Aylesbury Vale business owner wins public speaking competition with geek-themed presentation

An Aylesbury Vale-based business owner won a public speaking competition in Birmingham.

David Duffett from Winslow, who runs Let the Geek Speak, won the ‘Speaker Factor’ title.

He won the national public speaking crown with a speech called: Why Geeks Need To Speak.

This is an annual competition run by the Professional Speaking Association.

David runs a training business assisting technical professionals with the skills and confidence they need to speak in public.

He delivered his speech, which focused on why public speaking is a valuable tool for engineers to accelerate their careers, at a conference in Birmingham.

Speaker Factor is a nationwide contest designed to find the best new speakers entering the industry each year.

To claim the title, entrants must advance through 12 regional heats, followed by semi-finals, and a final held at the Professional Speaking Association’s national conference in front of an audience of around 200 professional speakers.

David qualified for the national semi-final by being awarded first place at the PSA Thames Valley regional heat at Reading in July. He was then one of five selected for the finals from the 12 semi-finalists that competed in that round.

He was declared the winner at a gala dinner on Saturday night having impressed the three judges, all top speakers themselves.

The winner is judged on Engagement, Stagecraft, Script, Delivery and ‘Bookability’ – i.e. how likely they are to be booked and paid to deliver their talk to their desired audience.

He said: “The standard in this competition was incredibly high and I was honestly shocked when I heard my name announced as a winner. I believe passionately that those branded as ‘geeks’,which is a title I wear with pride, need to make their voices heard, whether that’s in team

meetings, sales presentations or on conference stages. After all, every business would struggle without the ‘geeks’ who make everything work and bring their skills and creativity to problem solving. I’m hugely proud to be this year’s Speaker Factor winner and I’m looking forward to taking my message out into the world.”

Judges commended him for “nailing the brief and the speech” in addition to knowing his audience and delivering a message hugely appropriate to them.

David’s reward is a glass trophy and a 15-minute presentation slot at next year’s conference.

The Professional Speaking Association is trade body for professional speakers, trainers and coaches across the UK and Ireland. The Speaker Factor competition is aimed at new members and aims to find the most bookable speaker, more details can be found on its website.

Among the meetings that David coaches people on are conferences, sales kickoff get togethers, and company offsites. He aims to teach people to deliver humorous and engaging keynote speeches. His company website can be found here.

The Professional Speakers Association runs community events and speaker hubs, as well as its annual presenter contest. It is aimed at people who want to stand out through the speaking they deliver.