Act III / Communication & Performance

Reading the room, then moving it

Neel Laroiya delivering a speech at a podium

Speaking

Before I was pitching product roadmaps or rallying a basketball team through a losing streak, I was competing, and winning, as a speaker.

Four consecutive gold medals in Solo Acting, Calgary City Champion, a 3rd-place finish at the Alberta provincials, and Speech Student of the Year.

That training is the reason I default to structured storytelling whenever I'm presenting technical work, leading an assembly, or talking a team off the ledge mid-season.

Neel Laroiya performing on stage

Acting

Acting is where I first learned to read a room and adjust in real time; a skill that I've applied to all aspects of my life since. I've held minor professional roles on Netflix's My Life with the Walter Boys and CBC's Heartland, one of Canada's longest-running TV series, working in high-pressure, multi-stakeholder productions with large professional crews. Most recently, I led as Anthony in Pen Pal, an independent short film, where I used empathy and passion to capture the story of a misunderstood teen.