Mohammed Al Qahtani thought he'd never make it to the finals, let alone win.
In his acceptance speech, the first place winner of the Toastmasters' World Championship of Public Speaking from Saudi Arabia said: "If I can do this, think about that thing you thought you could never do or you just gave up on [...] and when you do, I want you to remember that Mohammed Al Qahtani got this and [...] you can do the same."
The speech that won him the title, "The Power of Words," explained to the audience at the Las Vegas event that words can drive a toddler as young as 4 years old to stop a bad habit or can turn a grown man to addiction and, eventually, death.
Qahtani, an engineer by profession, started with a humorous anecdote that had his audience captivated and laughing, before leading onto more serious topics. The Saudi national competed in seven rounds over six months against 33,000 others from around the world.