KOCHI: For the first time, a Malayalee has just won the prestigious Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking.
Manoj Vasudevan, 43, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, who lives in Singapore, won, after several eliminating rounds that began six months ago. There were 30,000 contestants from 142 countries. He wowed the thousands gathered at the Vancouver Convention Centre, with a speech titled, ‘Pull Less, Bend More’, that gave refreshing insights, sprinkled with humor, on how to hold a marriage together.
The contestants had to deliver a five- to seven-minute speech on a topic of his or her choice. The speeches are judged on content and organisation, delivery and language.
Manoj had previously been a semi-finalist on two occasions and in 2015, he came third. As a CEO of his company Thought Expressions, Manoj has more than two decades of experience working with multinational companies and coaching executives, diplomats and entrepreneurs in Asia, Australia, North America and Europe.
He is the author of a book called ‘Leadership Lessons From the Mousetrap’, and was among the top 25 stand-up comedians at the 2012 International Comedy Festival in Hong Kong. He holds a B.Tech from the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram and an MBA from Imperial College, London.
Toastmasters International, a worldwide nonprofit educational organization, has more than 352,000 members. Since 1924, Toastmasters International has helped people from diverse backgrounds become more confident speakers, communicators and leaders.