Rebirth: Back in a Theatre

On December 1st, 2021, Speaker Slam® held its Grand Slam: Inspirational Speaking Finals on the theme of Rebirth at the Paradise Theatre in Toronto, with the community joining both in the room and by livestream from around the world. After a year of competing largely online, the finals brought speakers and audience back into a theatre for the first time since the pandemic began.

The night was the culmination of a year's work: writing and rewriting, editing and re-editing, training and competing, and reaching into the depths to bring the most powerful, vulnerable personal truths to light. It ended with three women on the podium.

1st Place: Marjorie Aunos

Marjorie was crowned the 2021 Inspirational Speaker of the Year for her brilliant, nuanced speeches and a tireless dedication to the craft. In Rina's words, she did the work, all of the work, like a highly trained Olympic athlete. Marjorie has since gone on to the TEDx stage.

2nd Place: Yvette Raposo

Yvette stormed the scene and brought her Fighter Within to the ring, with a beautiful tribute to her mother and her truth.

3rd Place: Julianna Bootsman

One of the most beautiful writers in five years of Speaker Slam®, Julianna stepped deeply into vulnerability and it paid off.

4th Place: Kristin Light rounded out the top four with another fascinatingly unique and vulnerable speech.

The Lineup

The full Grand Slam lineup brought showmanship and heart, from Daniel Burns throwing cookies into the audience to Donald Carr doing the full splits. Kady Romagnuolo, Navi Bliss, Maria-Elena Emmy Rousseau, and Ken Hall delivered their best speeches of the year. Benjamin Fuerte Wayo could run a professional storytelling business. Catherine Clark and Ingrid Palmer brought the power, and the chat was full of admiration for all of them.

Meet the Judges Who Made It All Happen

• Joel Huckaluk: Motiversity
• Selena Soo: Publicity and Marketing Strategist
• Raina Yoo: A-Plus
• Keka DasGupta
• Neeta Bhushan: Global Grit
• Brian Kenneth Miller: TEDx Speaker Coach
• Tabitha Rose: Life to Paper Publishing

The judging lineup gave one of the most impressive prize packages Speaker Slam® had ever assembled.

Unforgettable Moments

To the community who came out both online and in person: thank you. It was a strange time to be reintegrating into the world, and those who joined in the theatre were trailblazers.

And that was a wrap on 2021. Speaker Slam® went out with a bang, one month after marking five years.