Great Speaking is a Conversation (mini-sode)

Great speaking isn’t a one-sided performance; it’s a dynamic conversation.

In this mini-episode, Lauri dismantles the myth that speaking is a monologue, showing how treating your speech as a shared experience can inspire, empower, and transform. Learn how to connect with your audience on a deeper level, even when standing at a podium or speaking on video. By reframing your mindset and tuning into the audience's non-verbal responses, you’ll create shared experiences that truly resonate.

TAKEAWAYS
1. Great speaking is a two-way street. Reframe your mindset to see even formal speeches as a conversation, not a solo performance.

2. Your audience’s half of the conversation is non-verbal. Tune into facial expressions, body language, and energy shifts to truly connect.

3. Set an intention for your audience. Before speaking, align with your higher self and decide how you want your audience to feel.

Story Magic
A Soulful Speaking Playshop for loving rebels on a soul-driven mission.

Join me for Story Magic — a live, interactive Soulful Speaking Playshop where you’ll learn powerful secrets from the ancient art of theatre for telling engaging, dynamic stories.

Chapters

• 1:08 The Myth of Monologues
• 4:29 Tips for Authentic Connection
• 5:40 Speaking as a Shared Experience

Transcript

Lauri: 1:08

You know those speakers who have everyone on the edge of their seats hanging on every word. You know the ones who make you feel like they were speaking to you and for you the whole time. One of the things that those speakers know is that great speaking is a conversation. Yes, I mean even when the speaker speaking is standing on a podium or on video or on Zoom. Most of us are trained to think that speaking is a monologue, actually even a soliloquy, and we take responsibility for the whole entire experience, which is an awful lot of pressure. It seduces us into performing for them like a dancing puppet rather than talking to them. Once we commit to giving a speech or a talk, we start to think of it as an experience of separateness. I'm here and you're over there and we're two separate entities in two different places, and then, if fight or flight starts to kick in, we might even start to think of it or feel like it is an adversarial experience. It's the audience versus me. Whether or not we're even thinking about it that way in our minds, our bodies might go into that, and then we take on all the responsibility and we get ready to dump the information that we want them to know and get out of there as quick as possible, without leaving any room for their experience, without listening to them and giving them space to digest. Most people in the speaking world don't say this advice anymore, and yet this is part of why one of my biggest pet peeves is the old picture the audience in their underwear thing to get over the nerves, because if we're picturing the audience in their underwear, we're not really connecting to them. We have no chance of listening to them, which to me, is really disrespectful. Great speaking really truly is a conversation, and by great speaking I mean speaking that inspires, speaking that empowers the people in the room, speaking that brings transformation of some kind, speaking that is an emotional experience as well as an intellectually stimulating experience. So the next time you're speaking whether it's shooting a video or speaking to a room full of people or being on Zoom, imagine treat it as a conversation, reframe it for yourself, even with a formal speech, even if you're standing on stage at a podium with a microphone in front of you.

Lauri: 4:17

Here's how it works. As the speaker, your half of the conversation does include most of the talking. It's the verbal half of the conversation. The audience's half is mostly non-verbal. To do that before the conversation even starts.

Lauri: 4:34

Connect to your higher self, connect with why you're speaking in the first place, and then set an intention for what you want for the audience. One word or a short phrase what do you want them to feel? What do you want the vibe in the room to be? And then Listen as you speak, listen to their nonverbals, notice their facial expressions, their body language, feel the energy in the room shifting moment by moment, breath by breath. See, feel their movement toward that intention that you set Really truly connect with them.

Lauri: 5:25

Set Really truly connect with them. See them, listen to them, notice the nonverbal half of the conversation that they're giving you, primarily nonverbal. There may be places where they laugh or cry or nod and make noises of being with you and conversing with you back toward you. When you're seeing it as a conversation, it becomes a shared experience. Your audience will feel seen, even though you may be the one in the spotlight on the stage. Let me know how that goes. If you're on YouTube, drop a message in the comments. If you're listening on a traditional podcast platform, look for the Send Laurie, a Message link in the description. And if you enjoyed this, please share with a friend or a colleague who you think might enjoy it too.