A ST ALBANS man has beaten over 200 people to be in the final 25 of an international competition to find ‘The Next Greatest Speaker and Author’.

Adam Shaw, of Albert Street, is the only competitor left from Europe after posting his initial entry online in July.

The former coronary nurse has until the early hours of Monday morning to get as many votes as possible before the winner is announced a day or two later.

Judges assess entrants on three things; speaking, writing and their ability to get votes.

Adam explained that the first round of the competition was to share a personal story and the second was to share a message.

His personal story was sharing his “quirky past” of living at Shenley Hospital, and his message is about detecting the early warning signs of heart disease, which he calls “the biggest killer in the world”.

He said of his success so far: “I didn’t expect to get this far. It’s a big surprise to me.”

Adam described the prizes at stake as ‘life-altering’ and it’s easy to see why; the winner gets the chance to speak at a messenger summit in America and also gets a book publishing contract.

Adam said: “My fingers are crossed.”

To vote for him visit http://eat2.us/AdamShaw