We came into contact with Mohamed Isa, an Award Winning Speaker & Best-Selling Author. We wanted to capture the essence of his inspirational speaking skills and how he is going so far.
This led to the idea of interviewing him and asking some questions that could help us understand his journey better. Let’s check out some of the words we had with Mohamed Isa, an inspirational speaker, and leader.
You are an award-winning speaker. What drove you into this field and inspired you to continue?
“As a teenager, I would not say I liked the idea of giving speeches due to a terrible experience I had when I was 13. However, when I joined the University of Bahrain (UOB), I knew there was no way around it when I graduated. As an employee, regardless of your profession, you must speak with your boss, in meetings, or with customers. This realization made me develop my speaking skills during my time at UOB and beyond. Today, I enjoy speaking because this is the way I add value to others.” says Isa.
We also asked him, “Why do you think public speaking skills are crucial for everyone?”
He believes, “If you want a successful career or to run a thriving business, you must be an effective communicator. I have attended several startup pitching competitions. Over the years, I noticed that, in most cases, founders with superior speaking skills received investment funds. They may not necessarily have had the best business ideas, but their communication skills gave them an edge over the rest. Communicating one’s ideas eloquently is critical for success. The good news is that anyone can develop these skills through coaching and practice.”
You inspire people through your motivational speeches. What inspires you to deliver the speeches?
“I want to make an impact whenever I face an audience,” says Isa.
And how do you do that?
“Inspiring individuals through speeches. For example, it would be great if we all could receive exceptional customer service and experiences. I play a part in achieving this aspiration through my customer service excellence speeches. I believe we all deserve better service – You, me, and the whole community. Likewise, each of my keynote speeches aims to achieve a specific and positive result benefiting the target audience and my clients.” he continues.
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You spoke at Googleplex in California. How did you feel about it?
“It has been almost five years since I delivered my Customer Service Excellence speech at Googleplex in Mountain View. It is an unforgettable experience. My contact there, Waqas, took me on a mini tour of the campus. He showed me the different facilities available to the staff, such as the swimming pools, gyms, meditation areas, volleyball pitches, cafes, and more. Being a Bahraini, I felt great and grateful for the opportunity to speak at this giant company. I cannot wait to speak at Apple!”
We believe that everyone faces challenges at some point. Hence we asked Mohamed Isa, “Have you ever faced any challenges as a speaker? If so, how did you overcome them?”
“The challenges are many. The solution is one: Be prepared for anything. The typical challenges could be technology-related, like audio and video or a conference agenda that keeps changing. One challenge I continue to laugh about until today dates to October 2013. I arrived to deliver a public speaking workshop to a client. There was a big surprise awaiting me. There was a large steel structure on the stage with Pink Panther, Mickey Mouse, Spiderman, and Donald Duck dangling from it. They had a kids’ party the night before and did not get the chance to remove the structure with the big dummies. Since I arrived early, I looked for another meeting room to deliver the workshop. My panic lasted for only five minutes.” he shares.
How do you divide your time between delivering and creating ideas?
“Although I have several keynote speeches ready to be delivered to my clients, I enjoy creating speeches from scratch. For example, recently, I received a request from a company’s chairman to deliver a Corporate Governance Workshop to the Board. Since I worked with several boards over the past two decades, this was not a big ask. I researched similar programs and created a slide deck to aid me in delivering the workshop. The slides are simple. They contain a few words and pictures. In essence, the slides are worthless without my presence.“
Lastly, we asked him, “Do you have any public speaking tips for our viewers?”
Here are seven quick public speaking tips by Mohamed Isa:
– Know your audience.
– Design your speech accordingly.
– Get feedback on your speech.
– Rehearse your speech.
– Be ready for potential questions.
– Arrive early to check everything.
– And do not forget to smile!
If you are hungry to know more, please check out this link: https://youtu.be/SA-tEvhouW4
