A tight field took to the stage on Friday October 17 as the finalists of the Darwin Innovation Hub and Speakstarter New Voices program competed for $1000 of public speaking opportunities in 2026.
The Finale event was the culmination of an 8-week program where participants were guided through confidence, presentation skills, structure and voice modulation by Darwin Innovation Hub’s Dante St James as part of his Speakstarter framework.
And the result was stunning as 13 finalists brought their TEDtalk-style presentations to the public for the first time, with the judges giving a special commendation to Mit Dinh for her very relatable talk around networking as a student.
While all participants fell within a 6-point range of each other, the final tally from judges Rebecca Ross (No One Left Behind), Himanshu Rai (Darwin Business Events) and Shani Carson (MC and City of Darwin Councilor) placing Michael Psalios as winner after his evocative and vulnerable talk on his own mental health journey resonated well beyond just the content and quality of presentation.
Kristal Margrie took out the runner-up position with her look at the power of the multi-passionate person and Quang Thuan (Vincent) Nguyen placing third with his entertaining look at being a nerd, an introvert and a sociable person while simultaneously solving a Rubik’s cube.
New Voices is held each year during October Business Month by Darwin Innovation Hub, Speakstarter and included sponsorship from Darwin Business Events.
New Voices will return in early 2026 as an online program before firing up the Darwin local program again in August 2026.
For more information, visit newvoices.com.au.
