Student Success Story: Denise Wozniak

Here at The Speaker Lab, our goal is to help you get Booked and Paid to Speak. Our Student Success Stories share first hand experiences from our students of how they’ve booked paid speaking gigs and grown their businesses by applying the concepts they learned in our courses.

Tell us about yourself; who are you and what do you do for fun?

“My personality can be summed up in three words: positive, honest, and caring.

My passion is speaking, coaching speakers and having fun in life. I go to Toastmasters and I have found a club that has humorous speakers who challenge me to be my best and get better.

My two dogs keep me fit. Photography is my hobby and I am keen to improve. ”

What got you into speaking? Is it what you expected?

“I realized in order to deliver a life-saving message I had to conquer my fear of speaking. I had discovered my child had AIDS and I had HIV when she was 6 months old and I was 35.

I realized that I had to be a voice for women, children and families with HIV. After forming a society for children and their families affected by HIV/AIDS, I became the spokesperson.

The unexpected part of this journey is that I was surprised that speaking went from being one of my greatest fears to my passion.”

Tell us about your hardest moment as a speaker so far.

Each time I tell the story of finding out my daughter’s diagnosis through a phone call, the 3 months that I cared for her, injected her with morphine into tiny, thin arms and her final death at 9 months of age. Telling that story on stage without breaking down has been incredibly difficult. My hardest moments too have been surprising.. everyone tells me they search for a story and that I have one already. I have found this to be something of a curse because I love humour. By having this subject it has pigeon-holed me because people want me to talk about it. That is why I took a certificate in coaching speakers, to give myself another area to speak about.

What has been your biggest success as a speaker so far?

My biggest success has been to deliver a message which my audience has learned from. In addition, to have the courage to stand up in front of an audience and talk about a stigmatized topic has been a challenge and a growing experience for me. It has been a journey of understanding life and how easily we take it foregranted.

What was your biggest struggle before finding The Speaker Lab?

I am still struggling with blogging, reading, and attending Speaker Lab events due to trying to find structure in my life. However, I am improving my structure and commitment daily now that I have honed the message I want to be my brand.

How has The Speaker Lab helped you and your business?

Understand how my marketing is key to my message.

What is your number one goal over the next 6 months to a year?

To craft my speech to relate more to my audience by making the story at the beginning lead into life lessons.

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