ISB - Freshman Orientation Workshops - The Secret to Leadership: Charisma!

One of the highlights of my year was delivering workshops to the incoming freshman at the International School of Business (ISB), Ho Chi Minh City.

I conducted 2 sessions of this workshop, each ~250 students. The title:

The Secret to Leadership & Personal Branding: Charisma!

This is a soft skills workshop that aims to:

• Educate the students on the fundamentals of leadership

• Discuss the various styles of charismatic leadership

• Help the students understand and develop their personal brand

• Guide them in writing their personal elevator pitch

• Provide opportunities to speak in front of a big crowd

• Inspire the students to improve their self confidence!

• Teach tips and techniques for success in group projects

• Help each individual student level up their charisma!

A secondary goal of any workshop of mine is — to have fun! People learn best when they’re having fun.

I try to keep things light and bring out the best energy of the attendees.

These sessions take place in the freshman orientation, so a lot of these students are coming to the big city from small towns, just beginning their university journey. Many of them are a little bit shy, but my goal is to help bring them out of their shell!

My workshop requires a great deal of interaction and participation —- the students stand up and sit down many times during my workshops!

They interact with each other and get to know each other, all while applying and practicing the skills that I’m teaching.

Ideally, every student in the room gets a chance to speak in my workshops — if they want to.

It’s great to see people who take the opportunity and stand up in front of their peers! Leveling up their charisma, just by daring to use their voice!

And extra special credit to those students that DARE to come up to the big stage! In front of nearly 250 people! Big audience, big energy!

I love this next image — the word Confidence in the background and such a brave young lady standing confidently delivering her speech!

Big high 5!

I provide opportunities for leaders to grow —- public speaking on a big stage can be super scary for most. It is sooo inspiring to see the students who dare to jump at the opportunity and establish themselves as leaders in their new university community!

I love seeing people LIGHT UP after they’ve crushed it on stage!

This is the 7th or 8th time I have delivered a version of this workshop.

Each time it gets better and better.

I do believe this was the best yet!

And judging by the response of the students, I think they found a lot of value in the workshop.

After the events, the reception is really warm!

It feels great to get such positive feedback from the students! Also, it feels amazing to see them posting about it on Linked.

This is the type of work that feels very meaningful.

Huge thanks to my wife, Van Bui for her fantastic event photography!

An even bigger THANK YOU to the entire ISB Event Staff, who always make me feel super welcome and put on a phenomenal show!

Special thanks to Dr. Khánh Ngô, (pictured below), Trong Nghia Ho and Mỹ Kim for inviting me back year after year and continuing to support this program!

UTC - UEH ISB Toastmasters Club Training Workshop

University Toastmasters Club (UTC) - UEH ISB - Body Language & Vocal Variety

I started writing this blog 2 years ago, but got incredibly busy with work! So now, we’re BACK! I’ve got loads to share, so many speaking events and exciting happenings!

Let’s roll it back to October 2023. I was invited to the UTC Toastmasters Club to do a 2 hour training on Body Language and. Vocal Variety.

Now, I could easily do a 2 hour workshop on both of these topics. But, combining them both into one was a little bit of a challenge. It’s a lot to cover in a couple hours, especially with activities for the Club Members.

BODY LANGUAGE

One of the most important thing about training workshops is getting the attendees involved and getting them to interact!

We had a blast, especially with the Body Language Gestures activity: How many different ways can you express the emotion of love?

In this next photo, I was trying to impress upon the Club Members the importance of standing with a confident but casual posture and get them to avoid covering themselves up!

So many times, speakers end up putting their arms in front of their mid-section, covering their precious areas, in a subconcious defense mechanism.

Here I am demonstrating how some speakers tend to overdo it with gestures!

Clearly I look a little too locked into the physicality of gesturing.

Maybe too much? hahaha

VOCAL VARIETY

In the second half of the training, we talked about how to vary up your voice for a more interesting speech experience. We call this Vocal Variety.

We talked about 5 different ways to vary up your voice during a speech:

• Volume

• Pace

• Emotional Tone

• Pitch

• Pause

The best part about training workshops is the relationships you form. This young man is a legend, phenomenal leader in his community, Thai An! And a speech contest winner too, btw.

I was incredibly thankful to see some of my friends from Hot Cool Milk Toastmasters show up for the workshop as well! Much love to HCM TM, including the legendary Panda Le!!

UEH Debate 2023 - ISB Round Finals Gala Night

I was all dolled up & ready to go!

What an inspiring event!

Recently, I was invited to be a Judge at the UEH University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City & International School of Business (ISB) Debate Finals.

I am thankful for the invitation from the ISB Academic Team. This group is such a pleasure to work with.

The student volunteers at ISB are always so helpful, and pleasant.

[𝐔𝐄𝐇 𝐃𝐄𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 - ISB ROUND] MEMORABLE MOMENTS OF THE GALA NIGHT - ENGLISH LEAGUE

The journey of the UEH DEBATE 2023 - ISB Round has officially ended with an unforgettable Finale with so many emotions and memorable experiences. See more info on their Facebook page here.

I never participated in Debate when I was in high school or college. Not even sure that my schools had debate teams.

Here I am reviewing the rules with fellow Judge Daniel who is an adjunct Professor of International Business on the side and an executive at GSK for his full time job.

Final Debate Topic: Degrowth

Degrowth is a purposeful strategy to stabilize economies and achieve social and ecological goals, unlike recession, which is chaotic and socially destabilizing and occurs when growth-dependent economies fail to grow. - Nature Journal

I have to admit this is a very challenging topic! I found myself swinging back and forth from one side to another as the students passionately argued their positions.

For more info, see here.

Both teams got to say a few words before the event began. If I could summarize the students in one word it would be HUMBLE.

Team FERN

Team ACE

After the 2 teams brilliantly performed, the Judges were invited to share some feedback.

Mr. Pham Dinh Que Chuong - MBA Lecturer, Operation Director of GSK

Mr Pham Tuan Anh - ISB Lecturer

Mr Nguyen Manh Hung - Former President of HCM Toastmasters Club

Mr. Chris Le - EAP Lecturer, Former President of UEH-ISB Toastmasters Club

I did my best to encourage them, but they don’t need much! They’re already superstars!

And by this time…the pressure was off for the two final teams!

Here is a pic of the 2nd Runner Up team, along with my good friend Chris Le.

Here is the 1st Runner Up team, TEAM ACE, who performed beautifully, but alas, there is only one winner in this event.

And now, here is the winning team, TEAM FERN!!!

A huge highlight of the night for me was after the event ended, and we were chatting with the students on stage. When I went to congratulate Team FERN, two of the students told me that they attended my November workshop “Level Up Your Charisma” and they incorporated some of what they learned in the Debates!

I can’t adequately express how happy this made me feel.

Another pic of Daniel and I choppin’ it up.

Fellow Judges, including my good friend Hung Nguyen (to my right).

And, lastly the phenomenal crew, the ISB Academic Team! These students leave no stone unturned when planning events. I can’t ask for better support!

I look forward to participating in more events at UEH-ISB in the future!

UEH-ISB Workshops: Level Up Your Charisma

Wednesday - Thursday, October 12 - 13th

UEH-ISB Campus 2: 279 Nguyen Tri Phuong, Ward 5, District 10, HCMC

This past October, I was honored to deliver multiple workshops for the first year students’ Orientation Week at the University of Economics - International School of Business. Check them out on their Website, Youtube, Facebook, and Linkedin.

The Events Team at UEH-ISB has been a great partner of mine for a few years and it is always a pleasure to work with the staff and students! Many thanks to Mỹ Kim for continuing to invite me!

Here I am before the first event with the Head of International Business, Mr Khanh Ngo:

Level Up Your Charisma is a soft skills workshop aimed at helping students develop their communication and leadership skills.

This is the 3rd time I’ve done this workshop, and I do believe this is the best version yet! The 3rd time’s the charm!

It took a little coaxing to get the students out of their seats, but I am thankful for all the enthusiasm and energy of the participants!

These students are some of the brightest and best in Vietnam!

I will say that I wish masks were not needed, but as a workshop trainer, you need to adapt and adjust.

These are the future superstar leaders of Vietnam!

Here is a link to the post on Facebook for the full set of pics.

Overall, it seemed like the event was very well received! I look forward to conducting this workshop again in other universities, companies, new cities and new countries!

If you are interested in working with me, feel free to contact me: itsMattSherwood@gmail.com.

As I was leaving, this get together was happening in the first floor—-wow, I remember how fun it was to be a university student! Alas…

ICIS Public Speaking Club - 'The North Star' Event

September 20, 2020

I was honored to be a Speaker at the ICIS Public Speaking Club - The North Star event at the PHIN workshop cafe in Biên Hòa province!

Lots of people helped make this event a success, but BIG kudos to the core team of organizers:

• Giang My

• Tram Anh

• Thanh Thao

• Ha Mi

• Hai Dong

• Nam Binh

The PHIN Workshop was a really great space for an event with the 2nd floor overlooking the main lobby.

Event Theme: ‘IKIGAI’

Ikigai, this Japanese concept that translates to ‘reason for life’ comes from a region in Japan that boasts the most 100 year old people (Centenarians). Their secret to a long and prosperous life is to satisfy your Ikigai.

Finding one’s ‘reason for living’ involves 4 parts:

1. What you love to do

2. What you are good at

3. What the world needs

4. What you can be paid for

If you can satisfy ALL of these 4 things, then CONGRATS! You have found the sweet spot, your Ikigai. And you will live to be 100! Maybe.

I shared my Ikigai story centering around 2 things:

Arts and Travel

Thankfully, I’ve always known I wanted to pursue the arts. It definitely fits right into all 4 sections of the Ikigai Venn diagram. And I’ve been doing it successfully for over 20 years.

Another component that I introduced into my life 4 years ago was international Travel. This has inspired me on many levels to be a better artist!

It was great to meet the 2 other Speakers: Vy, and Sally, both bright young superstar Saigonese women! Vy talked about Personal Branding, and Sally discussed Business.

The organizers did a fantastic job in putting on a very successful event. Look at me, I’m happy!

The audience for this event was basically a bunch of super smart kids—-future leaders! The organizers are graduates from the Luong The Vinh, High School for the Gifted.

I was super impressed with not only the English fluency, but the forward thinking questions that on their minds. Very inspiring young people!

This future pilot kid was a legend. Flirtin’ right there during the opener, havin’ the time of his life!

Great participation for everything!

I really appreciated all of the work that went into the event—-like the graphics they created for the flyers, posters etc.

Kudos to the talented graphic designer, Ha Mi!

Great job by the emcees who kept things flowing and led the group in ridiculous ice-breakers:

The first Speaker was a rep from an event sponsor school and not only does he win BEST DRESSED award—he brought a great charisma to the stage!

Oh, here’s me:

Including this one cuz I look a lil demon eyed!

Sally talking about her experience in business:

And lastly, Vy to bring it home!

Everyone seemed to be having a good time!

Break-out Discussions

After the speakers finished, we broke out into 3 smaller groups, and attendees could bounce around and check each group out.

Sally was discussing Business.

Vy was Personal Branding and Public Speaking:

Here is my little world, Arts and Travel.

Here is the charming and talented Tram Anh! She was my contact for the event and she was awesome! A great speaker too, by the way. Vietnam, watch out for this superstar leader in the future!

The final section was Q & A, and these bright youngsters had me stumped a couple times! DEEP.

After-party pics, with some of the organizers and attendees!

And, that’s a wrap! Fun, motivating, and I always learn something at each of these events.

I get inspired too, especially by the youth of Vietnam and around the world. On a Saturday afternoon, they could be anywhere. But they’re a high school kid at a networking event trying to better themselves.

Parents of these organizers and students in attendance should be very proud. And to the parents of any students that want to become a professional artist:

Let them go for it! Support them!

Maybe, they will find their Ikigai. And live to be 100. :)

Foster Vietnam Workshop

Last November, I was invited to deliver a workshop for Foster Vietnam. Foster offers a variety of platforms targeted at Vietnamese youths who want to develop their concealed abilities and most importantly, make their voices and opinions on current problems heard.

Read more about Foster here.

One of the guys that I coached in the ISB Gavel Arena Contest earlier in the year, is one of the organizers of Foster Vietnam. Ngô Minh Triết, aka Triet (to me with my Viet English), is a fantastic speaker and also a great leader!

Here’s Triet running around before the event.

The event Reas-onate and was held at the prestigious Hoa Sen University with the average age of the attendees ~17 or 19. Mostly high schoolers, with some university students.

I love the challenge of working with the youth and trying to inspire them to find their voice. I am really impressed with the younger generations here in Vietnam, because they are fiercely driven!

Culturally, they tend to be very humble and even a bit shy. This is a great combination for being coachable. They know they need to gain confidence speaking in groups and they are very receptive to feedback.

This crowd was a total blast!

At first, I shared some of the things I know about the psychology of speaking in public.

And, then I spent a good amount of time focusing on how easy it is to construct a speech with a piece of paper and a simple outline. This method was taught to me by my late mentor Peter Bunce:

1. Fold the paper in half, twice = 4 quadrants.

2. On the top left quadrant, write down your topic and specific purpose, “What do you want to audience to get from the speech?”

3. On the top right quadrant, write out a short introduction, 1-3 sentences

4. On the bottom left quadrant, list out 3 bullet points, that represent the 3 sections of the body of your talk

5. On the lower right quadrant, write out your Conclusion, 1-3 sentences

THAT’S IT!

This simple method will allow you to craft a speech, presentation or talk in a very short amount of time. This technique focuses on creating an outline, not writing a full script. First, you need to choose your topic. Second, identify your exact purpose. Write your Introduction completely, 2-3 sentences.

Super simple. No need to write a speech completely. If you choose a topic that you are knowledgable about, you should be able to deliver a speech from this simple outline.

Check out my YouTube video which shows the step by step instructions:

And then, we moved into some more interactive group play, mostly centered around body language, facial expressions and vocal range.

The last third of the meeting, I invited the audience members to sign up to give a speech, based on the outline and organization we practiced in the first part of the meeting. I was expecting only a couple of brave souls to stand up and present.

But we had at least 8 students who wanted to speak!

I love that type of participation! Usually, it’s like pulling teeth trying to get students excited to practice public speaking. I think that just proves how bold and brave the Vietnamese youth is!

At the end, I was presented with a great gift from my good friend Triet, and the folks at Foster Vietnam!

It was an honor and a pleasure to share some of my experience with this group and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

If you are a Vietnamese youth, I highly recommend checking out Foster Vietnam! This group is a fantastic organization that provides a ton of value for its members!

My TED Talk Experience - TEDx UAH

It’s always been a dream of mine to speak on a TED stage and last October I finally did it!

A group of passionate students at the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City organized the first TEDx UAH event, and the theme was based on the popular Netflix series: Black Mirror!

If you don’t want to read, here are 2 vids that pretty much say everything written below. Even if you don’t read, you can scroll down to see tons of snaps. :]

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2019-02-01.

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2019-02-01.

HOW I GOT INVITED

The story is very serendipitous…right place, right time!

Back in May of 2018, I moved into a new apartment in Bình Thạnh District, on Nguyễn Ngọc Phương Street. I was hanging out in my apartment working, and heard a knock on my door…

My first thought was, “Why is someone knocking on my door?” Our apartment complex has a security guard, code based lock and is very private.

My next thought was, “I really don’t want to stop working right now.”

I almoooost did not answer it. But, I thought maybe it was my landlord or something urgent.

I opened the door and it was my neighbor Pierre.

He introduced himself, and I quickly learned he was a photographer from Belgium who was in Ho Chi Minh for a month and having a photo show the following day.

Caffeine was coursing through my veins, so I started blabbing on about my photo work, showing Pierre some recent lightning snaps.

At this point, Pierre interrupted, “I’m so sorry, Matt, but I was wondering if you had any toilet paper? I have none and I am in a rush because I need to go prepare for my show…”

HAHAHA

I gave him some TP and sent him on his way.

Pierre’s show Noirfoto Art Talk with Pierre Toussaint: “La chambre du désir”, was held at the TOONG Coworking Space in District 1 and featured his stunning black & white photography.

The show was short notice, and I had tentative plans, but switched them so I could attend.

At the show, I started chatting with a couple people at the snack table while munching on guacamole.

One gal was Josie, British artist who teaches art classes for kids here in Ho Chi Minh; and the other was Sam, a local urban planning student at the University of Architecture.

The 3 of us sat together during Pierre’s art talk and at the end, exchanged Facebook info.

And that was that.

1 month later…

I got a Facebook message from a girl named Ngoc, saying that she had a question to ask me. I was confused because I knew a Ngoc, but this seemed to be a different Ngoc.

Once I clicked on her profile, I realized it was “Sam”, the UAH student from Pierre’s event!

Ngoc, aka Sam was on the organizing committee for the TEDx event and asked if I was interested!

No doubt!

YES.

MY PREPARATION…

…was a roller coaster ride. The organizing committee set up meetings early and often to ensure all the speakers were not falling behind.

You don’t want to let the procrastination monkey take over, like Tim Urban masterfully talked about!

In that first meeting, I met a bunch of the organizers and their energy was fantastic!

Also, I was introduced to my Coach Ted Zang, (Trọng Phan) student at UAH, with loads of experience hosting events. Ted’s really smart and funny, and offered a lot of great ideas.

We discussed the theme (Black Mirror: basically centers around Technophobia; what will happen in the future as a result of too much tech?) and how this theme could relate to my expertise in public speaking training.

We set up a schedule, and they asked me to deliver a rough draft for review.

ROUGH DRAFT…?

Hmmm…I don’t really do rough drafts anymore.

WRITING THE TALK

I’ve delivered 100’s of speeches throughout my life, and I stopped writing out the full speech many years ago. My process involves an outline, and then rehearsal, editing through practice.

A couple reasons I don’t write the full speech:

1. We write differently than we speak. When we write, it is often for the purpose of business, or school, or something more formal. We tend to use bigger words and say things that we would not say in a normal conversation. A speech should feel natural. We teach people to “speak like they’re talking to your best friend”. Don’t try too hard to impress. Just be yourself!

2. Memorization is difficult! I don’t care how good you are, and how many times you’ve practiced—even the most seasoned speakers can have a blank out moment with the memorization technique. Typically, this will happen when the audience reacts to something you’ve said. Maybe they laugh longer than you expect, and then—-your flow is interrupted! You’re trying to remember the first word of the next sentence…and…it’s…just…not…appearing…in your mind…

3. A great speech can benefit from improvisation. Every audience is different and you should be reacting to what the audience is giving you in real time. You can have the vast majority of the speech locked in, in your head—but allow yourself some flexibility to riff a little bit here and there. Also, public speaking is not a one way street. It is not an act that you perform, but rather a real time dialogue happening with your audience. There could even be some back and forth.

All that being said, I do think certain cases can necessitate a carefully orchestrated script. Eg. a graduation commencement speech delivered from a podium. Or, a World Championship of Public Speaking speech. Or, I guess, even a TED talk. For all these occasions, you really need to be mindful of the time limits. And, secondly, these speeches should reflect adequate preparation and professionalism.

So, I set out to actually write my TEDx Talk.

And I failed miserably.

I didn’t just start writing…I did make an outline.

But, the process of writing, even with an outline, felt odd and unfamiliar.

Script #1 was garbage.

Script #2, marginally better.

Script #3, MEH.

Around this time, I had a realization…I’m not actually sure I believe what I’m writing about!

The theme of the event was Black Mirror, which centers around technology and the dangers of too much technology. But, I love technology and think the positive effects far outweigh the negative.

Ted and I sat down together, and both agreed that the angle of the Talk needed to be more positive, juxtaposing the benefits of using your real voice against using your social media voice.

OK, back to the writing board…

Script #4, OK. But, still a bit disjointed.

Script #5, I realized I need to re-work this thing, big time. Ted and I worked on re-working the structure.

Script #6, I felt pretty good about.

Script #7, Final…?

My best friend read it and said, “It doesn’t sound like you. Sounds like you wrote it.”

He knows me well.

One week before the Talk, I literally ditched the script. I still had the structure in my head. But, I finally decided to go back to the way that I know how to prepare a speech. Practice, practice, practice. Editing through rehearsal. Recording myself speaking, watching and listening. Edit, edit, edit.

And then, oh yea—-I need to create slides!

Since the audience was mostly art, design & architecture students, I really wanted to do something creative with the slides. I decided to draw them.

The slides got me excited for the Talk!

MY TEDx TALK

When I finally got to see the stage and feel the room, I was so excited! LET’S GO!

Showered up, ready to roll, in the taxi to the event!

The organizers did such a PHENOMENAL job setting up the event, with so many fine details!

Entertainment for the guests before the event…

WHOA, seeing my profile in the program made it all super real!

The start of the event!

Speaker #1, Helly Tong! 270k followers on Instagram:

Here is my first (yeah I said ‘first’) TEDx Talk: The Value of Your Voice.

"The most valuable device that you have is your voice," said Matt Sherwood. Matt Sherwood, a talented game designer, pointed out the benefits that technology has brought, but also asserted that it had made us forget the true key to success - our voice in front of the crowd.

Here is the 3rd speaker, who followed me, super entertaining, Nghi Nguyễn !

They had an intermission after our 3rd speaker, and it was so nice to go out and socialize!

You may recognize Thuy Anh Nguyen from my earlier blog post, winner of the 2018 ISB Gavel Arena Public Speaking Contest:

L to R: Ted Zang (my Coach), Thuy Anh and I

Myself and some of the organizers, attendees and speakers!

Speaker #4, Nguyên Hạnh Nguyên’s Talk was in Vietnamese which I couldn’t understand, but I liked her slides:

Speaker #5 Tom Trandt, loved his Talk and his fashion design:

Speaker #6, Thanh Luke, super fun singer, performer and overall GREAT entertainer!!

"Lola likes blue, And I like you." (Thanh Luke) The lyrics of the song resonates in the auditorium in harmony with hundreds of audiences, awakens people that the abuse of the smartphone has made us miss the precious moments in life.

The organizers all got on stage at the end to sing a final song…awwwww, sad that it is coming to an end!

And, it’s a wrap!

After the show, with Ngoc (Sam), the girl who invited me to speak, and fellow cast members!!

I could not have done it without this guy! Ted Zang, my Coach!

Hivelife was the media sponsor for the event, and here is a link to the article they wrote about our event: Read Here

WHAT I LEARNED…

Overall, the event was such a fantastic experience! I got to meet some incredible people, and was inspired and motivated to take my game to an even higher level.

PREPARATION

In the future, if someone asks me to deliver a rough draft, I will use my former method to create the rough draft. And, I will have more time to fine tune the speech through rehearsal, vs through writing.

Also, I will share the speech with more people earlier in the process. I felt as though I didn’t want to have too many cooks in the kitchen, and withheld the script until it was almost too late to incorporate feedback.

And lastly, I’ll probably start my slide art much sooner. :]

PERFORMANCE

In terms of my performance, I would give it probably a C+ or B-. I feel that I could have been much more imaginative with the theme. Maybe I could have envisioned the future, where we only will have virtual business meetings and all presentations will be done via a pre-recorded hologram of yourself…or something weird and dark like that!

THE FUTURE

I want to give another Talk this year. That’s my goal! There are some TED events in Ho Chi Minh, and hopefully I can try to get invited again!

What did you think? Any feedback for me?! Ideas for how I could have made a better talk!? I’m all ears!

Thanks for reading!

Maybe YOU too, can someday be on the TED stage!

ISB Gavel Club & Gavel Arena

I joined Toastmasters in 2010 and my first mentor Peter Bunce told me that there were also junior Toastmasters Clubs for high school kids, called “Gavel Clubs”. I didn’t know of any in Los Angeles, but here in Ho Chi Minh City, they have a bunch! I wish they had these when I was in high school! (Maybe they did?!)

Gavel Club Members are called ‘Gaveliers’, not Toastmasters. That’s kinda really super cute! Or as we say here in Vietnam, “dễ thương quá!”

ISB - UEH GAVEL CLUB JOINT MEETING

The International School of Business (ISB) here in Ho Chi Minh City hosts the monthly ISB Gavel Club. The format is very similar to a Toastmasters Club, but their meetings are a bit longer and contain a Debate section.

The vibe of the meeting was super fun, with Table Topics based on summer vacation, and 4 speeches ranging from hilarious, to heart warming. One of the speakers literally made me tear up as she told the story of her loving father. (Excuse: I was extra emotional that day because I was overtired and maybe had a touch of homesickness so she had me eating out of the palm of her hand!)

But, seriously, the level of these speeches and overall leadership skills was baffling! Kudos to all of the kids for pushing their public speaking skills in front of a huge crowd (probably 50 or 60 in attendance).

I’m not familiar with debate much, but it was fascinating to see the teams go at it!

Overall, I was incredibly impressed by the level of speeches and leadership demonstrated by these students, some of which are only 15! I get inspired by youth leadership —- reminds me of when I was in high school.

I strongly believe that an investment in communication training is a really wise investment! Whatever you do in life, whatever career you pursue, communication is vital. I believe if you can speak well, you will go far!

ISB GAVEL ARENA PUBLIC SPEAKING CONTEST

This competition was such an enriching experience and I was happy to serve. My job entailed:

1. To serve on the first judges’ panel for the 1st round auditions, providing real time feedback and scoring for the contestants

2. To serve as 1 of 4 Coaches, with a team of 8 contestants in the 2nd round

3. To serve as a Contest Judge the Final Round and ultimately help determine the winner of the Contest

The first round was fun! Each contestant was instructed to spend 1 minute talking about themselves, and 3 minutes delivering a mini speech based on any topic they choose. Some of these kids were as young as 13 years old!

What gutsy kids!

I learned a lot from the contestants, especially what topics seem important to young Vietnamese. For instance, body shaming and saving the environment were common topics.

I also learned a LOT from my fellow panel of Judges, each of whom has extensive experience in speaking and each brought a different style to the Judges panel.

Here are some of the awesome organizing staff, having fun playing music after the event…

In Round 2, I got to Coach my team of 8 contestants and WOW, I got lucky with such a great team!

The contestants prepared a 5-7 minute speech to be video recorded, then posted to Facebook for online judging and judging by a separate anonymous group of Judges.

If you want to watch some of the amazing speeches, you can see them on the ISB Gavel Club Facebook page here. It is incredible to see the level of quality for students that are 13-17 years old!

1 of my team members made it into the Top 6, automatically selected to compete in the FINALS! AND, 3 of my teammates made it into the Runner Up Round!!! The Runner Up contestants compete before the actual final, with 2 making it into the Final Round of 8!

I was SO PROUD of my team!

Overall the Final event was super fun, and I was so inspired by the contestants, who seemed to be having a ton of fun!

The finals were fascinating for me, because they contained a lot of Debates, and I had to try and judge the debates. I have ZERO experience judging debates and it was difficult for me to determine whether one argument was more valid than another.

The initial round of Debates were for the Runner Up group, to determine the 2 that would join the Final 6.

Here they are, the TOP 8!

Two of my teammates made it in: Brianna from the Runner Up round (Second from left) and Lam who was voted into the initial Top 6 (Second from right).

The Final 8 competed first in one impromptu question (aka Table Topic). Without any preparation, each contestant had to come up with a 1-2 minute mini-speech based on the question: ~“If opportunity doesn’t knock, you must make your own door.”

The judges had to vote on this Table Topic round…here are some pics of us in action:

It was not easy to judge, but we finally determined the FINAL 4! And guess what…2 of my teammates made it in! Here are the Final Four, with my teammates, Lam and Brianna in the middle.

The Final Round debates were a bit crazy! First, it was difficult for me to judge, because two of my teammates were competing. I did not want to be biased towards them and therefore, I felt like maybe I was being too hard on them.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, I have no experience judging a debate and even though the Chief Judge briefed us on how to score the ballot, I still was confused.

Another thing…it seemed as though the debate topics could be much easier for one contestant over another.

• Eg: ~“Social media is having a negative impact on society.”

• Eg: ~”eBooks are superior to traditional books.”

Personally, I would have a harder time arguing that traditional books are better than eBooks. But, I guess that’s the art of debate that I’m not familiar with!

It was a very spirited final round of debates! Super proud of my teammates!

But, in any competition, there can be only one winner…

Without further adieu…the WINNER OF THE 2018 ISB GAVEL ARENA: Ms Thuy Anh Nguyen!

Watch the recap video of the Final here.

All in all, I think anyone who competed in this contest is a WINNER.

These students took a lot of time out of their summer vacations to work on their communication skills! I commend ALL of them for competing and I had such a fun experience working with them.

And kudos for the organizing team and the many volunteers who made this event happen! It’s a LOT of work to be able to pull off such a big event that spans 2 months. Incredible job to everyone involved!!

If you have a child, I highly recommend getting them involved in student debates, or youth leadership activities. The early investment will pay off in the long run.

Or, if you are an adult and need help with public speaking, there are Toastmasters Clubs around the world. Find out more here.

Or, you can message me and maybe I could help coach you? I offer video chat sessions. Message me: itsMattSherwood@gmail.com

We're Talkin' About Practice

There’s a famous post-game interview with former NBA star Allen Iverson, who when asked about whether missed practices affected his shooting went on a cringeworthy & condescending tirade repeating the phrase, “Practice?  We’re talkin’ bout practice. We're not talkin' bout the game.  We talkin' about practice.”  

Allen Iverson (AI) was a veteran All-Star NBA point guard!!!  He didn’t need PRACTICE!  

...or, did he?  

When it comes to conquering your fear of public speaking, practice is EVERYTHING.  

And, I’m not talking about practicing at home in front of your mirror (which can be valuable).  

We’re talkin’ about practice - in front of a LIVE audience.

Years ago, I realized I needed to brush up on public speaking and my first thought was "I should read some books about it."  (cop out)  I read a bunch.  One of my favorites was and still is: The Exceptional Presenter, by Tim Koegel.  

But, reading about techniques and practicing techniques are two very different things.  

Sooner or later, you’re going to have to get up in front of people.

Things change when you're in front of a live audience.  All eyes are on you.  You may feel your heart rate increase, have trouble breathing or feel shaky.  People often describe public speaking as an out of body experience!  “It was all a blur!”

The reality is that the audience doesn't notice these symptoms.  They’re not inside your head and they can’t feel your heartbeat.  It is very common to have a physical and emotional reaction to speaking in front of a group.  This is why we’re talkin’ bout practice!

The more times you get up in front of a group, the easier it gets.  It’s like strength training.  The more reps you do, the stronger you get.

My mentor, the late Peter Bunce, used to say:

“Never turn down a speaking opportunity.”  

Practice makes perfect, as the old saying goes.  The more you practice, the better prepared you will be when you really want to impress your audience!

But, how do you get practice reps?  You can find opportunities and make opportunities for yourself in everyday life.  Here are some ideas:

1) Volunteer to speak in staff meetings.  Don’t just wing it and fumble through your weekly update at the company staff meeting.  Spend some time carefully constructing your update.  Edit your words and aim to impress!   

2) Prepare a story for your next dinner party.  Maybe something funny happened to you during the week?  Remember that every good story has a beginning, middle and an end.  Great stories include dialogue.  And, the suspense in your story should build to climax.  Practice telling your story to your best friend, your mom, your spouse, etc. Tell it in group formats and pay attention to how the story is received.  

3) Join a new group on Meetup.com.  Meetup is a fantastic resource for tons of different affinity groups.  Public speaking clubs, foreign language clubs, networking clubs, etc.  Maybe join a book club where you are discussing the books in a group setting?  There are tons of different groups to join and guarantee you'll be forced to be social and speak in a group setting.  

4) Volunteer to read at church, temple, etc.  If you’re a religious person, ask your leadership if you could read a passage during the next session.  Or, volunteer to say Grace at your next family dinner?  Or, maybe you’re involved in 12 step meetings?  Ask the organizers if you can lead a meeting.  Religious and spiritual groups are great places to speak at.

5) Share your knowledge.  Most companies foster peer-to-peer teaching.  They often feature “Lunch n Learn” series where anyone can present their work, process or vision in an informal setting.  Or, if you don’t have a typical 9 to 5 job, you can bring your series to a local library, coffee shop, etc.  You are an expert in something and you can provide value!  

6) Join a local Toastmasters Club.  There are ~130,000 clubs worldwide.  Membership is cheap, and can be written off on your taxes.  Toastmasters is a supportive, learn-by-doing workshop.  Totally self paced and self-guided.  

7) Opportunities are all around you!  Open your eyes and you'll find ways to practice.  Don't shy away from being a leader.  If you want to improve, never turn down a speaking opportunity.  And, figure out ways to make opportunities.

Practice, practice, practice!  

Yeah, we're talkin' about practice. 

Allen Iverson was one of the greatest point guards of all time in the NBA.  And, despite his hilarious rant about practice, you can bet your butt he achieved all of this through good ole fashioned:

PRACTICE!

If you are serious about improvement, don't hesitate to contact me.  I provide one-on-one coaching and can help you take your game to the next level!

Email me at: itsMattSherwood@gmail.com

THE Public Speaking Course: Los Angeles, California

Culver City, Los Angeles, CA

Saturday May 6th and May 7th

Back in May, I hosted a 2 day intensive workshop and while only two courageously career-driven professionals were in attendance, it was a fun two days and both Celeste and Becky got a ton of great techniques and one-on-one coaching!

Below is a list of the format for the event and for future events like it:

Day 1: Tips and Techniques
- Learn how to loosen up; play improv games and learn warm up exercises will make you feel at ease and get you out of your own head
- Deliver a prepared speech that is videotaped and reviewed, highlighting your strengths and identifying areas for improvement
- Study tried and true speech structure methods for organizing any speech, from an informational work update, to a persuasive sales pitch, or an entertaining toast
- Understand basic speech delivery techniques; build a solid foundation so that you can connect with your audience

Day 2: Practice and Polish
- Practice advanced speaking styles; take your game to the next level and get the audience eating out of the palm of your hand
- Write and perform mini speeches based on topics of your choice, testing out new techniques in a fun and playful, fast paced format
- Receive customized coaching and set individualized goals for how to maximize your newfound skills in the real world
- Deliver your initial prepared speech, incorporating all the new and improved tips, techniques and style that you’ve learned in the last two days

All attendees get 1 free hour of coaching after completing the weekend seminar.

Travel Tales: Corning Life Sciences Discovery Labware

Corning Life Sciences Discovery Labware, Woburn, Massachusetts

Thursday, March 30th, 2017

Yesterday, I delivered a 1 hour presentation at the Corning Life Sciences Discovery Labware, a subsidiary of Corning.  The talk was part of their Lunch and Learn series and I was invited by Senior Scientist: Tim Creegan, through my mother who has worked at the company for many years.

For most of my presentations, I don’t use a lot of slides, or PowerPoint.  I may use a whiteboard when instructing, or maybe have a slide or two up while I present.  But, this presentation was focused a lot on my travel photography, and stories from my travels.  This was a record for me---240 slides!  

I really enjoyed talking about my travel experiences and relating some of the more entertaining tales.  I hope to do a similar speech in the future at a different venue.  And, I know I will be sharing stories from my travels until the day I die!

Sadly, I did not get any pics from the event.  Completely dropped the ball on that.  What am I still jetlagged?!  Well, here’s a pic of the Thank You card the audience signed for me a day after the event.  

No, thank YOU for the opportunity, Corning!

Speak To Succeed: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Thursday, November 17th, 2016

I was super inspired meeting some of the brightest, hungriest leaders from Kuala Lumpur at a Remote Year networking event with YSEALI (Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative).  One young lady, Sherry asked me to speak to the students at her middle school (15-16 yr olds).  My mentor once told me, “Take every speaking opportunity you can get, Matthew.”  OK, I can't say no!

It is a challenge trying to sell Malaysian teenagers on the importance of communication and public speaking for their future.  Of all the things on a teenager's mind, wanting to be up in front of a group is uuuuusually not one of them. Not to mention, there is a slight language barrier here.  Most kids speak basic English, but some are more fluent than others.  

But, CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Last May, I spoke to a group of high schoolers in La Paz, Bolivia.  It was a bit of a snooze fest.  A yawn-a-thon.  I feel like I lost ‘em halfway through and couldn’t reel ‘em back in.  Up to that point, all of my workshops had been with adult audiences.  Speaking to students is a different ball of wax!  I vowed to learn from it.

The event was at a secondary school in KL:  The SMK Taman Maluri School.  Before I was about to go on, the students seemed a little antsy.  It was hot outside (at least to me, they're probably used to it) and they had been sitting for a while already, listening to local filmmaker, Sham Sunder.  I was feeling the excitement, bigly!  I knew I had to keep the energy up if I wanted the crowd to stay with me.  And I was expecting them to talk over me---especially the kids in the back.

But, I was pleasantly surprised!  ~100 students seemed dialed in.  They listened attentively, and participated whenever I asked them.  I spoke for an hour.  Once or twice I felt the audience was getting a little antsy---but I switched things up and was able to reel ‘em back in.  

It was an incredibly exciting experience, interacting with these young Malay kids...finding out what their hopes and dreams are...and trying to motivate them to achieve their dreams! 

I met a future Oscar winning actor, “the next Angelina Jolie”!

I met the future President of Malaysia!  

I met a future Marketing Manager for a beauty products company!

I met future software engineers.  

And, I met students who simply said, they just wanted to work hard and make their parents proud.  :]

I learned a LOT from these students!  And I think they seemed inspired.  Overall, the energy was amazing.  

And after I was done, the school presented me with a beautiful fruit basket and a certificate of appreciation.

If the amount of selfies requested is an indicator of success, I’d say the event was a success!

I left there elated and inspired.  I realized I want to focus more of my time on working with the youth.  This was way more fulfilling and exciting than adult training.  

IMPACT Speaker Series, Split Croatia

Split, Croatia

Thursday, November 3rd 2016

Thursday, November 3rd, I had the opportunity to present a short talk at the Amosfera CoWorking Space in Split Croatia.  My presentation was entitled, "Speak to Succeed" and I discussed the importance of public speaking for all professionals.  

I spoke for about 15 minutes, sharing personal stories, and success stories from colleagues of mine that are fantastic presenters.  Then, I fielded questions from the audience.  Overall, it was a great event!  I wish the audience was a little bigger, but I think there was value for the people who did attend.  

Communicate Like Cousteau: Cusco, Peru

Cusco, Peru

Wednesday, June 29th 2016

Last Wednesday, I hosted a sold-out speaking workshop in Cusco for my fellow Remotes.  My hotel had a sweet space called the ‘Sun Room’ which felt perfectly Zen for practicing public speaking.  

In honor of my friend and mentor: Cole GP who passed suddenly, the theme for the evening centered around Improv.  We had an interactive discussion on the difference between acting vs public speaking, and improv vs preparation.  

And, we played one of Cole’s favorite games, ‘Best/Worst’, in which the speaker must argue both sides of an impromptu topic on the front and back end of 1 minute.  Best/Worst is a challenging game, but always yields ridiculous results and lots of laughs!!!  

One thing I love is seeing people come out of their shell and shine like a superstar.  Some people claim to be super shy, but when they get on stage, they turn into a rock star!  That was the case with all 4 stellar storytellers!  

Natalie shared a hilarious tale entitled “One Grey Day”, about a first date that ended up with a smoking car and 3 fire trucks on the side of the road. Abe recalled a spring break story about almost inadvertently getting arrested for indecent exposure.  

Kelly shared the tale of both earning and expunging her criminal record for illegally cutting down a Christmas tree.  

And, finally, Jess had us in stitches as she told “A Story About Her Butt” and the training and preparation she took to trek on the Inca Trail.

All 4 storytellers were in the zone in the Zen Sun Room.  I’m very proud of everyone who came out to the event, and I hope they all found value in it.  I know I did. 

Speak To Succeed: La Paz, Bolivia

Saint Andrew's School, La Paz, Bolivia

Tuesday, May 24th 2016

Thanks to our local contact here in Bolivia, an amazing super-woman super-star Viviana Coloma, I was invited to speak at a prestigious private school here in La Paz: Saint Andrew’s School.   

Saint Andrew's is a very innovative and progressive school system with strong Catholic values.  Students learn multiple languages from an early age, and the school prides themselves on strong academics, with an emphasis on technology, sports and building well rounded students. It was an honor to be invited to speak.  Just look at this campus!

This was a unique experience for me, as I usually perform workshops for professionals.  But it was very motivating to speak to students and try to get them excited about communication.  

I always feel that even if I only inspire one person, the event is worth it.  And, I'm pretty sure I was able to motivate a few.

A small group of students approached me after the event and thanked me.  This made my day.  I sincerely hope that we keep in touch and I can continue to inspire them to achieve their goals.

I'd say the event was a success.  And now, I want to do more workshops for students around the world!  

Communicate Like Cousteau: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Monday, April 25th 2016

On Remote Year, my workshops are called “Communicate Like Cousteau”.  (RY3 code name = Cousteau)    Jacques Cousteau was a true Renaissance man.  A revolutionary scientist, explorer, filmmaker, conservationist, photographer, author, etc.  Remote Year 3  is comprised of 70 professionals from around the world, who are all incredibly bright, innovative and adventurous.  We have artists, engineers, writers, photographers, entrepreneurs, etc.  And, we are ALL explorers.  Pioneers of the digital nomadic world.

Cousteau was also an orator who often gave speeches about his ground-breaking work and political views.  I think Cousteau would be proud of us.  And, I hope we honor his name.  

The 2nd workshop was a little more challenging than the first Our co-working offices didn't quite have the space for the type of event I wanted.  I had to go outside the inner circle, which presented logistics and linguistic challenges!

La Ninina is a local cafe in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires and a favorite amongst my fellow travelers.  They have a gorgeous 1st floor private room that screamed 'BOOK ME!!!' as soon as I saw it.  There is a window overlooking the kitchen, which reflects a lot of light into the space and creates a comfy ambience. 

For this second workshop, the group doubled in size.  18 total attendees.  I think using EventBrite to track invitations AND having the event at such a cool venue helped to bolster the numbers.  And, perhaps word got around that these events are actually fun?  

The theme of the night centered around the late great musician: Prince, who was an incredibly talented musician who liked to take risks.  While some of Prince's quotes are less than inspiring (See list) I really liked this one, as I feel it is very apropos to the fear of public speaking:

Prince: "The most important thing is to be true to yourself, but I also like danger. That's what's missing from pop music today. There's no excitement or mystery."

To warm up the audience, I had them alternate verses of famous Prince songs: Kiss and 1999, which was hilarious because none of us can hit the high notes like the legend himself!  We then had an interactive discussion about the various ways to use our voices to enhance our speech.  After the discussion, I invited audience members up to tell a short story.  Following the stories, we had a brief critique of the storytellers, talking about both positive aspects of their stories, and offering a few areas for improvement.  

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with how the first 2 Remote Year workshops have played out!

Communicate Like Cousteau: Cordoba, Argentina

Incutex Co-Working, Córdoba, Argentina

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016

In Córdoba, the first workshop was held on March 23rd, in the Incutex co-working space's conference room, the TechPub.  We had 9 in total, and the theme of the night centered around the late, great actor, comedian, and philanthropist Robin Williams.  There will never be another like him and I like to use him as an example of just how far you can push yourself in public speaking.  He was a master.  

We started off with some improv games, and for vocal warmups, we impersonated some of Robin's most famous movie quotes from Aladdin, Good Will Hunting and Good Morning Vietnam.  "Bueeeeeenaaaaas noooooooches, Cooooooooordooooobaaaaaa!"

Members of the group got up and told short stories based on something they are passionate about.  Super proud of these people for pushing themselves!

And lastly, we had a keynote speech from Melissa, who shared a hilarious life story that was honest, relatable and inspirational.  Melissa involved the audience in the speech and had us in stitches with her humorously daring topic!

Communication Community: Los Angeles, California

Culver City, California

July 2015 through February 2016

Two years ago, I started a workshop series in the Culver City area of Los Angeles, called "Communication Community.  The workshops were held every 2-3 weeks and were free to join.  I did most of my advertising on Meetup.com and Facebook.  

Over the course of ~6 - 7  months, I conducted 11 workshops and the group started to gain some traction, with an average attendance of 12-15.

Every workshop was custom created and unique.  Sometimes I would focus on speech delivery, sometimes I would focus on vocal technique and sometimes I would focus on some of my favorite speakers, comedians or orators.  

But, the general meeting format was typically similar.  We would start off with warmup exercises, mixing improv games, with stretching.  Then, I would spend a bit of time on instruction, hosting interactive discussions with the group on various speaking topics.  Following the discussion I would give the group an assignment, asking them to craft a mini-speech based on a certain topic.  And, almost always, I would have a keynote speaker to end the event.  

 Unfortunately, I had to end the series when I decided to travel abroad with Remote Year.  But, it was a great learning experience, and a great way to grow my personal coaching business.