In one of my blogs last month, I shared the story of Mayuna Magara, the representative of Asia and Oceania, who participated in the Mrs. International World Championships.  I worked with Mayauna on her authenticity as a speaker, helping her deliver an emotionally connected message. 

On September 19th, another pageant (Beauty Pageant), Mrs. World Universal World Congress, was held in Washington, DC. At the first world tournament, one of my presentation coaching clients, Hitomi Nagaya, won second place in the Ms. World Universal Elite Grand Prix.

It was 6 weeks prior to the competition, that Hitomi approached me for coaching. That wasn’t a lot of time to get her fully prepped, but she worked hard on her ONE BIG MESSAGE® and it wowed the panel. 

Celebrating diversity 

Ms. World Universal is significantly different from other pageants in that”diversity & inclusion”, is very much celebrated.  Usually, “diversity” often means racial diversity or gender diversity, but at Ms. World Universal, not only race, but also body shape, social status, and past. Their mission is to accept true diversity from all angles, including experience, medical history, religion, sexual orientation, identity, physical and mental disorders, etc., and they are working to contribute to society based on that mission. 

The contestants are therefore seemingly different from other pageants, and there are many women who celebrate diversity. 

As for Hitomi, she suffered from hepatitis at the age of 19 and cancer in her 40s. She also experienced domestic violence and divorce. Today, she has a salon in Kyushu as a charismatic hairdresser with 35 years of experience, and she holds various titles in beauty contests. 

Through her participation in Ms. World Universal, Hitomi helps all women to face themselves deeply, and build a brilliant life by having the courage to express themselves. 

Speeches that reach and move the other person first require the process of establishing a relationship between the listener and you, the speaker. When I matched the mission of Ms. World Universal with Hitomi’s outlook on life, I found something in common relatively easily: 

It was to bring women into this society who can create a brilliant life with their own hands by taking advantage of diversity and turning it into their own power, even if it is out of the framework of general society. In other words, “turning true inner diversity into power.”

That ended up being Hitomi’s ONE BIG MESSAGE®.

When she attended her first coaching session, this was her original speech that she wrote that she wanted help with: 

I have been through two marriages and divorces. But I am protected by people. As I started to open up with those closest to me, someone said to me that I should shine brightly as soon as possible. And now I am. I have had my beauty salon for 24 years. I have also overcome life-threatening illnesses. With this life alive, I will continue to challenge myself. The mind and the eyes are connected. Communicating the joy of changing the head, face, body, and total, and creating a stage whereas many women as possible can shine! My platform is to push my back forward, like the one who reached out at that time.

The trouble with this speech is that there are many people in the world who have experienced illness and who have opened their own businesses. It needed to be a story that only she could tell. I knew I needed to dig a little deeper to find that emotional connection with her story.  

It turned out that the ‘someone’ who said she should shine brightly, was actually her carpenter who was helping with the refit of her hair salon. He became a character in her story, and this dramatically changed the emotional connection and made it much more interesting for the audience. 

The final speech was transformed to this: 

I died twice…almost. When I was 19, I had hepatitis. The doctor said I had only 3 months. Then, I had cancer.

By the age of 29 when I opened my beauty salon, I was divorced. I was a victim of domestic violence. I had no money. It was a bumpy road ahead, and I had to put on armor over my heart. So I changed my hair to ….dreadlocks…!

Then, an angel visited me. He was a carpenter. He said,

“You have a stage waiting for you. Design your life, and shine.”

Design your life, and shine.

This became my platform.

There are many people who experienced tough times.

As your Ms.World Universal, I promise to provide a stage for everyone, so they can design their lives and shine.

You see the difference in the emotion and the way that I helped her frame her speech into a story from hardship and adversity to success and a real celebration of who she really is? 

Sometimes it just needs a presentation coach to help you dig a little deeper and find that emotional connection and story to really turn your audience’s heads. 

If this sounds like something you need for your next business presentation, speech, or contest, book a FREE consultation with me here.