Luisa Montalvo wins the world’s largest speech competition with over 30,000 participants

ENGLEWOOD, Colorado., 19 August 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With an inspiring speech entitled “37 Strangers” Luisa Montalvoa 65-year-old pensioner and volunteer dog rescuer from San JuanTexas, won the Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking on Saturday, August 17 at the Anaheim Marriott. Montalvo, along with seven other finalists, reached the championship level after several elimination rounds that began over six months ago with 30,000 participants from 150 countries. (Watch Montalvo’s victory speech here.)

“This is just incredible,” Montalvo said. Her speech resonated with the sold-out audience of about 1,500 people from around the world who attended in person and more than 800 virtual attendees. Her winning speech focused on the lessons she learned from the near-fatal car accident two years ago that left her confined to a wheelchair. Montalvo’s heart stopped beating for six minutes after the accident until she was resuscitated by a team of 37 emergency and medical professionals who saved her life. These “strangers” made her forever grateful and gave her a new outlook on life.

“If 37 people can come together and put all that energy into me, can you imagine what we could all accomplish? All it takes is treating each other with dignity and respect.”

Montalvo joined Toastmasters 13 years ago because she loves competition and wanted to test her public speaking skills against the best in the world. Now that she’s achieved her goal of becoming world public speaking champion, she has an even bigger goal in mind. “You don’t know what this means to me. I’ll be back next year to run!”

Montalvo began writing her winning speech eight months ago and was even more motivated to do her best in the speech competition after the recent death of her mother. “I did this for my mother. I always wanted her to be proud of me and I am very proud of this accomplishment.”

The speakers gave five- to seven-minute speeches on a wide range of topics and were judged on content, organization and delivery style.

Montalvo received the title of Toastmasters World Champion of Public Speaking 2024 during the organization’s annual conference in Anaheim, California., 14-17 AugustShe is the first Hispanic woman to win the coveted title.

The second and third place winners were Hannah Cheng out of Taiwanwith her speech entitled “Are You Ready?” and Angeli Raven Fitch out of San Bruno, California.with her speech “Replaced by Sophia.”

About Toastmasters International

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization that builds confidence and teaches public speaking skills through a worldwide network of clubs that meet online and in person. In a supportive community or corporate setting, members prepare and deliver speeches, answer spontaneous questions, and give and receive constructive feedback. Through this regular practice, members become empowered to achieve personal and professional communication goals. Founded in 1924, the organization is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, and has over 270,000 members in more than 14,000 clubs in 150 countries. For information about local Toastmasters clubs, visit toastmasters.org. Follow @Toastmasters on X (formerly Twitter).

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