In this monologue, the speaker highlights the 60‑day journey of Hermine Lago, a Namibian professional speaker, who has been daily sharing videos on TikTok and other platforms about her work in mental health, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). Over the two months, the speaker observes a marked increase in Hermine’s confidence, clarity, and ownership of her stage and message. The speaker uses Hermine’s example to advise aspiring professional speakers: they must own their topic, understand the value they bring, consistently rehearse their message, and produce transformational content that resonates with clients and audiences. The talk emphasizes consistent content creation, relentless practice, and authentic voice as essential ingredients for speaking success.
Chapters
I have a speaker friend. Let's call her Hermine Lago from Namibia. Hermine has been on a 60-day journey to reclaim her voice and her topic and has been sharing regular videos on TikTok and other platforms where she has been doing exactly that. Every day she expresses some ideas, some concept, some revelation about the work that she does in the mental health, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging space, and she's done it consistently. And as I've watched her videos and as I've seen other videos that she's produced and interviews that she has been part of, I have seen a confidence, a clarity, an absolute owning of her space and her stage and her message that has grown and developed just over these 2 months. It is phenomenal to see. It is amazing. Hermine, if you're watching this, I'm so proud of you because Hermine is modeling for us what we should all be doing as professional or as aspiring professional speakers, is not just do the marketing, try and get the clients and try to get paid, but really to own your topic, to really know the value that you bring to clients and audiences, but to own your voice. To know what your message is, to know what it is that you're sharing, and to rehearse it, and to rehearse it relentlessly until what you produce is awesome. That is what it takes to be a professional speaker. But if you're starting on this journey, then make sure that you do the homework that you need to, do the practice, the rehearsal, so that you too can own your stage and own your voice. Because that is what clients are looking for. That is what makes transformational messages.
