2018 Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking, Ramona J. Smith

Ramona J. Smith. “Still Standing.

” “Still Standing. ” Ramona J. Smith.

Life will sometimes feel like a fight. The punches, jabs, and hooks will come in the form of challenges, obstacles, and failures. Yet if you stay in the ring and learn from those past fights, at the end of each round, you'll be still standing.

Mr contest chair, fellow fighters, can you think of a time when life tried to knock you down? Who was your toughest opponent? Most often, our most challenging opponent is ourselves.

Round one—college. I dropped out of college not one, not two, not three, but four times. I told myself college isn't for me and I would never go back.

Round two—marriage. I married my soul mate—the love of my life, my best friend. He was fine, too.

We were married for eight long, beautiful, amazing months. You heard right—months, not years. It was like immediately after we said I do, the heavyweight champion came in and delivered an electrifying knockout blow to our vows.

Boom! Divorced. Round three—speaking.

In 2015, I competed for the first time in the International Speech Contest. I won at the club level, I won at the area level, I won at the division level. Then the district level was on the way!

I was on the road, I was on fire, I was unstoppable! I lost. I was crushed.

After going three rounds and taking hit after hit, I was ready to throw in the towel. I was down for the count. Six, seven, eight.

When was the last time life knocked you down? Who was that lifeline that you reached out to, to help you stand back up? Was it your family?

Your friends? Or did you hold on to your faith? Maybe you've never been knocked down, but you've seen one of your family members take a devastating blow.

Were you the lifeline that they were reaching out to, to help them stand back up? Were you the coach in the corner saying, “Get up, get up. Stand up?

” As I gathered all the strength within myself, to pick myself back up and stand. Instead of looking into a mirror of defeat, it became a window of possibilities. I got back in the ring.

I went back to college. I got my degree and I graduated magna cum laude. Yeah, after failing four times, I was still standing.

After my loss at the district level, I'm speaking to you from the World Championship stage. It's a moment! Thank you.

Thank you. Even after suffering loss, I'm still standing. As for my marriage, I'm still in training.

I have not yet found Mr right, but this is an international convention. And there are thousands of men from hundreds of different countries, so single Toastmasters—call me! Even after my divorce, I'm still standing.

My challenge to you is to stay in the ring. Whether you're a fighter or a coach, if you're on the side of the ring coaching, or if you're in that ring throwing those jabs and those hooks, when that final bell rings— ding, ding, ding—the fighters and the coaches will raise their hands in victory, singing, “I'm still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah. We're still standing.

” Very nice. Stay in that ring. And even after you take a few hits, use what you learned from those previous fights, and at the end of each round, you'll remain still standing.

Mr contest chair.