Two years later - tips from a Speaker Slam Grand Slam alum

Two years ago today, I became the #2 Inspirational Speaker of the Year at the Speaker Slam Grand Slam. The Grand Slam is happening again this Sat Nov 22 at the CBC Glenn Gould Studio in downtown Toronto - I’ll be in the audience and I’m SO excited.

Last week, one of the competitors asked me if I have any tips for the Grand Slam, because as they put it, “you crushed yours.” (🥹)

It was heartwarming to hear, because I so clearly remember watching so many past Speaker Slam and Grand Slam speech videos as part of my prep - so it’s amazing to think that a new season of competitors might watch my video as part of theirs.

I gave them two tips I used:

1) Rehearse your speech all the way through, but if you make a mistake, don’t stop and start over unless you truly can’t go on. Instead, practice continuing it even when you make a mistake - practice how to recover from it and keep things moving if something doesn’t go how you planned. You’ll get used to what that feels like, and build confidence that on stage, you can keep it going if you need to, even with a mistake.

2) Once you have the memorization part down, rehearse your gestures and movements in a mirror. This felt SO weird to me and I put it off forever, but it really helped to see how it’ll all look/come together - and you have the control of deciding whether a certain gesture or movement fits what you’re saying or not.

Speaker Slam’s tag line is “one speech can change your life” and I feel like I’m living proof of that. Win or lose, competitor or audience member, I truly believe Speaker Slam, @thedanshaikh and @therinarovinelli are changing lives. I can’t wait to watch the best speakers from this year share their Legacy stories and follow their journeys from here.

Because I know even though it’s the end of the year’s competitions, it’s just the beginning for all of them. ✨

There’s still a few in-person tickets left and plenty of livestream ones! Get yours at speakerslam.org/events 🥳🎉🙌🏽

A Moment of Inclusion in Kuala Lumpur

This past Friday, I came back from a two-week trip to Malaysia and Istanbul with my best friend. The Malaysia part was for a personal development program we did together with another friend, where I explored a lot of my feelings and perspectives on living with an invisible physical disability (thank you forever SEEDS Mastery!) ✨

I have so many stories and photos to post eventually, but this one stood out.

Once my friend and I were finished shopping at Central Market in Kuala Lumpur, I ordered a Grab ride (their version of Uber) to pick us up, make a stop to pick up our third friend, and take us to our dinner plans. When I got the ride confirmation, I noticed it said our driver was deaf, and to communicate with him through the chat function.

For most of our interactions during the ride, we did use either the chat or gave each other a thumbs up. It didn’t feel like enough appreciation or inclusion to me, but I don’t know any sign language.

So mid-ride, I quickly Googled how to say “thank you” in sign language, figuring doing that at the end of the ride would be better than nothing.

Just before I got out of the car, I signed “thank you” to the driver, and he signed it back! And even though he was wearing a mask, I could tell from his eyes he was smiling. 🥹

I’ve always felt a kind of empathy and solidarity with other people living with disabilities. Even when they’re different from my own, we’re all living in a world that wasn’t built for us. We all appreciate moments of recognition or inclusion, whether they’re big or small.

And sometimes, a moment of inclusion is just a quick Google search away. ✨🫶🏽

Day 5 of Invisible Disabilities Week: my first time meeting someone with my disability in person!

If you’ve ever felt nobody understands what you’re going through, this is your sign we’re never as alone as we think we are.

That was a main reason I rarely talked about my muscle disability for over 30 years - I figured nobody would care or relate. Then, I connected with Carrie.

Carrie and I both have the same rare muscle disorder, have both worked in the arts and for music festivals, and both love sparkle (her @carrieccduk IG bio is “Invisible Disability | Visible Sparkle” and I WISH I’d thought of that myself!) - I’m pretty sure that makes her my doppleganger somehow?! ✨

She reached out to me in January and we realized we have SO much in common. I was in the UK in August for my cousin’s wedding, and we met up during my 2.5-day trip to London - my first time meeting someone with my disability in person! Check out this reel on my Instagram for how our first meeting went.

I’m now so positive that your Carrie is out there too - you just need to share your experiences and what you’re going through, or at least look for people sharing theirs. Let me know when you find them! 💃🏽✨🫶🏽

Thanks to @thedanshaikh for being our personal cameraman and creative director 😂🥰💖

Check out the 13 Canadian buildings and monuments I’ve gotten to light up for Invisible Disabilities Week

We’re two weeks away from Invisible Disabilities Week, and I’m so excited to have gotten 13 buildings/monuments across ten Canadian cities lighting up to bring awareness to invisible disabilities! 🎉

This is the third Invisible Disabilities Week that I’ve been ✨open✨ about the rare muscle disorder I was born with, Central Core Disease.

For my first IDW in 2023, I was floored to be named the winner of the “But You LOOK Good” Inspiration Award by the Invisible Disabilities Association (floored because the past winners include comedian Wayne Brady and TV personality Yolanda Hadid!).

In 2024 for my second IDW, I did an interview with Mississauga News for an article on a report that the cost of living in Mississauga for people with disabilities is up to 39% higher than for those without disabilities, and did my first corporate talk for Arc’teryx’ disability-focused ERG.

This year, I’m doing another interview and corporate talk (more on those later), and I’ve been encouraging cities to light up to bring awareness to the invisible disabilities community.

An estimated up to 80% of disabilities are invisible/non-apparent, making it easier for them to be ignored or not supported by others, and harder for those living with them to advocate for themselves.

To me, Invisible Disabilities Week is about creating visibility and community for those living with them, and to encourage others to share their stories and experiences.

Because every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place. ✨

Check out the list of locations and dates of the lightings below!

• Apron Tower - Toronto Pearson Airport - Oct 19

• Clock Tower - Mississauga Civic Centre - Oct 19

• Niagara sign - Niagara Region - Oct 19

• Clock Tower - Brampton City Hall - Oct 19

• City Hall - Peterborough City Hall - Oct 19

• Vaughan City Hall - City of Vaughan - Oct 20

• Oakville Town Hall - Town of Oakville - Oct 20

• Moncton City Hall, New Brunswick - Oct 20

• Downtown Place - Moncton, New Brunswick - Oct 20

• Avenir Centre - Moncton, New Brunswick - Oct 20

• Downing Street - Moncton, New Brunswick - Oct 20

• Fred A. Lundy Bridge - Town of Newmarket - Oct 21 

• Hamilton sign - City of Hamilton - Oct 22