Men and Women: Equal at last. A pretty hot topic any day of the week, even more so when it’s being debated on International Womens Day!  I of course chose the Negative side, since we are absolutely NOT equal…..we are so much better 😉

When the Australian Institute of Management asked me to be a guest speaker at this years Great Debate, I seriously questioned whether I was even capable of doing this. My Mean girl was on high alert, telling me I wasn’t worthy of speaking in front of a room of highly intelligent corporates – I mean, I come from the Fashion Industry – I had no right being in that crowd…right?!

Once I got over my fears, and sat down to write, I decided to share three personal stories that were a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek way of poking fun at our topic, and I was hoping that the crowd would appreciate the humour and understand that it was all for a bit of fun.

Below are some pics from the day and a vid of our teams entrance, my speech, and the crowds adjudication by applause at the end.   And although this isn’t what its all about, my incredibly competitive spirit was revered when we won.  By a landslide.

Afterwards, I felt relieved that my speech was received as it was intended and proud that I had overcome another pretty major fear.  And although I had a major panic attack replete with shaking and sweaty palms, when I first saw the 600-strong crowd, by the time I took to the stage I felt poised, graceful and confident.

Not gonne lie, I was doing HARDCORE positive affirmations in my head before it was my turn.

Which got me thinking.  The lessons I learned on the day, and in the lead-up to the event are invaluable to anyone wanting to do public speaking, give presentations at work or when getting interviewed on camera.

I’m thinking of putting together a course on public speaking, television presenting, and personal branding, if you think you might be interested in this, hit me up HERE so that I know its something that would serve you.

Big thank you for my beautiful ISLA by Talulah dress and Franck Provost Bondi Beach for the curls, and my incredibly intelligent, witty and well-spoken team members Lucy Brogden and Rowan Arndt.