Inspirational Women Of the Speaking Circuit: Yamilette Cano On The Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Speaker
Thinking that every day is a new opportunity to share with the world my philosophy of Communicating with Motion, Emotion, and Impact makes me happy and energized to go on with my day.
I always wish to share the following with the world: embrace the power and magic of having an emotional approach to our communication, do not be afraid of using your emotions to your advantage, and with structure and intention, being emotional may be an exciting thing.
All this starts with movement because moving gives us energy, and energy makes us feel, and feelings create an impactful, caring, and honest message that will be remembered by you and others.
As a part of our series about Inspirational Women of the Speaking Circuit, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Yamilette Cano.
YAMILETTE, a woman of many talents, prides herself on the ability to command attention in any given room through the power of her voice, allowing her to be the natural-born public speaker that she is today.
Yamilette speaks multiple languages, including: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian, which is a true testament to her high aptitude towards adapting and grasping new concepts with ease.
Born and raised in Mexico, Yamilette began her interest in public speaking at a very young age through competitions and speaking at her local radio station. Since arriving in Hong Kong in 2011, Yamilette has presented and spoken at countless venues for clients of all types ranging from government institutions, exhibition and conference organizers, corporate enterprises, among others in Asia, Europe, and America.
She has graced many live and virtual stages as the sole MC as well as alongside other counterparts who are English or foreign speakers. Notably, Yamilette is known to adapt and integrate to all types of events, whether with a local or foreigner-based audience and her graceful presence on and off-stage always makes Yamilette an elegant speaker choice!
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
My upbringing was always full of color, creativity, and emotion. I started dancing classical ballet at the age of five and I have always dreamt of gracing the stage with my movements and emotions.
I studied, worked hard, practiced dance as much as I could, and eagerly followed the path required to become a professional dancer. I learned how to manage my time, be disciplined, resilient, patient, and focused and as a result, the hard work paid off and after 18 years of studying, I became a professional dancer. My dream came true!
I danced with a dance company in Mexico which allowed me to show my art to various audiences around the world. In my twenties, I decided to study international relations while continuing to dance. I had the opportunity to study at a university with a professional dance company attached to their academic program.
I enjoyed every moment of my time at university, on and off stage, always moving, feeling, learning, and creating connections through my performances.
After years of dancing, doing what I love, I decided to retire when I graduated university to chase other adventures that allowed me to experience more of my colors, passions, and strengths.
The world was my canvas and public speaking was just at the intersection between pink and the rest of the color pallet.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
When you’re a born entertainer, you are always an entertainer! After I decided to retire as a professional ballet dancer, I needed to find another passion that would give me a similar feeling of being on stage and creating a connection with the audience.
After a few attempts to find a path that would make me happy, I found public speaking where I had the opportunity to express myself and share my craft with the world on stage.
As mentioned earlier, I started with radio collaborations at my local radio station. Once I graduated, I came to Hong Kong in 2011 and began producing events. This path led to the start of my speaking journey.
Because Hong Kong is such a small place and everyone knows each other, when I started MCing and speaking at events that I used to produce, guests would approach me and ask me to speak or MC their event.
And this is how my career as a public speaker launched. Now, I have MCed, hosted, moderated, and conducted interviews with experts in a range of subject matters Globally at over 500 events.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Happily, I have had lots of exciting sorties in my path as a public speaker. It may be hard to pick one, however, I would choose the Interview on AI and Venture Capital experience if I had to share one with you.
As part of the RISE conference in 2019, I was asked to MC and be the keynote speaker for a few of their stages; one of which was the Venture Capital Stage, where they showcased experts in the VC space.
Initially, I was only playing the role of the MC. For the last panel discussion, we had a talk on the trends of VC and AI with the prominent Peng T. Ong from Monk’s Hill Ventures.
He was supposed to be interviewed by a TV anchor from one of the local TV stations. Five minutes before the panel was meant to begin, the interviewer was nowhere to be found.
As time went by, the stage producer had to pull out a plan B. This was when he approached me and asked me to interview Mr. Ong. The panel was planned to last 25 minutes and I had no substantial knowledge of the subject matter.
Taking the fearless and passionate approach that I preach in my brand, I said yes. I sat down backstage with Mr. Ong and took the last few minutes I had backstage to ask him a few questions which allowed me to structure my interview’s flow.
The stage producer gave me a shortlist of questions I could use for the first 10 minutes. I took a breath and ensured Mr. Ong that everything would be okay and we went on stage.
I had the big clock in front of me counting down the time. 25 minutes seemed long, however, I decided to enjoy the opportunity to be the one interviewing such an exciting and knowledgeable expert.
I went through all the questions I was given in the first 10 minutes and for the remaining time, I was natural and chose to ask questions that could be relatable for both the speaker and the audience.
Having this approach helped me feel confident and made Mr. Ong feel confident too. We had a lovely discussion and when the time was up, I was surprised that it went by so fast.
With an impromptu situation, a topic I was not an expert in, and with a person who I had just met — I learned once again that the success of that moment was because of the openness I had and the forward and humble approach I took in learning more about my speaker at a personal level. And it all came down to the fact that I decided to embrace this situation with enjoyment and have fun.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
One of the first big and formal events I had the opportunity to MC in Hong Kong was a private event for the clients of a very well-known private banking firm.
When wrapping up the event and thanking the bank’s CEO, I mixed up the name of the bank with the name of their competitor, which was very similar.
Fortunately, I realized the mistake I made right away and made a joke around it and since the bank’s CEO was very pleased with the overall performance, he took the error lightly and even added on to the joke.
This showed me that the relationships you build before speaking engagements are essential and when you display honesty, kindness, and care others will be forgiving and understanding to potential miss-steps.
I also learned that we have to be less critical of ourselves, be fearless about our vulnerabilities, and not dwell on the issue but solve it in an agile and positive way.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My mentors, my supporters, my critics, my teachers, my fans, my advisors, and so many other things have always been and will always be my parents; my mother Maggie and my dad Luis.
They have always been there for me despite the distance since they remain in Mexico, the age difference, and the diversity in beliefs and experiences. They have guided me and helped me to think and decide for myself, putting all the cards on the table with their full support no matter what.
Since I was very young, they allowed me to have an opinion, dream higher than their own dreams, and most importantly, they have let me go and live my life to the fullest.
They have given me the most enormous wings I could ever imagine and this has been the reason why I want to be better every day, keep trying, and help others achieve their full potential. Thank you to my mom and dad, for being my success buddies.
You have been blessed with great success in a career path that can be challenging and intimidating. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
No matter the path that you decide to take, never let fear or anxiety take control over you. When we allow this fear and anxiety to control us, we will often say no and miss out on an incredible opportunity.
So, start embracing the power of YES and WHY NOT and jump fearlessly with your wings wide open and your confidence as your parachute.
A few things have helped me to say YES and WHY NOT and achieve positive results:
1st: Try something new every week, it doesn’t’ have to be big — it can be trying a new skill or even meeting up with an acquaintance.
2nd: Exercise mindfulness, if fear makes its way into your head — call it what it is and let it pass through.
3rd: Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen and what is the best that can happen. You will see that most of the time, things are not as bad as we may foresee.
So, what are you waiting for?
What drives you to get up every day and give your talks? What is the main empowering message that you aim to share with the world?
Thinking that every day is a new opportunity to share with the world my philosophy of Communicating with Motion, Emotion, and Impact makes me happy and energized to go on with my day.
I always wish to share the following with the world: embrace the power and magic of having an emotional approach to our communication, do not be afraid of using your emotions to your advantage, and with structure and intention, being emotional may be an exciting thing.
All this starts with movement because moving gives us energy, and energy makes us feel, and feelings create an impactful, caring, and honest message that will be remembered by you and others.
Can you share with our readers a few of your most important tips about how to be an effective and empowering speaker? Can you please share some examples or stories?
Knowing what you want people to talk about when you leave the room and close the door is a very powerful message to yourself that can help you understand the strategy you need in order to manage the narrative and perception of your brand.
I have always had the clarity that I want to be known as a colorful, elegant, and passionate speaker who is proud of my roots. By using a fearless approach and a bit of comedy to make people feel at ease and have a good time I am able to stay true to my authentic self and be at ease on stage.
I have built my speaking brand around these elements with a structure and vision. One’s speaking brand development should be treated as any other brand development, I set S.M.A.R.T. goals for myself that I continuously revise and celebrate small milestones along the way.
Establish your purpose, your main message with pitch and tagline, create a brand strategy, analyze your brand ecosystem, and have an action plan to improve it and communicate it.
Everyone is different and we all have diverse strengths and interests. This is why we have to find clarity, work on a structure, test it, prove it, and then sell it. This will create the empowering and effective persona that every speaker wants to have.
As you know, many people are terrified of speaking in public. Can you give some of your advice about how to overcome this fear?
First and most important to overcome one’s fear is to start knowing yourself on a deeper level. Know what makes you unique, dissect both your strengths and weaknesses so you can use all your assets to your advantage and undermine the areas that are not great.
Ask for feedback, what others think of you may not determine who you are but certainly builds part of your persona and reputation. Once you have a clear picture, create a brand and presence you are proud of showcasing every moment you have to communicate.
This analysis and work on yourself will help you build your confidence and make you feel in control. Confidence and understanding your unique frequency are the most powerful tools to control your fear.
Other elements will fall in place, however, if you are not confident in your rhythm and rhyme, even if you are wearing the most wonderful attire and expensive accessories you will not be able to deliver with assertive intention and impact.
And do not forget to practice, practice, practice, allow yourself to be vulnerable, make mistakes and learn from them.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
The first thing I would have loved to know when I started my journey is that speakers need to create content, and when creating content, you can face several obstacles. Number one would be your own need to be perfect. This idea could stop you from sharing your truths and miss potential opportunities. Perfectionism does not exist, and we need to let go. Another challenge we can face when creating content is external obstacles, weather conditions, lighting, background noise, faulty equipment, etc. This is why we should be creative and enjoy the process without overthinking all the time.
The second thing I want people to be aware of is the fact that you may have talents but this does not mean that you will be successful. You must work for what you want, get better at it, and do not be afraid to ask for help, feedback, and opportunities.
The hard work, passion, practice, and persistence will definitely open more doors than your strengths alone.
I can relate to this because even though I have always been very open to speak up and connect with others, I constantly have to keep learning, analyze my good and bad elements, and practice to be better than the last time.
Another tip I wish someone had told me before embarking on the speaking journey is that, not all the time, but sometimes, when trying to get gigs, some event organizers have an unconscious bias and may choose speakers based on looks, a certain race quota or style rather than basing speaker choice on speaker content, delivery, expertise or presence. It is important that we do not take this bias personally.
I recently was very shocked to learn that this still happens despite the global dialogue for diversity and inclusion. Some of the events I have been a part of did not have many female speakers and when they did, the promotion was not pushed forward as much as their male counterparts.
On a positive note, having said that, I have recently seen and experienced the support and push that the female speaking circuits are enforcing to promote female speakers among organizers and thankfully, they are starting to listen.
The fourth thing I wish that speakers would talk more about is that by choosing this journey, we are choosing to not only be a speaker but also an actor, a comedian, a branding connoisseur, an agile professional, a stress and anxiety manager, a good listener and sometimes, a psychiatrist and counselor.
The last thing that I wished someone had told me when I first started is that uncertainty will be your close companion when you become a speaker, so we might as well embrace it and have fun!
You have such impressive work. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? Where do you see yourself heading from here?
I have had the opportunity to connect with exciting companies working on inspiring projects over the past few months. The first collaboration that I started at the end of last year is with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center and their Mentor Makers movement.
I participate as a mentor on their platform and support them as speakers and content contributors for their virtual events and publications.
I also started providing virtual workshops for the Asia University for Women students to help them with their communication confidence and develop their skills. We also work on a mentorship program, where I follow one of the student’s journeys and help her with advice on her last semester.
On the side of public speaking, at the beginning of the year, I partnered with the Female Entrepreneurs Worldwide Community to help them host and moderate their #askFEWanything online learning sessions with subject matter experts in different industries and with diverse ideas and approaches.
And because of this diversity, I have met very successful people and learned a lot from their experience while doing the thing that I love the most- public speaking.
And last but not least, I have been creating lots of new content and developing new ideas for my brand, LOUDER Global. Alongside my team, we have refreshed our website, added new services on corporate branding and speaker curation, and expanded our social media presence with fun videos, articles, and collaborations with other brands.
All of the above projects have helped me to have a clear idea of the direction that I would like to go in the upcoming months and years.
Besides expanding our footprint, I want to share my philosophy of Communicating with Motion, Emotion & Impact with more people and hopefully help them surpass the fear of speaking up and being confident with who they are and what they want to leave behind.
I love supporting people to help them see the benefits of sharing ideas and becoming fearless and not miss out on any public speaking opportunity.
Can you share with our readers any self-care routines, practices, or treatments that you do to help your body, mind, or heart to thrive? Please share a story for each one if you can.
I grew up as a ballet dancer and I always love to move my body. I continue to practice every day the mindful art of body language and when I have the chance, I dance and dance to release stress, take in positive energy, and have fun.
For my mind, I never stop creating and trying new things that challenge both my intellect and artistic sides. I try to connect with different people, expand my network, and learn from their experiences, advice, and mentorship. This fuels my mind to keep dreaming and exploring every single day.
For my heart, I stay connected with the people that I love the most. Although my family is far away from me, I call them or text them every day to share our adventures, ideas, questions, and even fears. By doing this, we feel supported and loved.
And to strengthen my heart, even more, I give back in any way that I can. I support and mentor young professionals to find their unique frequency and build up their confidence for their future adventures.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
One of my favorite quotes has always been Maya Angelou’s life lesson quote:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
This lesson has been very relevant on the way I have decided to approach my life, the people that I love and interact with, those who work with me, and those I have the chance to meet for a long or short time. I always pay attention and have the intention to leave them with a positive and enjoyable feeling.
Another one of my favorite quotes that have helped me see the benefits of trying, experiencing, and not being afraid of the what-if is Erin Hanson’s quote:
“But what if I fall? Oh, my darling, but What if you fly?”
Keeping this quote in mind has been an incentive for me to jump and enjoy the blissful feeling of falling with the certainty that with planning, love, and passion, I will know how to fly gracefully and land in the place that I have envisioned.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I will support and lead the Empowerment Movement of girls and women in every career path possible including but not limited to, STEM, Politics, and Sports.
Fighting to close the dream gap, building their confidence, and supporting them from a young age to grow their wings and create a life that they feel proud of, with no limits, no bias, no fear, or lack of inclusion and opportunities.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
I would love to meet and have a chat, virtual or live, with Luvvie Ajayi Jones. She is bold, unapologetic, she speaks truth to power, embraces her background and confident self, and is fun.
Are you on social media? How can our readers follow you online?
Please connect with the LOUDER team and me at www.louderglobal.com and www.yamilettecano.com
LinkedIn: Yamilette Cano / LOUDER Global
IG: @yamilettecanomc
This was so informative, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
