Freedom: The First American Winner

The 2020 Grand Slam was held online on November 28th, 2020 on the theme of Freedom, the first Inspirational Speaking Finals of the pandemic era.

1st Place: Merlyna Valentine

Merlyna overwhelmed the audience with emotion and won over the judges to be crowned the 2020 Inspirational Speaker of the Year. On the surface she shares her journey with sepsis and becoming a quadruple amputee, but the deeper message is about worthiness and the self-acceptance that came with the experience. Even more touching was the love story inside it, showing that we are all deserving of love.

Merlyna was Speaker Slam®'s first American winner, made possible by the online competition opening the stage to people around the world. She also won the Judge's Choice award: a featured video on Power of Positivity, a platform with over 33 million viewers. The video passed 100,000 views on the day it dropped.

2nd Place: Sophie Sabbage

3rd Place: Peter Hernandez

Unforgettable Moments

Merlyna went on to join the Emerging Speakers program. Her win proved what the online era made possible: a speaker who had never set foot in Toronto could become the Inspirational Speaker of the Year.

See the full 2020 lineup on the Alumni page.