Be funny!
I have a new, naturally funny client who hasn’t been putting that funny into his talks.
Homies, if you are or have ever been a ham, I want to see it in your public speaking!
This can include:
A. Playful ways of using your voice
Be fun! Be ridiculous. We like it!
B. Actual legitimate jokes (I’m veryyy happy to help with this— the more niche to your audience/event the better)
C. Amusing/entertaining visual
Wow us.
Surprise us.
Be the weird specific person you are— we’re weird too! We do not want to same old same old. Please.
People want to be surprised and amused. If you can do this, your audience will be completely absorbed by the interesting things you have to say— in meetings, in panels, in pitches— anywhere.
I am so happy to help you unlock your comedic voice in public speaking. We will have a blast.
Have fun until then!
Miriam
P.S. This is a very ridiculous comedy video I’m in.
How To Be a Great Guest
I am teaching an hour-long workshop with Wonderfish and James Colistra titled: “Drop the Script: How to Build Authority By Speaking Like Yourself.” March 12, 2026, 2pm Eastern.
We’ll practice keeping your voice dynamic and compelling; create a pre-show ritual that will get you calm and ready; do improv exercises to keep you fun and ready to be present; hone in on your story— what are you sharing on the podcast and how can you tell it with heart?
That’s a lot of ground to cover but that’s how I roll.
Come learn. Come play. It will be fun and transformational.
xoxo
https://wonderfish.xyz/workshops/p/drop-the-script
Are you too humble?
Are you too humble?
This week a new public speaking client and I dove right in and got to the heart of things: His confidence.
There is an outside in component to working with self-esteem issues in speaking: practices of slowing down, pausing, speaking dynamically (volume, tone, pacing).
And then of course the inner work: Does he believe he deserves to be heard? Does he believe in his intelligence? Was he once told something (probably in middle school) that affects his manner of speaking?
“Hurry up”: You’re probably gonna rush when you talk.
“You’re so annoying”: You’ll often make yourself small.
“You’re so arrogant!”: You’ll do everything you can to prove that you are not.
Ding ding ding.
This was true for this client, and true of many of my clients who are particularly smart and talented. Middle school kids will take you down. They do not want to see you shine.
And yet.
It’s perfectly safe now for my client to share his wisdom (and seriously, he’s a genius) with confidence. He doesn’t need to perform "humble." Much of his insecurity seems to stem from so many years of acting that way.
I told him: “Your humility isn’t helping anyone.” And it hit home for him. It’s not helping him. It’s not fun to listen to. It’s a waste of time. Mostly, it’s not even real. It’s a mask he’s worn for a long time. And I am here to witness its removal, to see my client become who he really is.
I’m not saying be aggressive and loud and pushy when speaking (ew). But speak clearly. Let us hear you. Express your enthusiasm. Share yourself.
There’s work to do. We’ll play with impromptu speeches and improv and humor and meditation and mindset and all of that “outside in” tools I mentioned earlier. And it's not a simple snap to ask someone to let go of defense mechanisms.
But I’ve planted the seed that he is allowed to be confident and to like himself and to know that he knows his stuff. That’s actually him taking care of his audience.
So please my loves, love yourself. It’s better for everyone.
P.S. I work with all kinds of people. If you’re just finishing a PhD program and you have interviews and conferences coming up, let’s get you in great shape. If you’re an entrepreneur pitching for funding, let’s get you ready to shine. If you work for a company and you know you’d be better in meetings if you didn’t get so damn nervous, this work is for you too. Any kind of communication can be improved with this deep work. And magically, it’s even fun.
A GREAT Podcast
I was on The Sean Trace Show! I loved it. He asked grrreat questions about public speaking coaching and what makes a charismatic communicator (hint: be real).
Let your true passion for what you talk about guide you. It’s important to do external work to add dynamism and clarity to your natural voice, in a way that is true to you…
But then let’s realllly get at who you are and what you care about. Throw in some self love and the authentic you will tumble right out of your mouth. It workssss.
Miriam