Lebanese-born Joze Piranian never imagined he would become a globally recognized speaker. Born with a severe stutter, the idea of introducing himself — let alone speaking onstage — felt impossible. Years later, the very thing he feared most became his calling. “I grew up avoiding speaking to people almost entirely out of the fear of being judged for sounding different,” he says. Stuttering is a communication disorder that affects the area of the brain that controls speech. This condition impacts about one per cent of the world’s population. But Piranian’s stutter wasn’t just a speech impediment. He battled extreme social anxiety, often feeling ashamed and embarrassed. “The fear of judgment was so powerful. I had a hard time accepting that I had to sound different if I wanted to speak and express myself,” he says. Staying quiet felt like the easier option.
Despite years of speech therapy, psychotherapy and even hypnotherapy, his stutter took control, preventing him from expressing himself fully. When Piranian had the chance to move to Montreal to study at McGill University, he saw it as a fresh start. “I thought that moving to Canada would be this big reset, that all my fears would magically disappear,” he says. But reality didn’t match his expectations. His fear of speaking followed him. Instead of embracing change, he continued his avoidance tactics, even asking professors to exempt him from class presentations. “I thought that just because I changed my environment, I’d somehow leave my stutter behind. But nothing changed. I was the same. And that realization felt like failure,” he admits.
Taking action
If moving to a new country wasn’t enough to transform his life, Piranian knew he needed to do something drastic. So, he joined Toastmasters, a public speaking club. “The only way to overcome stuttering and all the pain it came with was by doing the one thing I feared the most: speaking,” Piranian says. Introducing himself at that first meeting was nerve wracking, but the group was encouraging and welcoming and Piranian looked forward to going to weekly meetings, even signing up for some speaking competitions. His next step was even bigger — he joined McGill’s debate club — and years later, took a stand-up comedy class. Pushing himself into these speaking situations was terrifying, but something inside him had shifted. He realized that his fear of wasting his potential was greater than his fear of stuttering. “The fear of squandering my potential was a big motivator, along with the fear of living a life filled with regrets,” he says. Today, Piranian travels around the world, sharing his story in three languages (English, French and Spanish) onstage in front of hundreds and sometimes thousands of people. Piranian describes himself as an “accidental public speaker.” “Technically, me becoming an astronaut was way more likely than me becoming a professional speaker,” he says. He didn’t join Toastmasters thinking he would become a full-time professional speaker. But entering public speaking competitions led to wins, which led to invitations to bigger stages.
After his first TEDx talk, conference planners started reaching out. He soon realized that this was more than just a way to conquer his fears — it was a career. By 2019, he was performing more frequently, both in comedy and public speaking, which he decided to pursue full-time. He now travels the world as a keynote speaker at conferences and educational institutions, while also performing stand-up comedy in clubs.
Speaking his truth
Piranian has spoken at major companies including Google, Boeing, Starbucks, Tesla, Dell and TikTok and has delivered five TEDx talks. His story has been made into a CBC Gem documentary, Words Left Unspoken and he recently signed a book deal with HarperCollins that will come out in January 2026. “Speaking is something I’m very passionate about, both from the perspective of self mastery, self-improvement and changing my relationship with discomfort. But also having an impact, empowering other people to overcome their own fears,” he says, adding that he tells people to use “fear as a compass” to move forward on their path. “We have to repeatedly push ourselves as well as take care of our mental wellness so we’re able to tackle challenges.” It’s no accident that Piranian inspires people around the globe with his story of turning his greatest challenge into his greatest strength by owning his voice. “I feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” he says. Piranian hopes people take this lesson away from his story: it’s not only OK to be different, but to embrace those differences. “That could mean having an accent when you’re speaking English, having a disability, being neurodivergent or dealing with mental health challenges. Own what makes you unique,” he says.
