(dramatic music)
- Let me share my journey with you a little bit
and how that had a profound impact in my life,
just learning this one skill.
That's me in the middle, you can see,
short hair and my glasses
and maybe 10 pounds heavier, something like that.
So how I got into learning about public speaking
was when I first came to Canada,
many of you know my story, couldn't speak
a word of English.
So when I was going through high school,
I was going to Guildford Park in Surrey at the time
and I was one of the only three Chinese in my school
and I was terrified,
terrified of public speaking
because I couldn't speak.
And I was very, very shy and I had
very, very few friends,
very few friends.
So going through the high school days,
you can imagine,
let me describe it for you.
I was the kid that would sit in the very back
and never put up my hand
and never asked any questions
and most of the people don't know my name.
How many of you kind of visualize
in high school you know one of those kids?
They're almost invisible,
yeah, I was that invisible kid.
After school I would go to my locker,
grab my stuff, my backpack,
and I just go home, no eye contact
with anybody, 'cause I'm afraid people will
talk to me, I don't know what to say.
Even how are you's, I'd go,
"Hi, I'm fine."
That's all I said, "Hi, I'm fine."
That was it, "Hi, I'm fine," and that was it.
And they feel kind of awkward,
so that's the end of the conversation.
But during that time I had an instructor,
called Miss Fellons, and at the time, I think
it was Communication, grade 11,
that in order to pass that course
I had to deliver a speech.
And I said to my instructor, "Miss Fellons,
"I can't do it.
"I just can't do it."
"Oh no, you have to do it."
I said, "I cannot do it."
So when it's my turn, I would actually skip
the class and I would hide in the bathroom.
When the class is over and I would come back
and until Miss Fellons talked to me and said,
"Dan, you can't do this, 'cause if you don't
"do this speech, I can't pass you.
"Just do it, I don't care how lousy of a job
"you do, just do it, you passed.
"That's it, just show up,
"doesn't matter how poor a job,
"I'll let you pass."
And she was such a great instructor.
"If you're afraid I will help you out.
"After school come to my room,
"I'll coach you a little bit,
"I'll show you how to do it."
And I craft a little speech, I remember,
it was on what's it like to speak
as a second language, right?
It was English.
And I remember I had my notes,
like a piece of paper.
If you give me a piece of paper it would help me.
Yeah.
So I have my script, right?
So I was like this.
So I would (paper flapping).
(audience laughing) This is what I was like.
This is what I was like.
It was uncontrollable, uncontrollable shake like that.
And I no, forget eye contact,
I was like this,
like that throughout the whole thing
and after it was done, people applaud
and that was it, that was it.
That's my first experience,
talk about stage fright, right?
I know what that is like.
But that had plant a seed in my mind,
very interestingly enough, thank you.
It plant a seed in my mind.
'Cause through that experience I didn't die.
I thought I was gonna be dead,
but I didn't die.
So I thought, okay, that's interesting
and then when I went to college
and I dropped out of college, but the first year,
again, some presentation, I do my thing
and I get nervous as hell,
still didn't die.
Then one day I just made a decision,
you know what?
I need to overcome this.
This is holding me back.
Somehow in my mind, this fear,
'cause in my life I'm not afraid
of too many things.
I'm afraid of insects.
How many are afraid of insects?
I'm afraid of insects.
(audience chuckling)
But, yeah, I'm not afraid of snake,
I'm not afraid of dark,
I'm not afraid of horror movies,
none of that stuff, I love that shit.
But somehow public speaking,
I gotta solve this.
How many ever had the moments in your life
where you know what, you hit an obstacle
and you say, I gotta overcome this?
How many had that?
Yeah, so same, deep down,
I said, "I gotta do this."
So I joined Toastmasters.
How many have heard of Toastmasters?
Yeah, joined Toastmasters,
it was a club in Burnaby, in Metrotown,
called Metro Speakers.
So I joined a club and I was on fire.
Now, to do those of you who are familiar
with Toastmasters, when you join Toastmasters,
you get a menu, called CTM menu.
And I was doing a speech every fucking week.
Every week I was doing a speech.
And after about six months of that,
six months, just immersion, total immersion,
every week I'm doing something.
Humorous speech, persuasion story,
anything, icebreaker, I just keep doing it,
table topic, every week I'm doing something.
Sometimes I would even go to a different club,
I would do two speeches per week.
And after about six months of that,
people started, you know who it is when you do
a speech they give you a little,
they give a little form for people to fill out,
to give you feedback.
At first, it was, yeah, you should do this,
and after, great job, excellent.
I'm getting all the positive feedback
and I'm like, well, where's the constructive criticism?
Not much, hmmm.
And people started coming up to me and saying,
"Dan, you're good at this.
"You have a natural talent."
(audience laughing)
Me?
Natural talent?
What's so natural about that?
Nothing natural about that.
But people started, "Yeah, you're good at this."
And then one day, I don't know what got into me,
and I was watching all the great speakers at that time,
Tony Robbins, and the Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy,
all these motivational speakers,
personal development speakers,
listening to their cassette tapes, right?
VHS, excuse me, VHS tapes, cassette tapes,
not YouTube, and I was like, wow.
And I see them, what if someday I could be up there?
If I could do what they do,
wouldn't that'd be neat?
And I told my mom,
"Mom, I'm gonna be a public speaker."
My mom was like, I remember, in her kitchen
washing the dishes.
"Yeah, mom, I'm gonna be a public speaker."
"Do your homework."
(audience laughing)
You know, not very supportive.
"No, mom, I'm gonna be like those guys.
"Speak to hundreds of people."
"Do your homework."
(laughing)
You know, that's my mom.
But I just had that dream,
I just had that dream.
So I joined Toastmasters
and then after a year, they voted me to
run the club, to be the president of the club.
At the time, I believe I was the youngest president
for a Toastmasters club in British Columbia.
And at that time we are the most successful club
in British Columbia.
We charged more than anybody else,
we're more members than anybody else,
we won more awards than anybody else.
Look at me, all the ribbons and everything,
I mean, the back there are also ribbons.
We produced more good speakers than anybody else.
What's very interesting, through this same period
of time, all the people, I wasn't the only one
that had this dream to be a professional speaker,
to impact lives.
But guess how many of them actually became
a professional speaker?
Except me, I'm the only one
other than me, it's none.
Out of the hundreds and hundreds of people.
So what's the difference?
What's the difference?
What's the difference that makes the difference?
Would you like to know why?
- [Audience] Yes.
- I'll share those skills with you.
So anyway, that was me back then.
How many can sense, even from the body language,
I did not have a lot of confidence?
You can see from the facial expression.
That was me back then, this is me today.
A lot of hard work.
And then there was me doing my little speech
in a local community center, or something like that.
You can see my music stand.
'Cause I would have a music stand in front of me
and I would have my notes, right?
Have my notes and everything would be
typed out word for word,
and I would look at it, I would deliver,
I would look at it, I would deliver.
But again, I've evolved.
Do you see notes in front of me?
No.
This is my notes, this is it.
So again, skill, you can hone your skill.
From that to this,
because I want to show you the before and after.
'Cause you might say, "Well, easy for you to say, Dan.
"You don't know how difficult it is for me."
I know how difficult it is.
I went through the same thing.
Takes 10,000 hours to be a master,
I definitely put in my 10,000 hours.
And then you can see a little group like that.
Oh, yeah, it was through a local,
some kind of a cash flow club.
My first seminar,
you see my pimple, I think I see my pimple
on my forehead. (audience laughing)
Small crowd.
You know, my initial, not my first,
but after maybe my third or fourth seminar,
Sandman Hotel, that I conducted.
I don't know, 20, 30 people, something like that.
Now, I don't know if you can tell,
oversized suit, okay.
I think it was with pads,
I wasn't sure, in my shoulders.
How many of you can tell, look a little bit serious?
Do you know why I look serious?
'Cause I was nervous.
I was so nervous.
Yeah, I was nervous.
Okay, now look at me today.
Subtle difference, not without the glasses.
How many can sense a different presence?
So what does that tell you?
You can develop this.
I wasn't born with this ability, okay?
You can hone this skill.
Anybody can do it.
I wasn't born with this ability.
So how many want me to give you that ability, yes?
I'm gonna give you that ability.
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