Hello and welcome to English with Languissimo®, the podcast in English where I share stories of my week with you.
My name is Vanessa. I’m the founder and CEO of Languissimo®.
Let’s go!
The Voice of Public Speaking (La voix de parler en public)
What was I thinking? That Grant Cardone was going to watch my video and say: “Vanessa, come and speak at my Growth Conference in April!”?
Of course not but I thought that someone was going to call me so that I could show them what I was capable of. I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Am I going to stop there and give up on my idea to go and talk on his stage in April?
Absolutely not!
I explained the situation to my coach Dani. She thought that I had done the video because I was participating in the public speaking contest that Grant Cardone created.
I didn’t know what she was talking about. I told her that the video was my own initiative because I wanted to share my story and inspire people to persevere and take charge of their future.
I expressed my interest in the contest, and she sent me the link.
It’s called The Great American Speak Off.
Lucky for me, the auditions are taking place next Saturday on January 20th.
I couldn’t believe it!
It was fantastic!
I discovered that the winner of the contest will go on Grant Cardone’s stage in April!
Isn’t it incredible?
Before registering, I called to check if Canadians were allowed to participate in it.
Yes, they are but I would not be able to go to the semi finals even if I was selected.
Do you think that stopped me?
Heck no!
I registered because nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I paid about a hundred dollars to get a guaranteed audition and to access some of the online advice they provide to help you with your one-minute speech.
I registered for 2 reasons:
Number one because I want to get noticed by Grant and his team.
Number two because I have everything to gain. It won’t hurt to practice and see how far I can go.
I know I can be a great public speaker, so this contest is a good way to get started.
Watch out Grant: I’m coming!
Some Study Points
- “What was I thinking?” means “à quoi est-ce que je pensais ?”
- The preposition “in” is used before a month: “in April” (en avril), “in January” (en janvier). Remember that months in English start with a capital letter.
- “What I was capable of” in that context means “ce dont j’étais capable”. In spoken Northern American English, it’s common to put the preposition at the end of the sentence.
- “To give up on something” means “abandoner quelque chose”.
- “It’s called” means “ça s’appelle”.
- “Before + verb + ing” means “avant de/d’ + inf.”.
- “To register” means “s’inscrire”. It is not a reflexive verb in English.
- “To participate in something” means “participer à quelque chose”. In English, you can’t replace “in something” by a pronoun like you do in French with “y”. For example: “I participate in the contest” (je participe au concours) becomes “I participate in it” (j’y participe).
- “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” means “qui ne tente rien n’a rien”. I love this expression!
- “To access something” means “accéder à quelque chose”. Note that there is no preposition in English after the verb.
- “Advice” (conseils) is the plural of “a piece of advice” (un conseil).
- “To help someone with something” means “aider quelqu’un à faire quelque chose”. In English there is no need to add a verb. You can go directly to whatever it is you need help with. For example: “Can you help me with my homework?” (Peux-tu m’aider à faire mes devoirs?”). Please note that “homework” is singular in English.
- “To get noticed” means “se faire remarquer”.
- “I have everything to gain” means “j’ai tout à gagner”.
- “To see how far I can go” means “voir jusqu’où je peux aller”.
- “Watch out…I’m coming” means “attention… j’arrive!”.
Some practice questions
- Are you going to stop at the first hurdle?
- Do you want to become a public speaker?
Tada! That’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Subscribe to English with Languissimo®, practice, take care and have a great weekend! Big hugs 😊