Tim Wade Motivation & Productivity

Although I have one motivational speech to go this year, which I deliver on Friday 23rd of December, of all the other speaking engagements I delivered in Singapore and across Asia throughout 2011, my Top 10 speech memories for 2011 would have to be:

1. The 10,000

Delivering a motivational keynote speech with 10,000 people at an event for Prudential in Jakarta. Awesome experience, incredible energy, amazing crowd (as were the 1500 in Surabaya a few days later).

2. Homeless in Japan

Taking a group of participants through a 4-day leadership and communication program in Tokyo that saw them meet with homeless people, speak with elderly folks in a home, work in local market stalls, and become absolutely poor in a city square with two hours to raise enough money to have afternoon tea at the Ritz Carlton.

3. Surgeons of Smile

Spending time with the surgeons, administrators and volunteers of Operation Smile both at their convention in Bangkok and with their student volunteers in Singapore. Mainly because of the passion of the people involved and their authentic connection with purpose, contribution and making a positive difference in the world.

4. The Summit of HR

Speaking at the HR Summit at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre in Singapore to 600 HR managers and practitioners. This was impactful partly because of the size of the event and the business that it generated, but particularly from the comments of the participants afterword. One had said “You were the best speaker here” as she collected my card, which stopped me in my tracks for a moment as it was humbling (even though it doesn’t seem humble to mention it in my blog) as well as a great positive reinforcer to continue doing what I love.

5. The Great Wall of Japan

Videoing a Japanese man at an event in Sapporo. He was participating in my 100m sprint metaphor (which occurs during my Mindset of Victory speech), and the way he hilariously ran into a wall and dramatically collapsed was one of the funniest portrayals of a person who is enthusiastic but directionless (one of the characters in the race that I set up).

6. Red Buckets and Toast

Delivering 2 speeches at the Toastmasters Convention in Singapore. It was my first real Toastmaster meeting that I had attended (I had done a preview speech for them with IBM and NYP audience members earlier in the year) and although I have never been a Toastmasters member, I was very impressed with the organisation, the talent and the enthusiasm of the members. After that event I was invited to speak at a regular Toastmasters meeting and I came up with a speech titled “The Caveman and the Little Red Bucket” while brushing my teeth in my bathroom where there is a little red bucket. A great international organisation who we very welcoming.

7. Team-building Sleep

Running a fantastic couple of team-building sessions for Simmons Asia-Pacific in Bintan, Indonesia that went from 9am to 10:30pm but saw them fully engaged and participating the whole time. This was memorable particularly because of the varied programs that happened throughout the day (Leadership, Solution-Storming, Strategic Planning, Goal-Setting, Networking, indoor and outdoor Team-building, Communuication, Psychology, Sales and Influence, and more), and also because of the energy levels of people in the business of sleep (Simmons make premium mattresses).

8. Indian Marriages

Speaking with the top mutual funds performers from India’s Axis Bank – we starting talking about cavemen and marriage at one point which was very funny and a refreshing tangent from the business growth keynote that I was delivering.

9. Primary Madness

Delivering a series of programs to Primary 6 students at Xinmin Primary School in Singapore to help them prepare for their upcoming PSLE exams. Now while I’ve spoken with well over 20,000 school students over the past couple of years as a speaker, it had usually been to secondary and tertiary students. This group of primary students were amazing, and my experience and interaction with them was very memorable! But there was one moment in particular that stood out and that was when I told one class to go crazy behind me while I was speaking to the video camera and when I turned around they were to be the best-behaved students in the world. That moment, captured, was priceless.

…and finally…

10. The Spirit of Service

Presenting the inaugural APSS Spirit of Service awards to three speakers (Michael Podolinsky, Scott Friedman and Shirley Taylor) during the end of my year as 2010-2011 President of the Asia Professional Speakers Singapore at our convention in May. An amazing privilege to serve an amazing community of speakers and to have represented Singapore in the Global Speakers Federation.

… and just to overdeliver, here’s an 11th…

11. The Chicken or the Egg

I presented in Chiang Mai, Thailand, at for the Ross Asia Association regional convention presented by leading global chicken producer, Aviagen. This was memorable for a couple of reasons. One, it was a chicken producer and I wanted to ask them a question that has vexed many for millenia. Thinking they would know, I asked which came first. The answer was the grandparent. Chicken people know what this means.

The other thing that astonished me about this particular engagement was the way I got the engagement. A bureau in Louisville, Kentucky contacted me saying they saw my profile and from there they were sourcing the speaker from here. The wonderful infinite possibilities that abound by the influence of the web just leave me grateful for such blessings.

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So it’s been a busy, challenging, hardworking, positive, lucky, uplifting, exciting and wonderful 2011. I’m grateful to all my clients from global banks to government agencies to satellite imaging companies and law firms to schools and prisons. And I look forward to an even more amazing 2012 and I wish you the same.

Speak with you soon.

Tim Wade, Motivational Business Growth Speaker, Singapore (www.timwade.com).