“The Art of Public Speaking: How ALEXANDRA TOPALIAN built a Career as an MC and Panel Moderator”
Alexandra Topalian, is a distinguished Canadian conference MC and panel moderator with over 25 years of experience spanning North America, Southeast Asia, Africa, and now the MENA region. She has hosted some of the largest global conferences across various industries, skillfully guiding discussions and creating spaces for impactful dialogue. Alexandra’s extensive background in public speaking allows her to bring energy and purpose to every event.
Bhavna Batra, Editor, Entrepreneurial Arabia had the pleasure to speak to Alexandra and delve into her inspirational journey!
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I was born in Montreal Canada; I am of Armenian and Moroccan descent. I’ve been living in Dubai for 6 years which is my families sixth posting (following my husband’s postings) We have lived in Algiers, Cairo, Hanoi, Manila, Doha and now Dubai. In all of these countries, I have always held different jobs. I have two kids; my son Sacha is 18 and Erika is 15.
– “Can you share with us how you began your journey as a master of ceremonies and panel moderator? What inspired you to pursue this career?”
I moved to Dubai for my husband’s job in my mid 40s so I arrived jobless. I didn’t know what I wanted to do at first, but I knew that I wanted to do something completely different. I like the change and the challenge. One thing I knew was that I truly enjoyed public speaking.
When I arrived to Dubai, I started applying for presenter jobs at various radio stations because Kris Fade sounded so darn cool on the radio. My kids and I would listen to him religiously every morning on the school drive. So a big influence there, he has that Zing! I also applied for some television jobs and news anchoring but I had zero experience, so my resume was not very attractive to recruiters and that amounted to absolutely nothing .
I soon realized that I would probably prefer having a live audience in front of me when speaking publicly and so I started applying for event emceeing jobs. Again, without much success, I had no media kit or backup events to show for. I spent a whole year fine-tuning my resume, listening to panel moderators and MCs speak, learning from other presenters and creating video reels of myself talking on stage. I did enjoy the process and was never turned off by the rejections. It actually excited me and made me want it even more. The process of fine-tuning and the magic of manifestation go hand in hand and I loved the freedom I had in creating this new persona. Shoutout to Dawn Appel, the spiritual aligness. I know you might think this weird but I became a presenter in my thoughts before actually becoming a presenter. I felt incredible confidence and self-acceptance, which by the way comes with age. Haha! I was happy because I had somehow reached a growth mindset with incredible excitement of what was to come. The energy was real.
I eventually got my first break when someone I had met at the gym offered me my first gig, a pharmaceutical launch event and its been history ever since.
– “What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced and how did you overcome them?”
Starting from scratch with absolutely nothing to show for was my biggest challenge. I did my first 3 or 4 events for free. I needed footage. I didn’t care about money at that point, my only priority was building enough footage to have material to show clients when asked. I reached out to some PR experts for advice on videography, website and media kit production and their feedback was invaluable.
I think that hosting my first events without getting paid was an extremely mature and wise thing to do, it was a win-win situation where I got exactly what I wanted out of it. Money was secondary, we have to build credibility first. I saw it as an investment. Today its paid off. Sometimes, the exposure alone is worth millions. Don’t see it as a loss of money, its actually an investment, especially if you are a beginner. “Stay Low, Keep Moving, Invest in Yourself”, as Maha Abouelenein would say.
– “Moderating panels and hosting events require a unique set of skills. Can you discuss how you have honed these skills?”
I am nowhere near as experienced as other MCs and moderators out there, Ive only been doing this for 2-3 years, but one thing I do have is self-confidence. I love the adrenaline of speaking in front of a room of complete strangers. I connect well with my audience, like Ive known them for years, I like that sense of familiarity. Im a born networker, a super connector. I prefer small talk over long talk. I am very authentic and relatable when on stage and I do love to use humor at times.
This next point is very important: I do not aim for perfection, and I consider this a skill because self-appreciation is key for confidence when on stage. For example,
I say “UMM“ two or three times in a sentence. That really doesn’t matter to me, nor does it matter to my audience. I rather my speech flow naturally and remain perfectly imperfect because that’s what makes me unique. It is not what defines a good speaker from a bad one. You can speak perfectly well with the most incredible communication style and yet not have reached that perfect level of connection with your audience, that sweet spot. Just be you. With all of your beautiful imperfections and you are going to shine so darn bright!
Finally, some other skills I have honed: I play a lot with my voice, my tone, the speed at which I speak at, and the pitch as well. I like to involve humor when I host an event or conference, I don’t stick to script very well and I do enjoy adding my own sauce to the mix.
– “Managing a busy schedule of events can be demanding. How do you maintain a balance between your professional commitments and personal life?
I have very little time for a social life and the little time I do have is spent on myself and with my family. I love being alone, probably because I am always surrounded by loads of people in the events I host. My social life is pretty scattered at the moment, but I am happy. The only regret I have is not going as often to the gym as I used to. Im working on that.
– “Could you walk us through your preparation process for a major event or conference? What are some key steps you take to ensure everything runs smoothly?”
I am always learning. Always. It never ends. I learn and relearn. Its my edge and it has opened up a lot of opportunities. Cybersecurity? Sure, why not. Green Hydrogen? I can learn that too.
I will read up a lot on a topic. I cannot moderate a panel if I don’t get the jist of it. I use people in the industry to explain things to me if google or chat GPT don’t suffice. Like, hey! can I take you out for lunch and you can talk crypto to me. HA!HA!
In regards to preparation, my conference producers and I are a team, always. I try to relieve them of their duties as much as possible. For panels I will arrange my own Teams calls with my panelists to prep and I write my own intro scripts most of the time for the conferences I host.
– “Live events can be unpredictable. Can you share an instance where something didn’t go as planned and how you handled it?”
Yes, the time we lost electricity for an hour. I played a game with the audience, asking everyone to stand up and form two circles. We played a game similar to speed dating but it was speed networking. As the inner circle moved one notch at every 5 minutes, delegates were able to meet with their peers and have a quick chat, a wonderful networking experience when stage sound and presentation can not be utilized. We then played hot potato for the last 5 minutes and that was hilarious.
– “Networking is often a crucial part of events. What effective networking tips can you offer to both newcomers and seasoned professionals?”
I would say that networking has been my main methods of landing gigs. That and pure hard cold sales calls (well, emails) over the summer months, for the September to December events season,
About 5 emails, not more. But networking is the best tool for putting yourself out there and for others to get a taste of your personality and charisma.
– “Public speaking is a fear for many. As an experienced speaker, what advice can you offer to those looking to improve their public speaking skills?”
If you are nervous speaking on stage, I would recommend hovering your gaze over peoples heads rather than looking directly into peoples eyes when speaking, which can distract you. A second piece of advice would be to ask your audience questions , ex) show of hands: how many people in this room use chat GPT on a daily basis
My last piece of advice would be to drop the heavy presentations loaded with slides. The audience will eventually get bored and tune out. Loaded slides don’t work, our attention span doesn’t allow for us to pay such close attention. Instead, I would recommend that you bring one of your clients up on stage with you and storytell your journey together. An audience would rather hear your pitch from one of your clients that from you boasting about what you app or software can do through slides. That’s my opinion.
– “Technology is reshaping every industry, including event hosting. What technologies have you found most useful in your profession, and how do you see technology further transforming your job in the future?”
Yes it is possible that an AI avatar do the job of an MC, it’s a possibility for the distant future. Ill just find something else to do with myself. HA!HA! I also believe that more events will be held on the metaverse in the future.
– “Have you had the opportunity to mentor others in your field? What has that experience taught you about yourself and your profession?”
I mentor 3 junior MCs and give them small gigs that come my way. Why not, I have a lot to give and cannot be at two places at the same time.
