24-year-old Poland-based Zimbabwe-born Cyril Junior Dim was crowned the world champion at the recently held 2022 Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking. The competition was concluded at the Toastmasters International Convention recently held in Nashville, USA.
He earned the honour with a speech titled "Ndini", which is Shona for "this is me" and it is a speech that talks about identity. It was a speech extremely personal to Cyril as he talked about struggling with the two parts of him, which are his Nigerian and Zimbabwean heritage.
Cyril Junior Dim, along with seven other final contestants, reached the championship level after several eliminating rounds that began more than six months ago with 30,000 participants from 144 countries. "This feels like one of those wild dreams," said Dim in an official statement seen by Greedysouth. "I'm thankful that at every step of this journey people were able to see past my short-sighted vision. I especially thank Kamila, who's been more than just a Coach across several championship attempts."
The International Speech Contest starts in Toastmasters clubs across the globe. From there, participants advance to Area, Division, District, and region-level competitions. Two winners from each region-level competition move on to the semifinals. An expert panel of experienced Toastmasters will determine the eight finalists who will compete in the World Championship of Public Speaking in the semifinals. Each speech will last between five to seven minutes.
For many amateur speakers, this competition is the opportunity of a lifetime. Past winners have used this accolade to become prominent paid speakers, delivering keynotes and speeches around the globe.
"I am a lifelong student, engaged problem solver and an avid conversationalist on modern technologies." reads Cyril Junior Dim's bio - a Business Intelligence Specialist at Credit Suisse and Computer Science graduate from the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology in Germany.
"I am eager to engage Software Engineering problems while navigating the landscape of effective teamwork. Away from the keyboard, I am a passionate Public Speaker with over a decade's worth of competitive and non-competitive speaking. In my speeches I confront life experiences, disclosing failures and struggles and drawing lessons. I do this to inspire productivity, self-confidence and mental resolve in and beyond the office. I have mastered the principles of research, implementation, and presentation and pride myself on a result-oriented work ethic." Per his LinkedIn.
Cyril Junior Dim also holds the Toastmasters International title for 2020 European Champion of Public Speaking.
Watch Cyril Junior Dim – the 2022 Toastmasters International World Champion of Public Speaking – deliver his winning speech "Ndini." below.
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