The Treasures of Straight Elocution!

On August 31, 2024, I was honored to be invited to the Youth Impact Conference 001 by WeGODEP and partners to share my insights on effective communication skills as a way to empower over 130 youths in Mbengwi.

This momentous event was organized by WeGODEP Foundation and its partners under the theme "Unleashing Youth Potentials." It took place at the beautiful ABI Fall Resort in Mbengwi, named after the nearby ABI Falls.

The event attracted people from all walks of life. I made new friends and was delighted to meet other speakers in the industry, who mentally nourished me with their insights.

I was seated next to the architect of the resort, Mr. Alpha, whose mother is from South Africa and father is from Zimbabwe. Mr. Alpha was one of the event's speakers, and I loved his story.

There were a total of 15 speakers at the event, which, obviously lasted all day. The order of presentation was uncertain, so as the organizers and guests of honor were welcoming everyone, the MC asked the facilitators who would like to speak first. I immediately volunteered, knowing that it would be a long day and I didn't want to lose my energy.

As a speaker, I understand that being the first at an event is challenging. The first speaker sets the tone, and subsequent speakers can learn from their approach.

The MC announced me, and I held the microphone and began speaking. I started by saying, "Everyone may not be professional speakers, but everyone must learn to speak professionally in everything we do." After capturing the audience's attention, I introduced my talk, "The benefits of improved communication skills," and delved into the topic. I shared my personal experience of intentionally improving my communication skills. The audience was engaged, warm, welcoming, and active. I shared with them how to sell themselves and give impromptu speeches, and we conducted exercises. This was the funnest part of my talk. I shared examples and challenged participants to practice what they had learned. They quickly picked up the lessons, and the hall was filled with applause until I completed my presentation.

After my presentation, about eight other speakers presented, and we had comedy and musical interludes. We went out for a lunch break around 2 PM.

During the break, I was surprised when people, including guests of honor and fellow speakers, approached me to appreciate my presentation. I felt like "the man of the hour." I was surprised because I knew my presentation wasn't bad, but I didn't expect people to vibrate with it that much. One guest of honor, the Former Mayor of Mbengwi, complimented my presentation and said he would draft a proper self-introduction for himself and send it to me for review before he starts using it to introduce himself. I felt honored, and impressed.

The lunch break lasted about 1.5 hours, and we returned to the hall. Other speakers presented, there was a business pitch competition, a cultural evening, and many other fun activities.

It was a wonderful experience filled with laughter, learning, and new friendships.

When the main organizer of the conference handed me my envelope, he pulled me aside and told me that my presentation was powerful and that he would always work with me.

I felt truly honored to be one of those who contributed their voices to empowering youths of our beautiful country, Cameroon. To God be the glory, forever.

Since I became intentional about improvingmy communication skills, i haven't gotten the 1st opportunity to regret it.🙏
Improved communication skills come with lots of benefits.