Tag Archives: public speaking

Ivan Wanis Ruiz – The Presenter

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Who are you?

Ivan Wanis Ruiz. I have several interests, but my two main businesses are Public Speaking and Dance Instruction. I have formerly worked in Pharmaceutical Sales and Brokerage, but found my real interest and passion came from teaching and not shaving everyday. I LOVE public speaking and it has slowly taken up most of my life. Recently have also found some interests in social media. I think its the new Marketing in that everyone is talking about it, but no one can really nail down what it is.

What do you do for fun?

I am addicted to dancing, besides salsa I like to try a little of everything from Hip Hop to Tango. I find learning new dances also keeps me humble because I am always re-experiencing what its like to be the worst/silliest person in the room. It basically reminds me that there is always more to learn.

What is your favourite community? Why?

I spend a lot of time online on youtube and listening to podcasts. What I tell people is if you want to learn how to do something start, but checking out youtube. If you want to learn about something listen to podcasts.

What is your Superpower?

To read your mind mmwwaaahhhahahaha. I think I am good at reading people and understanding their expectations.

How do you use it to build community?

Everything I do is set up in a process – how people do something – why it does or does not work – how can I fix it/improve on it. It all starts by understanding what expectations those people have. This also applies to me. I force myself to self evaluating by recording myself when I do things.

My Three Favourite Things About Ivan Are…

1. He’s really, really, really good. I’ve hired Ivan to deliver public speaking and presentation-skills workshops about five times. And everything – from how he prepares to the way he delivers content to what he does as a follow-up – is just unreal. My students love him, and, consequently, learn lots from what he teaches. As for me, well, I consider myself a really good presenter, but there hasn’t been a time that I’ve taken in an Ivan-presentation without learning something new and totally kickass powerful that adds a lot of value to my professional toolkit. He just makes people better presenters, and if you want to positively impact your community you’re going to be able to make a strong case about how you can do it.

2. Edutainment. As many readers know, I’m passionate about educational styles and strategies that combine humour and technology to best engage distractable Millennial learners. Ivan is, too. He involves learners in activities, is funny, but also direct and professional, and his presentations are so sexy that the audience is drawn to them.

3. Work. Life. Salsa. Ivan works hard, and he also follows his passion(s) – which surround public speaking and salsa. Following his interests – and his heart – ensure that he’s always doing what he loves, which probably explains that wicked-awesome smile on his face and enthusiasm for how he lives life every day.

As told by John Horn…

Fred Sarkari – The Emotional Connector

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Who are you?

That question can be answered with so many different facets it scares me.  The best way to relay that question – Fred is an over sized child that has finally embraced the fact that we do not have a choice in ageing chronologically but we definitely have a choice in staying immature for the rest of our lives. So in short you can say I am an over grown child that hopes never to lose the wisdom that a live worth living is one that embraces the moments right in front of us.

I am a keynote speaker.   I inspire, captivate, educate people to believe in them selves. I give them all he tools they need in order to succeed in their professional and personal lives. I believe that people are the company’s greatest asset. I talk on the topic of leadership. My interest of focus is on human behavior.   More so what is the consistency with the Top 5% of people in every facet of life. Only once we can understand the why, can we have any control in changing the behaviors and in turn the results of our self and others around us.

What do you do for fun?

I love the outdoors, anything from triathlons, kayaking, scuba diving to anything that keeps the body active and in motion.  That being said, life is all about balance so I also enjoy reading a great book by a live fire with a body of water in the background and I am in heaven.  My all time favorite past time is playing with my niece and nephew.  They always remind me of how to have fun.

What is your favourite community? Why?

This has always been a hard one for me to answer.  To me, my community is the place I have chosen to be at at that moment in time.  We have created such a faced paced lifestyle that we forget about our surroundings and our responsibility for them.  Love the community you are in.

What is your superpower?

To be able to connect with peoples’ emotions.  Cannot imagine a better state to be in than for a group of people to know and understand each-other for their authentic self.

How do you use it to build community?

Great question.  Always take the time to understand your community when it pertains to their needs, wants, desires.  What we need to be aware of is that a community is nothing more than a collection of individual people.  When we take the time to connect to the individuals in a community we in turn connect to the community.

My Three Favourite Things About Fred Are…

1. Powerful Public Speaking. As an enthusiastic public speaker, I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for what Fred does and how he does it. The guy travels the world engaging people with ideas and words and – wow – is he ever good at it. I love the professionalism and passion that he brings to every presentation and workshop that he delivers. Also, his new book Courage to be Naked is fantastically titled and a must read for any  And I highly recommend him as a speaker…and as a human being, too!

2. He’s Iron Man. Well, maybe not exactly. But he does compete in Ironman races, which reflects his physical as well as mental wellness and, I dare say, toughness.

3. World-changing Kindness. This is how Fred spent his Christmas: check it out. He’s also giving his book away for free – instead of paying for Courage to be Naked you can donate to a charity. Find out more by visiting his blog, Mental Sidewalk.

As told by John Horn

The Community of Public Speakers

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Says* Jerry Seinfeld: “You know, I just read this survey that said the number one fear of Americans is public speaking. The number two fear is death. [INSERT SUBTLE LAUGHTER FROM AUDIENCE]. So, let me get this straight. This means that, at a funeral, the majority of people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy.”

I love weddings for a myriad of reasons – food, drink, meeting new people, dancing, love, family, boozy-hookups, hilarious grandparents, worlds-colliding, troubleshooting/last-second-wedding-party-heroics, “missions”, and many more reasons – but I have to say that it is the speeches that make my heart smile the most.

Wait a second. Let me re-phrase that. Speeches that are impeccably performed and tastefully delivered at my favourite parts of weddings make my heart smile the most. And, let me tell you, this past weekend I attended – and emceed – a wedding in which the speeches were absolutely first class.

What made the performances – and, yes, they were definitely performances – so spectacular was the near-perfect combination of genuine love for the person/people being discussed, timely humour, smart delivery, avoidance of inside jokes, and (for the most part) brevity. Here are three simple tips on how you can give great speech, whether it’s at a wedding or not:

  1. Know Your Audience. Any stand up comedian, politician or professor will tell you the importance of this one. Know who can take a joke and who can’t. Know what the audience knows. Tell stories to engage them. And, for goodness sake, make the speech somewhat mysterious so that everyone hangs on your every word until – BAM! – you hit ‘em with a fantastic punchline or metaphor.
  2. Don’t Drink and Talk. This advice transcends weddings. Sure, there will undoubtedly be some boozers in the crowd, but that’s where they belong: in the audience. Unless you are John A. MacDonald, Winston Churchill, Tony Stark, or my Uncle John, you’re not qualified to deliver a well-crafted speech after eleventeen scotches. You might think it’s funny – and, hey, three of your buddies might, too – but the thing about weddings is that, believe it or not, 50% of the guests will be slightly buzzed or dead sober. Besides, this is your [INSERT RELATIONSHIP HERE]‘s most special day – do you really wanna be that guy at the wedding?
  3. Keep it Short, Sweet and Snappy. Four pages. Double spaced. Times New Roman. People will never remember exactly what you say in a speech, but they will remember how you make them feel. So, think of the three things that you want them to remember about your message and be sure to weave-in such themes throughout your story. Also, be funny, touching or funny and touching. Because, when sprinkled throughout the audience, sounds like “awwww” and “hahahaha” are delightfully contagious!

Weddings aside, public speaking is one of (if not the best) “soft skills” – which is basically a non-technical ability reflective of your personality – that you can have. Why? Well, as Mr. Seinfeld pointed out, it’s an incredibly rare one skill to possess. And there’s no better place to hone your speaking craft than in front of a community that is nearest and dearest to you.

Good luck. And have fun with it!

*this quote was paraphrased and, well, if I butchered it and Mr. Seinfeld’s attorneys track me down this will mark the third time the same attorneys have made life difficult for me.

Harpaul Sambhi

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careerifyNetwork

1.Who are you?

In short – batman. Kidding aside, I am a recent graduate (2009) from the University of Waterloo that finally finished the 5 year program for Electrical Engineering. Most of my co-op terms were doing entrepreneurial ventures. I think of myself as a very approachable guy who likes to help people with their careers and simply network. Careerify is my second venture which I founded in 2008 while in fourth year. I often skipped classes to network with the business community in my area (which was often Toronto), went off to places like London, Barcelona and Rome when I wasn’t supposed to (thank god I had a great lab partner!) and enjoys everything I do, because if you don’t, life tends to suck when you’re always complaining.

2. What do you do for fun?n36404624948_7278

Just ran a half-marathon last year, training for a full-marathon. Love to grill as the BBQ is my best-friend in the summer. Like to spend time with my friends, play hockey and golf occasionally, and will be getting back into martial arts to complete my blackbelt (currently two levels away). I also categorize my work as being fun, as I meet with great people, try to see how I can connect my network together, and writing a book with Thomson-Reuters on social networks and HR.

3. What is your favourite community and why?

If you mean community as a place – definitely Toronto, although I have my eyes set on the Big Apple. I love the fast paced environment of any big city as it motivates me to do my best. The Go-go-go environment speeds up my heart, and is one of the reasons I want to get out of bed.

4. What is your superpower?

“Unlike most superheroes, he does not possess any superpowers; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, science and technology, wealth, physical prowess, and intimidation in his war on crime.”

When I am myself my superpowers is connecting and helping people.

5. How do you use it to build community?

To build any community, you need to fight off evil and the villains that usually come with the territory. In this case, evil is deemed as unemployment, and procrastination. Unemployment can be defeated by connecting two people and allowing true networking to come into play as people know other people. This can go a long way for those looking for their first employment opportunity and are having a difficult time fighting off the evil unemployment villain with tools like job-boards and newspaper ads. Careerify is a new tool that zaps energy out of evil pretty quickly, as it speeds the process.

Tune in tomorrow — same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.

My three favourite things about Harpaul are…

1. The Power of Relationships. A former student of mine introduced Harpaul and I because “it’s always great to bring good people together.” We’re all connectors, methinks. It’s just a beautiful thing when people who can learn from each other get connected. And who doesn’t want to be connected to Batman?

2. Innovation and Future Trends. Many human resources professionals, career development practitioners, educators, and recruiters believe that the traditional “job board” – be it paper or online – will cease to exist by 2020. By then, the experts say, employers will find, hire and retain employees through social networking. Harpaul’s business, Careerify, combines the concepts of LinkedIn, e-Harmony and Visa Rewards to personalize the employer-employee matching in the world of work. And he’s ahead of his time.

3. He’s an Entrepreneur. As the Daily Gumboot’s readers (ie. my parents) know, I’m a huge fan of entrepreneurship. I’m also a huge fan of people finding the most meaningful path into the world of work, where, believe it or not, we will spend most of our lives. Did you know that 80% of North Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs? Cures for such malaise are the entrepreneurial spirit and finding work that you really, really, really love doing; and mediums like Careerify are what bring such qualities together.

As told by John Horn…