Travel for Impact was pleased to organize a public speaking workshop for various participants from our community partners, including youth from Bana Ba Letsatsi; students from Tsodilo Junior School; and employees from MAWS and Travel for Impact. The workshop was held on August 2nd at the Airport Hotel and led by Mandela U Johnes, a personal coach,motivational speaker, and founder of his own Corporate Coaching and Mentoring Services business.
Through his workshops, Mandela aims to empower participants with improved public speaking skills, as well as in-depth information on how to develop engaging presence and deliver presentations with power. By incorporating three main points – authentic love, true work, and pure work – Mandela hopes that participants will become more confident and relaxed in front of their audiences. Topics covered during the two-day session included: creating a basic outline; organizing ideas; finding the right words; overcoming nervousness; using confident body language and posture; and handling questions and comments effectively.
“Yesterday, I learned a lot,” explained an employee from MAWS who participated in the workshop. “Even though it wasn’t my first time giving a presentation, I know that it will make a big difference. At MAWS, we are dealing with people most of the time. If you bring in your dog or cat, we have to sit down with you and discuss what is wrong. If someone brings in a pet and you decide to treat it without properly explaining to the owner how to take care of it afterwards, there is no point.” He noted that through the workshop sessions, he will able to exude more confidence and compassion in his work.
Gosaitse Lekoko, an employee from Travel for Impact who attended the event, described how these new skills will benefit her role as Community Support Services Officer: “With the Economic Empowerment Program, I have buyers that I want to approach. If I miss out on addressing the buyer, the target audience, the message won’t be delivered. From now on, first I have to recognize my audience, how I need to address this person, and what this person wants to hear. You need to be convincing to make that person believe in your story.”
When the session was complete, each participant delivered a short practice speech to the rest of the room. Travel for Impact was pleased to see the confidence and engagement that had developed in participants throughout the workshop, and we can’t wait to see how their amazing public speaking skills will continue to grow in the future!
Article by Madeline Messenger
Photos by Monica Przyborowski
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