Meet Diana

唐華瑄 (Táng Huá-xuān)

From a little Black girl from the suburbs of Philadelphia to a fearless global citizen, no one believed that Diana could cut it abroad. But 25 years, four countries and four languages later, she proved anyone curious, observant and resilient could unlock the mystery of any culture and achieve success.

In 2005 Diana moved to Taiwan when Mandarin was THE hot language to learn, but also known as the hardest. Not letting her 30+ years of age deter her, she decided to supplement her language learning by joining Toastmasters. But it took many years before Diana could deliver coherent talks in Chinese. In the meantime, she took on work that required extensive leadership and constant Mandarin communication practice in both the public and private industries. By 2017, Diana made a New Year’s resolution to participate in the Toastmasters Mandarin humorous speech contest that year and she won. This award-winning speech, “Am I Strange?” (我很奇怪嗎？) made Diana the first foreigner ever to beat native Mandarin speakers in a speech contest, and it also made her an overnight YouTube sensation. Because of this accomplishment, she not only transformed how the world viewed Black people who speak Mandarin Chinese, but she also inspired many to embrace foreign languages and cultures. “Am I Strange?” has been viewed and downloaded millions of times.

Diana wrote The Speaking Seed: Secrets to Successful Foreign Language Public Speaking, the first book ever dedicated to foreign language public speaking, published in both Mandarin Chinese and English in Taiwan. She also co-authored Called to Lead: Success Strategies for Women. This book focused on leadership strategies for women and was the number one leadership book in the UK on Amazon. Diana wrote a chapter that focused on Cross-Cultural Leadership and the importance of Cultural Intelligence.

Today Diana or her name in Chinese 唐華瑄 (Táng Huá-xuān) is admired by Taiwanese and Westerners alike for the enlightening and humorous way she shares her unique perspective as a Black woman living in Taiwan. She masterfully marries her relatable nature to everything she undertakes, no matter if it’s consulting clients, training teams or delivering keynotes. Diana has received numerous speaking and leadership awards while living overseas and is a highly sought-after Taiwan intercultural consultant, keynote speaker and author. She considers Taiwan home.