dee. Such a pleasure and an honor. In fact, it was my best decision ever.

SPEAKER_00 35:16

Oh, thank

Final Thanks

SPEAKER_00 35:17

you very much, Bennon, for inviting me. It's been an honor to be on your show. Uh, really, really easy, offgoing questions. Like, like I felt like you wanted to get to know the person behind it. Um, and not these these sometimes sometimes people ask you questions like, wait, what? But this was really well prepared, and uh, I really appreciate it for the for the for the diversity and and and the fact that these were really fun, fun questions. So, really well done, Brandon. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 35:51

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