Learning to Impress Through Public Speaking

Rachel Cossar: Welcome to the 3rd season in conversations in the future of work. I am your host, Rachel Kosser, co founder, and CEO at virtual Sapiens. Today, I am thrilled to really spotlight public speaking. You know, it’s one of people’s main fears or it’s a big fear for many people. And yet it’s something that all of us have to do in some capacity in our lives and our jobs. And the guest that we have today is, who is a phenomenal public speaking expert. So, Nashin, over to you, please. Thank you so much for having me, Rachel. I’m so excited for this conversation.

Nausheen I. Chen: And, yeah, I can tell you a bit about me. I have been in love with speaking on camera and speaking on stage for as long as I can remember from the time when I was a princess in a rumble still skin production at my elementary school to getting one of my first jobs at a radio station hosting my own show and eventually finding my way to every stage I could find from neighborhood coffee shops to being on the TEDx stage 3 times. In terms of dedicating my life to public speaking, that happened pretty recently. I took the long way around. I was in the corporate world, in fortune 50 doing marketing and PR. And then for a while, I was a filmmaker. And while I was creating these documentaries for these startups. I realized that when you have a CU or a CTU who’s speaking on camera for the first time, They could be very remarkable and impressive people with their teams, but The moment you put them on camera, they become these pale robotics diversions of themselves, and it didn’t make sense to me. So I started informally coaching them while I was still directing them for commercials and documentaries and realized that that was actually the most favorite part of the job. So 2 years ago, I put aside the filmmaking projects the marketing and PR work that I was doing at the time and really went all in on public speaking coaching. And now I work with ambitious entrepreneurs and execs who wanna make sure that when they speak, they speak with authority. They speak to build their thought leadership. And they never let a lack of confidence or a lack of speaking skills get in the way of their success. Beautiful.

Rachel Cossar: I mean, it’s such a needed skill and what’s interesting is that companies depend on their professionals and their employees to be able to communicate effectively. And yet it’s often a skill that’s kind of left by the wayside, right? Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Alright. So on on the note of public speaking, I’m curious to hear from you like how have you seen this space and the skill itself evolve over the past few years.

Nausheen I. Chen: I would say over the past 5 to 7 years, there’s been a lot of evolution and growth. Specifically, because of COVID, we now find ourselves on cameras more than we ever were before. We’ve, in a way, all turned into performers, whether we like it or not. And I mean that in the positive sense of the word. I see 2 types of people, one who trudge their way through every Zoom meeting and webinar and presentation, and they just wanna get it over with. It’s painful. They don’t look forward to it. And as a result, unfortunately, they lose out on making an impact, getting a sale, getting through to potential clients, collaborators, partners, and really establishing themselves as as talk leaders. So that’s one camp. And then the other camp I see are really ambitious and driven people who understand that communication skills is the one thing that’s gonna set them apart in this world of AI where you can use AI to do pretty much everything. So far, it hasn’t come to a point where you and I can just have an AI avatar speak for us in our Zoom meetings or do our podcast for us. And that’s where that human touch comes in, and it’s not just something that you do as a cherry on top. If you are relying on your personal brand to fuel your business, you have to be visible. You have to show people who you really are. Your words, they help. But they only go so far. People don’t get a sense of how you speak. What does your face look like? What does it like to have you in their presence. So being on camera or being on stage takes your visibility and your impact to that next level. And I’m seeing a lot more of that now in the last few years. Yeah.

Rachel Cossar: It’s fascinating because to your point of these 2 groups of people. That 1st group of people who almost view video appearances as like 2nd class citizens, like, oh, I’m on video. This is a video not as important as an in person meeting or I can just be super casual. It doesn’t matter how I show up are really missing out on that massive opportunity to connect and to show people who they are as authentic beings and humans. Right? And I think also to your point, more and more showing up as a human being in real time showing people that this is the real me you know, and this is not I haven’t gotten you try to use an avatar to fail my self. Like, I’m taking my time to connect with you in this moment because it’s important to me. Like, that I think is going to become more and more important. Yeah. Absolutely.

Nausheen I. Chen: People buy from people. Whether you are creating a B2B brand or a B2C brand, At the end, it’s a person making that purchase decision. It’s a person deciding whether or not you are credible the beauty of being more visible, being on camera, is that you’re also sending the signal of I have nothing to hide. So you are automatically building more credibility literally just by being more visible. Yep.

Rachel Cossar: And I think The first time that you came on my radar, actually, you had done a wonderful post on your LinkedIn about some of the nonverbals. That are so critical to master or at least be aware of on video, right? Things like how do you use hand gestures? Should you use hand gestures? Right? Like, yes, it helps with trust. Things like that, you know, are really important for us at virtual Sapiens because we focus a lot on the how you’re showing up less so what you’re saying. We tend to leave that to to human coaches or other the the the the what of what you say is already so so much of a focus, but the how of how you show up behaviorally is so loud. Yeah. And that’s something that people neglect all the time.

Nausheen I. Chen: When someone’s prepping for a presentation, they’re gonna use almost all the time they have to work on their slides. They’ll be tweaking and adjusting the slides and making them beautiful and perfect till the very last minute, till they drive over to the actual event or till they have to literally be on zoom. And they neglect the fact that the message is only as good as the delivery. Yep. Because what people are seeing is you delivering the message. Unless it’s an email. If it can be an email, make it an email, make it a report, make it a blog post. But if it’s you who needs to deliver that message, There’s gotta be something that you’re bringing to it. You’re not just reading off of the slides or memorizing a script. So to your point, I love that your focus is on the delivery aspect of it, which is so crucial and so neglected. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

Rachel Cossar: What role do you think technology plays in public speaking and like going beyond of the obvious of video. Right? Like, what where do you see technology either amplifying or maybe maybe detracting from public speaking?

Nausheen I. Chen: I’m fascinated by how AI is now working with people that want to improve their speaking skills. So I’ve come across and used a number of different types of AI tech all the way from AI joining in your meetings and giving you live prompts and coaching, like, machine, you’re speaking too fast or make sure you’re looking at the camera. 2, using AI for analytics on recorded meetings or recorded speaking exercises or even podcasts. And I love that we can now get the kind of data and insight that just wasn’t possible before. Right. So one of the things I work with clients on, for example, is the speed at which they speak. Very often people aren’t in control of that. And it’s very difficult for them to even understand that they’re speaking too fast I’ve had clients who get feedback from their team or from their boss or their clients saying that, yeah, you speak very, very fast. And it’s a surprise to them because that’s the way they’ve been speaking most of their life. But when they see data, the data doesn’t lie, Right? That’s when they get that really needed reality check. That’s just one way that AI can help. So I’m really fascinated by the role that AI can play in helping us look at ourselves in an objective way. That just wasn’t possible before. Right.

Rachel Cossar: What we were surprised early on at virtual Sapiens, we were surprised by how receptive people were to getting this data driven kind of feedback from from the AI. We were concerned that initially, people would be like, just discount the feedback from AI, but in fact, they’ve been pleased to see, like, whether it’s, like you said, speech speed or repetition filler words, eye gaze, hand gestures posture. Like, the AI just reflects back behaviors that they themselves have committed. Right? In our case, like, in in with generative AI, so the the AI will get very creative and make stuff up. But with the way that we use AI, it is like a mirror. Right? And it’s just gonna it’s only gonna show you things that you’ve actually done which helps then the human coach point back to real data as well when you’re like, no. Like, trust trust me, you are this is an area that we can work on together. It’s showing up for you in these ways. And so it’s almost like a 12 punch. Right? You have this, like, data driven, consistent AI technology that can be there a little more conveniently, and then you have that nuance from the the the nuance on the context, really, from the human coach. Yeah. And that’s how I see it working best.

Nausheen I. Chen: I’ve been in some conversations where people are developing AI models that can replace human coaching. I would love for us to be there, but I don’t think we’re there yet. So all the AI tools that I’ve tried out anytime that the AI has given more than guidance. I always tell my clients to take it with a pinch of salt. It is what it is, but it’s not the same as a human coach guiding you yet. Yep. Absolutely.

Rachel Cossar: So we’ve talked about, you know, a variety of different things when it comes to public speaking. I’m curious what you see are the biggest obstacles when it comes to public speaking for your clients and community and then what are some of the solutions to those obstacles?

Nausheen I. Chen: The biggest obstacle is not being aware and not being in control. So a number of clients that come to me They have had traumatic experiences where they’ve either watched themselves back after doing a podcast or they’ve seen a recording of their presentation. And it’s occurred to them that the act is not an accurate representation of who they are. But it’s taken them that level of trauma. And I I call it trauma because it really does weigh heavily on them, and it affects their ability to say yes to future opportunities. So it takes that kind of a reality check for them to stop, reflect, and realize something needs to be done. If there is a way that people could focus on their communication skills, in school, out of school, from that age, then you wouldn’t get to a point where you’ve had to have this traumatic experience of watching yourself back and feeling this disconnect and disappointment with your own self. So lack of awareness is absolutely the number one obstacle. And then lack of control, a lot of people feel that the habits they’ve developed are not in their control. Oh, I speak fast because I, well, I’ve spoken fast, and that’s the way I’ve grown up, and that’s the way I talk. No. You can control the pace at which you speak. It is absolutely up to you. It takes work and that work is not is not glamorous at all. That’s where you have to put in the hours. Watch yourself back. Go through that cringe of seeing a not very perfect image of you, but then you’ll improve over time. And One of the the key things that’s at the core of the work that I do is helping my clients gain back that control. Because once you’re in control, whatever happens, you can always come out on top you choose how to respond to any kind of circumstance, any situation, you won’t go link, you will know exactly how to recover from any kind of situation, and you will be able to really play with the audience. That’s the level I want my clients to be at where they’re not just memorizing and regurgitating scripts. They’re not just presenting slides and educating or informing people in a one way lecture, where they’re really playing with the audience dancing with the audience. Playing with the way that they’re delivering words and adding pauses and adding drama and sorting their personality into the way that they speak and show up. That’s that level of control that I know they can get to. They just need to put in the work to get there. Right.

Rachel Cossar: It’s funny because I think sometimes and I’d be curious if you’ve seen this too, but I think sometimes people think of whatever it is that they’re presenting as this, like, static perfect package that they have to deliver. And I think that that can sometimes to your point of being able to, like, you might go up on stage and you might momentarily forget what you’re supposed to say. Like, you might trip while you’re walking up the stairs. You might have a technical glitch in your Zoom call. Right? Like, it’s a lot especially for live public speaking things happen. Right? And if you’re if you’re going into it expecting a perfect performance, that’s I think when people can really trip themselves up versus being like, you know, this is a live organism. Oh, look at what just happened. Like, let’s incorporate it into the real presence of the moment. Yeah.

Nausheen I. Chen: It’s that quest before perfection that also puts an enormous amount of pressure on yourself. And the moment you can switch from oh my god. It has to be perfect. 2, all I need to do is help someone. With the stuff that I’m sharing. That’s really it. If someone can walk away from this podcast, this presentation, this video, being a bit more knowledge rich, I’ve done my job. Take the pressure off, and it helps you be more you and more human. Right.

Rachel Cossar: And that question of authenticity is really interesting because I have found sometimes I also run into that, like lack of what you called lack of control, which I haven’t actually thought of it in that specific way before because sometimes I’ll, you know, if I’m if I’m doing facilitations or people are using our application and they’re like, oh, you know, you know, it’s it’s telling me, you know, not to touch my face. And they’re like, but I always touch my face because like, a part of who I am. It’s in, like, my authentic self. If if I were to not touch my face, I all of a sudden would be being inauthentic. And you’re like, okay. There’s maybe, you know, and so you’re kind of like, but to think of it as as like, this is your body to decide how you move and how you, like, what messages you actually want to send to people. That’s a pretty powerful way of thinking about reframing what might otherwise feel inauthentic. Yeah.

Nausheen I. Chen: You shouldn’t use authenticity as an excuse to be lazy. Yes. Oh my goodness.

Rachel Cossar: Say it louder for the people in the back. Absolutely. Well, Thank you so much, Nashin. I know this these are short and sweet episodes, but we’ve got already such wonderful nuggets of wisdom that you’ve shared there anything else that you’d like to share with our audience today?

Nausheen I. Chen: The one thing that I want everyone to think about is that public speaking is not speaking on a big stage. It’s not being behind a podium. It’s not something you might do once a year. You’re speaking in public every single time you speak to a group of people, whether it’s a team meeting, a sales pitch to a group of clients, Whether it’s being on a podcast, creating a video, anything that reaches an audience of any size, is public speaking. If you can reframe that for yourself and use every single opportunity you’re speaking, to get a little better to make a bit more impact, then you will be improving your communication skills exponentially every single month, every single quarter. You won’t need to wait for the next opportunity to be on a big stage. Yeah.

Rachel Cossar: That’s the practice is embedded within your, like, daily experience in that sense. Right? No shortage of opportunities to practice. Wonderful. And for our audience, if they’d like to connect with you or interact with more of your amazing content, what are the best ways for them to do that?

Nausheen I. Chen: LinkedIn is a great platform where you can find me. I’m one of the most active and most engaged public speaking coaches there. And I’m the only nosy in iTunes, so fairly easy to find. And apart from that, my website has a lot of free goodies, including a free course on learning to speak fearlessly that you can take. It’s a 5 day course, and I’ve gotten great feedback from thousands of people on it. So speaking.coach, is how you’ll find the course. And you can also get in touch with me there. Awesome. With that little collapse.

Rachel Cossar: Cool. Well, again, Nashin, thank you so much for joining us on this inaugural launch of the 3rd season, and thanks to our audience as always. Awesome. Thank you so much, Rachel.