英文演講稿：

Cyril junior Dim

Ndini

I love that the contest chair sounds more Zimbabwean than I do.

In Zimbabwe we speak shona and in this beautiful language we have a very important word that I'd like to share with you today.

In shona we say Ndini, n d I n I, Ndini. Try it. Ndini. Beautiful. It means this is me.

In my language we have one word for this very important phrase. This is me. Ndini. This word is special for me now, but growing up I wasn't always comfortable with who I was.

You see even though I grew up in Zimbabwe, my middle name was a long, winding, complicated Nigerian name. Because my father whom I never knew was Nigerian. Now yes I may know a Nigerian prince or two. But back then I didn't want a Nigerian name I wanted a cool name like Martin Luther King Jr or contest chair.

The other kids would make fun of me they said my name was useful as a password they called my middle name memorably forgettable. They said my middle name was a curse from black magic. I hated my name. Have you ever hated something about yourself?

I would argue with mom. I would be so mad at her. You gave me this name you did this to me. And now everybody makes fun of me because I'm different.

And my mom would look at me and say but son that name is who you are. It's special.

You know your middle name means that what God has done no man can change.

and I said mom, man has changed many things. Okay look at Chihuahuas that used to be a wolf. I'm pretty sure I can change my name and I did.

As soon as I turned 18 I had my middle name removed from all my documents. It became my best kept secret and I have not said that name once ever since. Before I knew it, it was 2018

and I had landed in college not in Zimbabwe not even in Africa but in the heart of Eastern Europe. It was clear who grew up in the snow and who grew up in the sand.

I had never been this different before the fly in the milk. it felt like I had taken one step forward and 10 steps backwards. But then I met Nick another fly in the milk but from Congo. He's got the African boy swag you know low deep voice speaks very slowly. He's like Mufasa but in slow motion. We're in the library one day and Nick drops his ID and like a good friend I pick it up and proceed to read it out loud including his full name.

Nicholas rollin sweeney bitumi, I say dude. Let's say your name three times and see what happens. But I knew exactly how those words must have felt. But Nick was ready.

I have never met anybody with my name. It was a gift from my grandfather and I like it.

And we laughed and we got kicked out of the library. But in my heart I was 18 again, seeing in Nick what I didn't have for myself acceptance.

And for the first time I started looking around and I realized we're all different even Nick was different but he wasn't just different he was special because he accepted himself.

And for the first time in a long time I wanted to accept myself too. I looked myself in the mirror and said Ndini this is me. I know that many of you out there at some point in your life

have felt uncomfortable being who you are. Maybe it was your name; maybe it was the family you came from; Maybe it was the school you went to; Maybe you were tall, maybe you were short, maybe you have wrinkles freckles, maybe you have scars.

I know that some of you out there know what it is to be different and even if you don't feel it.

I'm sure you know somebody who does.

You are beautifully you. The only you, and no man can change that. so let me invite you to make this very important word a part of your language. Ndini this is me for my friends here in Nashville and the thousands watching from home say it with me, this is me. This is me. Ndini, Ndini, beautiful.

I haven't had the courage to officially reclaim my name.

but here today I think we can make a step in the right direction

I was born Cyril Jr Uchichukumara Dim

and this is me Ndini.

演講分析：

轉(zhuǎn)載于：

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/breaking-down-cyril-junior-dims-world-championship-winning-shakya

Breaking Down Cyril Junior Dim’s World Championship Winning Speech

August is an exciting month for the Toastmasters community worldwide. A new World Champion of Public Speaking (WCPS) emerges at the International convention. Due to COVID, the last two years have been a virtual rollercoaster, and this year the 2022 convention went hybrid - which was perfect. While all the exciting activities were happening in Nashville, we could still tune in from our homes. And that’s exactly what I did.

Due to time differences between the USA and Nepal, I could not stay up to witness the live stream of the World Championship. However, the first thing I did the next morning was to search for the new champion - which wasn’t too hard. It was everywhere. I have competed twice in the International Speech Contest that culminates in the World Championship through various levels. I won the District level in 2020. While I couldn’t make it further, the entire experience was enriching and grilling. I can only guess the level of emotions running through the journey to the finals.

Cyril Junior Dim won the 2022 World Championship of Public Speaking. Here’s an attempt at breaking down my favorite parts from his speech.

Door to the speech

It began with the title. I immediately wondered what?Ndini?meant. The title is not something to fuss about too much since it is but a door to the speech, but if that door could be made intriguing, it might as well prepare us for what is to come next.

Blending in cultural flavors

Bringing in the touch of Shona, a Zimbabwean language into the speech was a beautiful idea. A dilemma that speakers might face is the balance between universal and culture-specific elements. Cultural references add charm and intrigue, but a 7-minute timeframe often does not allow adequate space such references might require to be understood and appreciated fully. But Cyril cleverly added a cultural twist from his homeland using a phrase from Shona and then translating it without spending too much time and without getting the audience confused. Using this same phrase/term as the central message was the masterstroke - you are not only learning something new but also learning the message of the speech. (As a language enthusiast I think I was already sold by this moment!)

Making the audience act

One of the toughest things to do as someone speaking with all eyes on you, from speakers to teachers, is to get at least a majority of the audience on the same page. Math teachers made us do sums. Trigonometry, I’m looking at you. And speakers often look for ways to interact with the audience. Cyril used this interaction differently by teaching the audience a new term/phrase in Shona and having them chant it at the beginning and the end. The entire hall chanting?Ndini, this is me - the moment gave quite the feels on screen; the vibe in the venue must have been something. It was a moment when the speaker and the audience interacted on a unifying level. Once again, it was the central message of the speech. We are not forgetting that any time soon.

The Power of Simplicity

Cyril’s speech brings to mind the saying from Leonardo Da Vinci: simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. His speech structure and stories were so simple that they seemed to flow on their own. But what seems effortless often requires much more effort. The speech was flowing because it was a deliberate effort. Simple often translates into less impactful. But it isn’t necessarily so. If simple meant anything other than simple, it might be tons of hard work. Life, as it is, tends to be messy, and so are our stories. Picking moments from our lives, then highlighting and connecting them to bring a single unified message takes a lot of time in thinking, editing, and refining. And perhaps that is what Cyril did. He picked moments from his life - his naming, the name of his friend, his move to Europe and connected them with the single unified message that he had - this is me,?Ndini. All of the smaller parts were moving in the same direction.

Sprinkle of humor

Whenever the word sprinkle comes to mind, I remember a colorful donut with a thin layer of vanilla cream and a few chocolate pieces on top - a sprinkle - not too much, not too little. I am eating the donut and not the vanilla or the chocolate. Humor in Cyril’s speech acted just like that vanilla and chocolate from the donut. His humorous examples came from an unexpected comparison between things in the given context.

A wormhole to your stories

One of the many marks of a good story is when it brings images of your own stories into your mind - including some memories you thought were lost. It could be something similar to what the speaker in front is talking about or it could be something completely different. A fuse goes off in your head, and suddenly you can remember an incident from when you were seven, an episode that had safely been stored in a vault that you never expected to open. I had watched Cyril’s semifinal speech which had brought a few stories of my own to my conscious mind, and his winning speech did just the same.

By the end, I got a hunch that we’ll get to hear Cyril’s full name, and that we did. It did not feel like the suspense was revealed beforehand, but more like a promise that was being fulfilled.

When the speech was finally over, I smiled and chanted, "Ndini.?This is me." Thank you, Cyril.