Stepping out of the comfort zone: how Yuriy Shcherbina became the best speaker at the BBC
Yuriy Shcherbina always knew what discipline and responsibility were. Military service hardened him, taught him to hold his ground and not give up. Sales, in turn, taught him to listen to people, negotiate and always seek results. Yuriy has been working for the company since 2011, and over the years he has gone from an ordinary employee to the head of the Khmelnytskyi–Chernivtsi department.
But the real challenge awaited him not in numbers and contracts, but on stage. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Yuriy became the best speaker at the BBC book club - and this is especially impressive, because public speaking has never been his "comfort zone". Negotiations have always given him confidence: dialogue, live contact, the opportunity to adapt to the interlocutor. The stage is a completely different rhythm, a different level of excitement.
When the opportunity arose to speak, the first reaction was restrained: doubts, internal resistance, excitement. But Yuriy decided to approach it as he would any professional task: he studied the material, built a logic, thought out the accents. He gave the presentation several times - alone, in front of his family, at internal meetings. It was important for him not just to know the text by heart, but to understand what and why he was saying it.
The excitement remained until the last minute. When Yuriy turned on the camera, his heart was pounding, but as soon as he started speaking, fear gave way to concentration. The speech became for him not a test, but a conversation with people. Every sentence, every accent was precise and conscious. His calm delivery created the effect of natural confidence, and the audience felt it.
Yuriy received the news of his victory later. When a colleague informed him about the title of the best speaker, it became more important for Yuri than the award: proof that any fear can be overcome if you prepare and dare to act.
Today, this experience has opened new horizons for Yuri. He is not only a leader who knows how to organize a team and achieve results, but also a person who is ready to set himself difficult tasks, work on himself and grow. His story is about the fact that real victories come when we stop being afraid of our own fear and decide to take the first step.