The 2017 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking is Crowned — and here’s the breakdown of WHY this speech won

In August 2017, Manoj Vasudevan was crowned the 2017 Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking. Manoj rose above 30,000 contestants to take this prestigious title in the finals of the world’s largest public speaking contest.

Manoj Vasudevan, 2017 Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking. Click to watch video.

Business Insider Magazine provides a very thorough, insightful analysis of WHY this particular speech edged out the competition, and is definitely worth a read, simply for the ‘deconstruction’ of the speech. The one extra thing that stood out for me was how he approached the dialogue of his stories; especially the technique of having his mother in one particular location “on the stage,” and always looking or pointing in that particular location every time he’s telling a story about her.

I’m also a big fan of his “phrase that pays,” ie. “Pull less, bend more.” Repeated often, and associated with a particular gesture each time, makes it very memorable.

What do you think made this speech worthy of the win? And if you were to compare it to the 2016 winner Darren Tay  (memorable because he was wearing underwear over his suit) or the 2015 winner Mohamed Quatani (memorable because he smoked a cigarette on stage….but even MORE memorable when it was revealed that he was unable to speak until the age of 6), do you think that they’re all the same calibre and quality?