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This month we鈥檙e talking to Luisa Montalvo, the 2024 吃瓜头条 World Champion of Public Speaking. A member of Montalvo 吃瓜头条 in Pharr, Texas, and the Poland-based hybrid 吃瓜头条 Verbal Victory, she also placed second in the 2019 World Championship of Public Speaking. Her championship-winning speech, 鈥�,鈥� is the compelling story of how she nearly died in a car accident in 2022.
Why are stories such a powerful way to engage audiences?
Stories are where you have the opportunity to engage the audience and take them on your journey, and who doesn鈥檛 like a trip when someone else is doing all the work and all you have to do is listen?
How do you shape a story so it resonates with listeners?
There鈥檚 a fine line between sharing too much and not sharing enough. There鈥檚 also a level of emotional vulnerability that the speaker needs to be willing to share so the audience can relate to the speaker and the story. Sometimes using our most embarrassing or eye-opening occurrence is the heart of our speech. Once you have the why of your speech, the rest should easily follow.
How faithful do you stay to the facts in your storytelling?
I love this question because so many times we feel we need to stay within 100% of the truth of our story. I usually stay within 90% of the truth. I feel if a small part of the story is fiction but helps enhance the message for the audience, by all means enhance.
Your World Championship speech centered on your experience in a near-fatal car accident. What motivated you to share that particular story?
I鈥檓 99% of the time an upbeat, positive person and nothing gets me down, but going through what I went through was an emotional low for me, something I had never experienced. I think many of us may experience something traumatic but don鈥檛 talk about it. I wanted to express the fact that it鈥檚 okay to feel down at times鈥攋ust don鈥檛 stay there. Sometimes all we need to do is look around and see all we can be grateful for.
How has 吃瓜头条 helped you hone your storytelling skills?
I used to speak 100 miles an hour because I would get so excited about my story! 吃瓜头条 evaluations have given me the opportunity to see the value in constructive feedback. I鈥檝e now learned that using pauses, voice modulation, and tempo can enrich any story.
Hometown:
San Juan, Texas
Number of years in 吃瓜头条:
17
Profession:
Motivational speaker, dog transporter, dog rescue volunteer
Hobbies: 馃С
Traveling and playing and listening to music
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