Once was not enough for public speaker Dananjaya Hettiarachchi.
After his surprise visit to the Comox Valley two years ago, Hettiarachchi will return to the Stan Hagen Theatre at North Island College for two presentations this month. The first is on Monday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. and the second is on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 9 a.m.
The first presentation is open to the public, while the second is for NIC students.
In 2014, Sri Lankan human resources consultant Dananjaya Hettiarachchi was crowned the “World Champion of Public Speaking” by Toastmasters International.
He survived seven rounds of an international competition that lasted six months and included 33,000 competitors. He and eight other finalists competed at the Toastmasters’ annual convention last month in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Hettiarachchi took first place for his speech “I See Something.”
After seeing him speak on YouTube in 2015, the campus Komoux Toastmasters Club invited Hettiarachchi to Vancouver Island to speak at NIC. The public speaker was in Vancouver for a convention at the time, and was able to make the trip across the Georgia Strait immediately afterward to speak in Courtenay.
Now, almost two years later, a similar situation has opened up and Hettiarachchi will come back to the Valley after attending a conference in Victoria.
Hettiarachchi has worked with sales teams and business leaders over the years and has become one of the world’s most influential corporate trainers.
Toastmaster clubs are located in 142 countries and have over 345,ooo members who are there because they want to become better communicators, leaders and mentors.
There are three local Toastmasters chapters in the Comox Valley. Phone Gaynor Bereza (250)334-3664 for more information.
Tickets are available online for Hettiarachchi’s Nov. 13 presentation at www.picatic.com/NOV13
