The greatest achievement for any public speaker is to bring an audience to its feet. A standing ovation shows that you have moved the audience heart, mind, and soul. It requires a lot of work to achieve, and of course, you need the anatomy to be able to speak well.
I do not have that anatomy. Part of it was removed in treatment for stage three head and neck cancer. But still, I did this: brought an audience of 450 to its feet. Even the event staff stood stock still at the side of the room, mesmerized. And it took me more than two and a half hours to leave the venue, as people kept stopping me to tell me how much my talk meant to them.
Why am I telling you this? Am I just very, very pleased with myself?
Yes, I am pleased. But that’s not why I am sharing this news. I am sharing it for YOU to know that more may be possible for you than you may imagine. Not long ago, I was mute, dependent on a feeding tube to eat, and writing on a board to communicate. Told that I may never speak well again – even to say my own name intelligibly – I was advised to use a Google app to make myself understood, and accept my new reality.
I leaned into what I learned from incredible people around the world; communities using ingenuity and tenacity to address apparently unsurmountable obstacles. From ‘tinogona,’ a Shona word meaning ‘it is achievable,’ to ‘jugaad,’ a Hindi word for simple inventive, practical solutions to daily frustrations, I decided to create my own regime to help me speak well again. It’s a mix of physiotherapy, vibration, belly dancing, Alexander Technique, manual lymphatic drainage, stretching, Tai Chi, Japanese facial massage techniques and bobbing about that looks rather absurd to witness, but works a treat.
I found a way to go from communicating by writing on a board to speaking on a stage, bringing an audience to its feet. I did it by recalling the many communities I’d witnessed doing the impossible with the available to make life better—even when nearly everything seemed to be working against them. That is why I know that you, too, can achieve better outcomes than you might expect. And be very, very pleased about it. 🙂