Mathew Jacob Speech on ‘Tough times, Tough people & Tough Mathew’

Mathew Jacob Speech on ‘Tough times, Tough people & Tough Mathew’
Delivered on 6th Monday 2010 at Lagoon Toastmasters.
Mathew Jacob – A very senior toastmaster and speaker delivered a brilliant 25 minute key note speech. He asked me to evaluate his speech.
These are my humble points of wisdom.
• The opening consisted of a very picturesque and dramatic moment of him standing alone on a deserted Andheri Station in Mumbai.
• He skillfully moved into the introduction and then took us back to 1984 when he completed his post graduation.
• His descriptive abilities were unmatched when he mentioned that it was his first job in Mumbai, he was earning Rs. 600 which was around AED 50/- (though I wondered why no one found this funny or let out a laughter) and the fact that he was not able to manage his expenses.
• I loved the word play ‘Lowest paying salary in the Worst paying company’.
• He pulled us through the drama of him competing with his friends to get the coveted promotion.
• I liked the time line of 3 years to wait for the job, 90 seconds for the interview and finally no one got the job.
• He had the right pauses at the right moment to elicit laughter.
• I found it cute when he said with a straight poker face ‘You think its funny’ – though he could have capped it with another twist ‘Of course it is funny’
• I loved the part where he connected to the beginning of the speech
• He managed to connect to each and everyone in the audience when he asked himself, where would I go, what would I do.
• I felt the sentence ‘Sit in the railway station and count the trains that pass by’ was a very powerful sentence.
• He built a very strong bond with the audience when he asked, have you had anyone of the following happen to you “Someone else got a promotion, Girl friend ditched you, Didn’t get the order, Failed in an exam,’ and then after a pause ‘And you were Standing still?’ (pause) Haven’t you sometimes sat alone. – Brilliant.
• I wanted to give him a pat on the back for how he managed to play with the statement ‘Ladies & Gentlemen. When things go wrong. (SUPER PAUSE) Understand that things will be much better tomorrow.
• I loved the positive note on ‘Best things that happened was not getting that job / I would have been a huge misfit / Imagine me being a scientist (pause and that gave off laughter) / Today I am in a much better situation / That day I thought it was all over / Bad situation – dark days of your life / Dark days – valuable lessons.
• I liked the transition into the next part of the same story – His uncle and how he didn’t offer his place to him though he was staying alone.
• He did a fantastic job when he said ‘Certain he would allow to stay with him.
1) He said he was busy.
2) He hoped that I would soon find a good job.
• And that was where he got a laughter again!
• He kept putting in words of wisdom in between sentences like ‘Don’t ever depend on others.’ ‘Don’t expect others to come to your rescue.’
• It felt nice to hear about the rescue bit with his other cousin who never spoke to him for 3 years because of a fight but came to his rescue in the end.
• I think he hit the nail on the head of suspense / climax when he said ‘He called me. / He didn’t ask if I needed help. / Didn’t hope for me to get a job. / All he said was - Pack and come home.
• And then he injected his point of wisdom - Help comes from the most unexpected sources.
• When he moved into the ‘incident of the Mashreq bank & the accidental millionaire laborer’ – the transition could have been worked upon. (Reading the newspaper (transition was not proper)
• I liked the climax construction ‘Laborer with 2 mashreq certificates / Went to the bank to encash the certificates / He complained to everyone / Left in a very bitter state of mind / He came back to thank the lady / He won a million.
• And then the point of wisdom ‘Sometimes be thankful for the little inconveniences in your life.
• Mathew got my total respect when he asked these questions - ‘How many of you made plans? / Did you achieve yoru plans as per plan? / Majority, plan something and reach some where else. / Someone or something up there that make another plan.
• The next example of Chandrakanth could also have been improved upon.
• When Chandrakanth ‘thanked’ his boss, I was wondering if all the stories having the person ‘thank’ the other person – was it made up or factual.
• The part of ‘thanking the GM’ and then the subsequent Mangalore Flight crash brought everyone to a total pin drop silence. It was a powerful moment in the speech.
• The transition of the job loss which was the next example also could have had better transitions.
• I liked the specific date - 22nd of November 2010 / Important day / I lost my job that day / No sign of a new job.
• I personally liked the statement ‘Am I worried………. I don’t know….I may find another job…..I may find a better job…………..May find a job another country………One thing I know for sure, because of what happened, Im going to be in a much better position.
• He had a solid point of wisdom in ‘Get to study the true colors of people…..
• I thought he was a genius when he said “Great friends of mine – called me up…..Some called to know – if I was selling my car. – Fantastic punch line.
• The moment of truth was nicely put ‘Some whom I least expected to help….Came out of the way to help.’
• I personally felt nice when he mentioned my name as one of the friends who came to his aid. And I am sure when he recognized many others in the audience, we loved him for it.
• I also thought he did it brilliantly when he said ‘Machedo – when he came to know I lost my job / I will redo your CV / Came home / Friday, came home 4 hours to redo my CV / Come home to help me…..
• And then the punch line was again a WOW – He ate some biriyani………PUASE……a lot of a biryani…..PAUSE…..Biryani – got over – maximum, got over. ….He got a lot of laughter there.
• I loved when he recognized each person with their contribution - Jessie said I will pray for you / Dr. Balan said he would help me (though he could have put a punch line of humor here) / Ravoof – here he forgot to mention something ‘specific’ and finally Rajan and the question – I have no idea where he gets all those job vacancy forwards from! – That got added laughter.
• The points of wisdom were great ‘When things go wrong, they will continue to go wrong. / They will be okay. / Tomorrow will be better and brighter.
• He ended his session by quoting the words from the book ‘Tough times don’t last, tough people do’ by Robert Schuller but misquoted the author by stating Norman Vincent Peale – which got about everyone distracted.
• I personally felt such an amazing speech could have ended more gracefully to give its fullness
• And if I had any point of improvement it would be to have ONE single simple small message repeated throughout the speech in the format of tell a story & make your point. Tell us another story and enforce the same point. Tell us yet another story & reinforce the same point again.
• Overall - One of the finest and best performances of Mathew Jacob and a speech that touched my heart and inspired me. This is a speech worth listening to many times over. A masterpiece.