Toastmasters

Speech Project 1: Ice Breaker

Title: Who Are You?

Who are you? What do you do?

Have you ever been asked these questions, and not quite know how to answer them? I surely have.
Fortunately, I had the wonderful experience of learning how to answer these questions five years ago,
and now, I feel confident letting other people know who I am, and what I do.

My fellow toastmasters, good evening. My name is Dollfuss Paredes, and I enable people to develop life
giving conditions for others.

Five years ago I joined an organization that was in the midst of what we call a “Purpose Transformation.”
While most companies focused on what they should sell and how much much they should target, our
company asked its employees to focus on “Why” we were doing what we were doing – and that “WHY”
is called our purpose.

So with materials from Motivation Speaker and Author Simon Sinek, and from Film and Theater
Executive Adam Liepzig, we were all taught how to determine our individual life’s purpose in 5 minutes
or less. How? By answering five simple questions. So tonight, as I share with you who I am and what my
purpose is, perhaps you would like to also try and figure out what your purpose may be?

Here are the the five questions - Who are you? What do you do? Who do you do it for? What do they
want or need? And How do they change as a result?

Let’s answer the questions one by one. To help you, I will share my actual answer to each question, and
you may write down yours in a piece of paper or on your mobile devices and gadgets. Are you ready?

Number one - Who are you? To answer this, simply say your name, and perhaps identify roles that you
play in your life now. For instance, I would say that I am Dollfuss, I am a father, a husband, a chief of
staff, and a head of a business.

Second, what do you do? To answer this, describe activities that you enjoy doing or those that you know
you are good at. Use action words and relate them to your answers in number one. For me, I provide,
protect, and act as priest when I play the role of father and husband in the house. Whereas at work, I
plan, I organize, I lead, and I motivate my teams.

Third question, who do you do it for? So obviously for me, there are two groups. I do these for my
family, particularly my children and my wife; and I do it also for the teams I manage or my co-workers.

Next question, what do they want or need? Now this may need a bit more introspection. Based on what
I’ve observed, both my family and my staff at work need direction, guidance, inspiration, and
affirmation.

Finally, question number five – how do they change as a result? I’ve noticed that by being provider,
protector, and priest in the family, my kids and my wife have grown to be loving, kind, and caring
individuals. As for the people at work, I noticed that they have developed confidence, independence,
and to an extent, excellence in their craft.

Now try to put together your answers in one statement – mine reads this way – I am Dollfuss, head of
my family and head of a business, I provide, protect, and preach for my family at home, and I manage
and lead my staff at work; everyday I see them in need of direction, guidance, inspiration, and
affirmation; and as result of what I do, they have become loving, kind, caring, confident, independent,
and excellent in their work.

So I put together the words “provide, protect, preach, and manager” and came up with the word
ENABLE. The I summarized the words “loving, kind, caring, confident etc” into the phrase “life giving”
And hence, when I re-wrote my statement, it now reads – I am Dollfuss Paredes, and I enable people to
develop life giving conditions for others. How about you, can you now put together your own purpose
statement?

One more thing – did you notice that of the five questions we answered, only two are about you, and
three are about others? That’s to remind us that our purpose should always be outward looking, and
that it must be something greater than ourselves.

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow toastmasters, the suggested question for this Ice Breaker speech is – Why
did you join Toastmasters? Let me answer that with the same answer to the questions Who are you and
what do you do? I joined toastmaster … again … because I am Dollfuss Paredes and I enable people to
develop life giving conditions for others.