Two months ago a client - call her Maya - had a killer plan stuck in limbo. Smart strategy, great numbers, zero momentum. Her weekly update sounded like a data dump. People nodded, no one moved.
We stripped her deck to three beats - why now, what’s in it for us, what happens next - and rehearsed it like a rep game. She delivered in 12 minutes, drew two crisp questions, asked for one concrete decision, and walked out with budget and a timeline. Same team. Same plan. Different voice. That’s the power of public speaking.
Here’s the truth most leaders dodge: if you cannot communicate out loud, your ideas never leave the dock. Catalyst leaders speak to ignite action, not to fill air. My new book, Catalyst Leadership, publishes on September 30 - the whole premise is simple - make change happen faster. Speaking is the spark.
In the office
Presentations are not slides - they’re sales calls for ideas. Every internal talk should answer three things fast: why this matters right now, what changes for the listener, and what decision or action you want. Buy-in is earned by clarity, not volume.
Run lunch and learns to teach a tool your team can use tomorrow - a decision rubric, a pricing framework, a customer story with lessons. Keep them tight. 20 minutes of value, 10 minutes of discussion, 1 concrete next step. Leaders who treat meetings as stages move organizations. Leaders who read bullets lose rooms.
In public
Conferences, keynotes, and panels are brand accelerators. Speak well and your pipeline warms up, recruiting gets easier, and your peers start calling you for guidance. Do not pitch your company - deliver a point of view.
State the problem your audience actually feels, show a simple model to solve it, tell a true 90-second story, then give them one move to make this week. On panels, be the person who answers the question directly, adds one insight, and invites the next voice. Clear, short, useful. You’ll get quoted and invited back.
In writing
Articles, books, and columns are public speaking at scale. Writing lets your ideas compound while you sleep. Same rules - hook fast, teach something concrete, close with a move.
A monthly LinkedIn article that actually helps your niche will outperform a year of vague thought leadership. And yes, a book signals authority because it forces structure, depth, and evidence. That’s why I wrote Catalyst Leadership - to hand leaders a toolbox they can use when the heat is on.
If you want more authority, revenue, and impact, stop waiting for “perfect” and start shipping your voice. Reps beat talent. Frameworks beat rambling. Stories beat statistics without a point.
Catalyst Leadership lands September 30. Use it to turn every room, stage, and page into forward motion. Speak like a catalyst - watch your world move.