10 CORPORATE MEETINGS & EVENTS corporatemeetingsnetwork.ca SKID ROW CEO JOE ROBERTS On how to shape a good story into a life-changing speech by Carlyn Schellenberg Joe Roberts’ first speech at a luncheon in the ’80s demonstrated to him that “a good story – combined with ‘aha’ moments and key points – can be one of the most powerful teaching and learning tools to help transform, build leadership or create change in someone’s work or personal life.” Roberts’ literal rags to riches story – from living as an addict pushing a shopping cart around the downtown east side of Vancouver, to becoming the CEO of multimedia company Mindware, to speaking at universities, conferences and special events for the last 20 years – has made him one of the most unique and coveted speakers in Canada. In May 2016, Roberts pushed a shopping cart across Canada to bring awareness to youth homelessness in a campaign called the Push for Change. The 17-month journey ended in September 2017, earning over $570,000. The “Skid Row CEO” spoke to CM&E magazine on the joys of public speaking and transforming audiences. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. CM&E:DID YOU HAVE ANY JITTERS THE FIRST TIME YOU DECIDED TO SPEAK? JOE:Oh my goodness, yes. I remember that I couldn’t even look at the audience because my story was so personal. I was successful now. The last thing I wanted to do was go and tell people about these colossal failures in my life. So in the beginning there was that anxiety. CM&E:DO YOU CUSTOMIZE TOPICS TO COVER DEPENDING ON YOUR AUDIENCE? JOE:Absolutely. If you don’t customize your content, you’re just a good story. The power of my story of being homeless and successful in business and then doing this walk across Canada is only valuable to an audience if I shape the context of it. So if I’m talking about overcoming adversity or building resiliency to people that work in the safety industry, then I’ve got to make sure that how I’m telling that story lands for them. One of the biggest things we do in prepping to work with a meeting planner or organization is to deeply understand the audience. What are their challenges, what’s going on? And then, what is that meeting planner trying to achieve, or what is that company struggling with that they want to address with that particular