Become a World Champion Speaker with Ramona J. Smith

03/01/24 • 89 min

Ramona J. Smith is a dynamic international speaker who holds the prestigious title of the 2018 World Champion of Public Speaking. She is based out of Houston, Texas, and she is on a mission to inspire, connect and transform lives globally using the power of words (and she's really great at it too)!
In this episode, Ramona shares her journey to winning the World Champion title, and she also talks about what life was like pre- and post title. She also reveals that there was an unexpected, improvised moment during her World Champion Contest speech titled "Still Standing."
Ramona coaches Toastmasters speakers who are competing in the speech contests, and she also helps speakers outside the Toastmasters world become more authentic and genuine on stage. She graciously puts her coaching hat on for most of this episode and gives very helpful tips and suggestions for improving your presentations and speeches.
While the World Champion of Public Speaking Contest happens once a year with one person winning the title, you can be a World Champion Speaker on every stage that you step on. They key is to practice, practice, and practice some more, and also continue to grow and try new things, even when you're nervous and scared.

You can find out more about Ramona here:

Website - https://www.ramonajsmith.com/
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@ramonajsmith1
I Dream of Speaking Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwycxI1Fw2w
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramona-j-smith-61390743/
IG - @ramonajsmith1 - https://www.instagram.com/ramonajsmith1/
Twitter - @LadybugSpeaker - https://twitter.com/LadybugSpeaker
Tiktok - @ramonajsmith1 - https://www.tiktok.com/@ramonajsmith1
Ramona's 2018 World Champion of Public Speaking Winning Speech - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tev43VNRIc

Loved the episode? Now you can send a text message with your thoughts and comments! Your message might just get a shoutout in another episode!

-------------------------------------------------
Want to learn more about Improvly Speaking? Here are all the ways to get in touch:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/improvlyspeaking/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daynagowan/
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/
Join the Mailing List - https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/mailing-list
Pod Mom Gear: https://improvlyspeaking.threadless.com/
WhatsApp Group - Reach out to Dayna for the link! :)

You can find out more about Ramona here:

Website - https://www.ramonajsmith.com/
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@ramonajsmith1
I Dream of Speaking Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwycxI1Fw2w
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramona-j-smith-61390743/
IG - @ramonajsmith1 - https://www.instagram.com/ramonajsmith1/
Twitter - @LadybugSpeaker - https://twitter.com/LadybugSpeaker
Tiktok - @ramonajsmith1 - https://www.tiktok.com/@ramonajsmith1
Ramona's 2018 World Champion of Public Speaking Winning Speech - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tev43VNRIc

Loved the episode? Now you can send a text message with your thoughts and comments! Your message might just get a shoutout in another episode!

-------------------------------------------------
Want to learn more about Improvly Speaking? Here are all the ways to get in touch:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/improvlyspeaking/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daynagowan/
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/
Join the Mailing List - https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/mailing-list
Pod Mom Gear: https://improvlyspeaking.threadless.com/
WhatsApp Group - Reach out to Dayna for the link! :)

Previous Episode

Bringing Your Authentic Self to the Stage with Neil Curran

Our first international guest, Neil Curran, joins the podcast all the way from Dublin, Ireland! Neil is a professional improviser and communications and teams expert who has performed in shows and festivals all over the world. His signature show - Neil+1 - brings an audience member up to the stage to perform the improv show with him! (Would you be up for that as an audience member??)
When he's not on stage as an improviser, Neil facilitates interactive corporate trainings about authentic speaking and presenting, conscious communicating and influencing, storytelling in business, creativity and innovation, and much more!
This is a podcast of platitudes, as Neil points out throughout the episode. Both improv and public speaking trainings are riddled with platitudes, like make your scene partner look good, don't try to be funny, and be more authentic on stage, but what do all these overly used statements mean?
In this episode, Neil dives deeper beyond the surface level of these platitudes and explains what they mean in more context for performers and speakers. He also shares how he helps presenters become more confident at speaking as their authentic selves and not relying so heavily on the presentation slides.
Neil's passion for improv and teaching/facilitating is infectious! You can tell that he loves what he does, and he loves sharing the joy of improv with others...even the unsuspecting audience members who come to watch his shows only to then become the +1 part of the show.

You can find out more about Neil here:

Website - https://www.lowerthetone.com/
IG - @improvneil - https://www.instagram.com/improvneil/
Twitter - @improvneil - https://twitter.com/ImprovNeil
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/neilplus1/
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/curranneil/
Improv Fest Ireland - https://improvfestireland.com/
Camp Improv Utopia - https://improvutopia.org/

Loved the episode? Now you can send a text message with your thoughts and comments! Your message might just get a shoutout in another episode!

-------------------------------------------------
Want to learn more about Improvly Speaking? Here are all the ways to get in touch:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/improvlyspeaking/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daynagowan/
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/
Join the Mailing List - https://www.improvlyspeaking.com/mailing-list
Pod Mom Gear: https://improvlyspeaking.threadless.com/
WhatsApp Group - Reach out to Dayna for the link! :)

Next Episode

The Mysterious Notebook of Goals and Creativity with Dr. Jana Hirsch

What would you do if you received a notebook from your local Buy Nothing Group that you thought was empty, but then later you noticed that it had a list of goals written in it? Would you tear out the pages and start with a fresh, clean notebook? Or would you take the list of goals on as your own?
If you said you would tear out the pages and start fresh, you aren't alone. I would totally do the same thing, and I assume many others would too. However, special guest Jana Hirsch decided to take the goals on as her own last year in 2023, and she came on the podcast to talk about it!
Jana Hirsch, Ph.D., is an an Associate Research Professor in the Urban Health Collaborative and Department of Epidemiology at the Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health. Their research aims to understand the way neighborhoods shape health behaviors and disparities. Jana is also an improviser and urbanophile based out of San Francisco, CA (and yes, they explain what an urbanophile is in the episode).
We talk all about public health, public speaking, running, improv, and the story of this mysterious notebook. You may think Jana is crazy for taking on someone else's goals, but the lessons she learns and takeaways she forms are so powerful! You don't want to miss this episode - it is such a wild and fun story!

You can find out more about Jana here:

Email: [email protected]
Let Jana know what you thought of the episode and that she should write a book about this!
Endgames Improv (where Jana performs with her team) - https://endgamesimprov.com/

Loved the episode? Now you can send a text message with your thoughts and comments! Your message might just get a shoutout in another episode!

-------------------------------------------------
Want to learn more about Improvly Speaking? Here are all the ways to get in touch: