Captivating Communicator - Roger Caesar

Welcome to SpeakUp! with Rita Burke and Elton Brown!

Roger roger Caesar. This may sound like a cliche. It may sound trite. Nevertheless, I'll say it. It is an honor to have you join us today to talk about Roger and what he's been up to these days.

Oh, thank you for having me. I appreciate that. Good to be here,

Before we get into the meat and the potato, I could say that I know you on a scale of one to ten, maybe fiveish.

Okay.

I believe that Elton knows you as well. here's my robust question. Here's what I wanted you to respond to, who is Roger Caesar in a nutshell?

In a nutshell, Roger Caesar is a father, a business owner, a son, a friend, a brother. A champion and a person who gives back 100% anytime he can. Roger is the type of person that loves to smile, loves to put smiles on people's faces and give them an opportunity to believe in themselves in what they can do that's in a nutshell,

That is really a nutshell That is a nutshell. Roger Caesar. Is a Toastmaster champion. We know that it is stated clearly in your biography. What does that feel like?

Wow! That's an awesome question, and I've never been really asked that before. The truth is, it feels amazing. I'm humbled, I'm blessed to be where I am. I worked hard to get here, but I also had a lot of people that were there pushing and pulling and helping me get to this point. Think it's important to understand and to give credit where credit is due. I don't become a champion without those people who were in my ear, who were helping me along the way. The coaches I had, the friends that I met along the way in the organization of Toastmasters, who solidified who I am today.

What motivates you to inspire others?

I think it starts from my early childhood and understanding who I was as a kid. I was the child and you would never believe it right now because of who I am and what I've been able to achieve. But I was that kid. Who was often sitting in the back of the room in school, not wanting to be heard, not wanting to be seen, didn't want to be the center of attention, and I didn't have a voice, and that was by choice. I chose not to have a voice because I liked being the shy guy in the back and when I see what I've been able to do in my life now, and I realize that having a voice is valuable to getting out there and. Being someone that others can be motivated and inspired by. That's what pushes me to help others to find their voice, to know their value, to know their worth, to understand that when you go out there and have that confidence to be able to speak, to be able to say the things that you have to say and convey your messages, that is important to me. And that smile that comes on their faces when they realize they went from, I don't think I can. To, oh my goodness. I didn't realize I could that moment when it clicks. That's why I do this. This is why I love doing what I do.

Sounds to me, Roger Caesar, as if you, to some degree you are a coach, you are a mentor and or, and important than anything else, you like to tease out the best in people. You're a motivator, you inspire. Listen to what I have here in your official bio. Roger Caesar is a charismatic and dynamic, internationally renowned public speaker and professional coach. I didn't look at that. I promise you before. This gift to inspire others has landed him on stages such as TEDx Cooperate Conferences at Toyota in North America, access Communications in Jamaica and California. Just a name, a few. He also placed a third in the world, a championship of public speak. 2021, making him one of the top three speakers in the world. As the founder of Empire Coaching. Roger provides professional coaching, cooperate communications, workshops and keynote speakers, building captivating communicators in all of us. And so then Roger, give us three tips on how you build us up to become captivating communicators, please.

It first starts with finding your voice, knowing who you are as a person. When I conduct interviews with clients, The first thing I want to know is who are they? Who do they want to be? What is it that they want to put out in the world so that others will know who they are? Secondly, I want to know what it is that they want the world to know, the message that they want to give, the convey between speakers or those who are in the corporate world doing presentations. You have to be able to convey your message. What is it that you wanna deliver? And then third, I teach people how to do that, how to deliver, how do they get their message across. That allows the audience to pick up on that very moment and say, I want to do just that, or I want to purchase just that, or I want to make sure that my team is building character like that. This is what I do.

What has, been the best advice given to you between the time you decided that you wanted to be a champion speaker to today?

Great question. Elton and maybe a lot of people may not like this answer, but at the same time, I know that many people will understand what I'm about to say. One of the greatest advices that I got two, I will say the first one was from my mother long time ago who said, know your worth, know your value, and never let anyone take that away from you. The second thing I learned in becoming a champion and getting to this level where I am is that not everybody is going to like you, Not everybody is going to understand who you are and what you did to get here, and sometimes that's because they themselves want to be where you are and they can't, so they look at you as a person who they envy and they're upset about for whatever reason. And I've learned that I cannot control that. I cannot control that. I have to understand what I have done, what I'm doing, and those who appreciate and understand it, those are the ones that I gotta continue to focus on rather than those ones who are hating as I often say, haters will hate, but winners will appreciate. Winners. Good. And who? Who are you part of what you've been able to do?

Based on what you've said, and I particularly like that statement, haters will hate. it sounds to me as if you like being Roger, and that is based on your upbringing, based on what your parents did for you in terms of raising you and socializing. Profound profound. So what then would you say to a 10 year old about liking themselves, about becoming the Roger that you are.

It's funny that you say that because I am a coordinator for a Gavel club and I've been a coordinator there for the better part of maybe seven years, eight years now. And I've watched kids who come in at the age of 10 and leave at the age of. 17, and I've watched them grow and the one thing that I always try to teach them and instill in them is to understand how valuable you are. Even at 10 years old, you bring value. There's a lot of times that we watch kids today and especially in our world today, they lack that confidence. They lack understanding that if something goes wrong, there is a way to get back. They have that mentality that, hey, the fear grasp them and then they don't want to do anything. And I watch these kids in my Gavel club and I have to give a shout out to Empower Sientes, who is the one who has. Been the catalyst to this gavel club that we have. And I love telling the kids, don't let fear fool you. Let it refuel you understand how valuable fear is. Fear can make you do some miraculous things when you turn it and you'll harness it into something better.

Totally agree!.

How did you transition from being a professional speaker to a professional coach? And what was the process like for you?

I think what it came down to is learning the skills that I learned along the way. I started in Toastmasters in 2011 and I always share this story because it's very important to understand where I was and how I got to where I am now. I did my first speech, we call it the icebreaker speech, and when I was finished my speech. A gentleman by the name of Sanjay Sharma came up to me and put his hand on my shoulder and he said, one day you will be a champion. And I laughed at him and every time I went up and did a speech, he did the same thing. He kept looking at me with that look in his eyes and pointing his finger and shaking it and smiling and saying, you're gonna be a champion one day. And I start to believe in. And I competed very early in my journey as a Toastmaster, and yes, I lost many times in the beginning, and then I got a, I started to surround myself with other winners. Those who got to the point to where I wanted to get to, and once I started doing that, the process helped. And then I got a coach when I won my first time at the International Speech Championships at the district level, and Katherine McKenzie has been God sent to me. Katherine McKenzie, if you don't know her, she is a marvelous person, a marvelous coach, a teacher in her own right, and she was the one who developed a lot of the skills that I have now in me, and I always give credit to her for standing by my side. For the seven years that we went back and forth to the world championships to the day we finally placed top three in the world. But that transition was very seamless because watching her made me realize that I have all those skills now that can help someone else. And so I took the little things that she taught me and then I took the things that I learned on my own and I combined it to who I am now. So when I go out there and I coach for, with Empire Coaching, which is my company that I founded, that is exactly what we're doing, building captivating. Speakers, building them to understand how valuable they can be and how powerful. And it started with Katherine McKenzie. It started with Sanjay Sharma. It started with walking with winners,

I'm hearing then from you, Roger, that learning success, growth, actualization, they all can come. Someone seeing something inside of you and telling you that and helping to tease that out, and I think that is absolutely wonderful..So let's segue then into another question. What would you say was a kind of failure apparent failure that set you up for success? Have you ever had any failures that ultimately turn to work in your favor?

Of course.

Tell us about that.

Of course. I think if you don't have failures, you cannot succeed. If you don't experience a failure at some point in your life, then you won't know what to learn from and to get better at. And I've had those in my early career or my early journey in Toastmasters, as I pointed out to, I failed. I lost, I remember specifically one competition in 2013. I made it to the division contest. And I was performing on stage and the crowd was going crazy and they were loving the speech. And I thought, oh, I've got this wrapped up. And my last part of my speech was to sing James Brown's song, A Man's World. And when I went out to sing it, I started hitting the high notes and everybody was screaming and clapping. I forgot about the time. I was enjoying the moment. I forgot about the time. And when I was done, I went over by two seconds. I remember watching one of my members of my club in the audience while I was doing that, giving me the stop sign stop. And I didn't realize it. And piece of advice came to me from someone and they said to me, you have to understand the difference between an entertainer and a Toastmaster. An entertainer loves to hear the crowd scream and carry on, and they love that in me. They bask in that a Toastmaster knows when to silence it. Especially when you're competing, and I never forgot that. And that was one of the biggest failures to sit there in the audience and have to wait until the end knowing fully well that I had lost already. And I've had many of those situations that happened, but they have helped me and fueled me to become a champion today.

Being a motivational speaker, what do you want your audiences to do differently as a result of hearing your presentation?

The biggest thing that I want them to do is to look within themselves. I often talk about the fact that I want to bring greatness. to others through self-awareness. I want people to find their greatness through self-awareness. I want them to look within themselves when they hear my speeches and they understand that I am being vulnerable every time I speak. I share my experiences. I share my stories. I share my lessons so that they themselves can take what I say and use the message. To change and transform their lives in some way, shape, or form. I would often say that my, your stories are personal. Your stories are personal. Everybody has a story. Your stories are personal, but your message must be universal. It must be something that they can walk away from and say instantaneously. I can use that to change my life. In my speech at the World Championships, my semifinal speech, the message was don't wait until it's too late. And that can apply to anything in life. Relationships, work, family, it doesn't matter. Don't wait until it's breaking down before you fix it.

Like it. I like it. I like it. I like it. But guess what? You talked about, you use a phrase that resonates with me that I love and I firmly believe it in it. That is self-awareness. Talk to us a little bit more about self-awareness and the importance of being self-aware. Please.

As I explained before, as a child, I was very scared and very nervous and very shy about speaking up and speaking out and being out there, and I learned over time that it's more valuable to be at the front. No matter what it is to be at the front center, front and center to be able to voice your opinion. And I think it's valuable in understanding that part to know who you are within yourself and to be proud of it and not worry about what other people may think or say. There are gonna be times when people are not gonna agree with who you are or what you do, but if you yourself can look within you, be aware of who you are as a person and be proud of it. Then others will eventually learn to accept you for who you are and what you do. It's not easy, it never is. I've had to do it. I've had to learn it, but today I feel more confident in myself, and that's what I like to instill into others, to understand their true self-awareness, their true greatness, their true value, their true worth.

What do you look for as a motivator when you are motivating people? Are you looking for an individual that makes a cop three, or are you looking for something else and can you tell us what that is?

Let me tell you something Elton and Rita, what motivates and inspires me is that person who takes that first step. That person who realizes they have an issue, they have a problem, they have things that aren't working out in their life, they can't get up on stage, they sweat, they can't get through a presentation without stammering. When they take that first step and you see the transformation of that person, that's what inspires me. It's not the person who wins at the top, it's the person who's at the bottom trying to get there, and they're not stopping. They keep clawing away every time to try to get higher and higher to where they feel is their success, not where I see this success, where they feel their success is. And then I push them even a little further, Hey, you said your success was here, but I bet you can go here. And that's that part where you start seeing them and their eyes light up and go, oh my God, I didn't expect that. That's what it motivates me. That's what inspires me to do what I do.

So you believe in them. You believe in their capacity to move forward. You believe in their capacity to move up and not do you only believe that, but you also tell them that and show them that, and it sounds to me as if you truly are born to be a coach and a motivator.

I do. I truly do. And that comes from Katherine McKenzie. I watched how she was always excited and very elated when she saw that I was doing something that transformed or transferred into me. And I have always been like that from when I was growing up. I've always been an exciting and energetic person but now as a coach, now as a speaker, I bring that energy everywhere I go. When I'm on stage, I bring that energy. When I'm teaching and I'm helping my clients, I bring that energy and they feel it and they love it, and that's what helps them to keep going.

I'll say to you, Mr. Roger Caesar, that you have added energy and enthusiasm to this platform today.

Thank you.

And If you know the purpose of SpeakUP! International is to inform, it is to advocate. It's to inspire. And so without no guilt whatsoever, I will say thanks to you for helping us to meet our objectives for this time that we planned to spend with you and the time that we have spent with you.

Awesome.

Thank you so very much. Come again. Whenever you want to.

Thank you. Can I share with everyone where they can reach me? As well, please you can reach me on my website, rogercaesar.com. Spell the name right. It's c a e s a r rogercaesar.com. I'm on LinkedIn. You can get me there as well.

I am on Instagram, always reach out. DM me on Instagram caesar.empire and of course you can reach me at caesar.empirecoaching@gmail.com. I would love to work with you and build captivating communicators out of you.

Roger, thank you so much for your motivating interview. And as Rita said earlier, you have definitely interject energy into our platform and please visit us again.

Most definitely. Thank you for having me.

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