Does fear of speaking hold you back from stepping into your full leadership potential? I receive countless messages from leaders asking how to overcome their communication anxiety and develop the public speaking skills that command attention in any room. What if I told you that the speakers you admire as “naturals” actually developed their leadership communication abilities through deliberate habitual practice and razor-sharp self-awareness? Every confident communicator you’ve ever witnessed started exactly where you are now, and today’s episode will show you the exact pathway they took to transform their speaking fears into magnetic presence.
In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Ruth Milligan, co-author of “The Motivated Speaker” and a communication expert who has spent her entire career helping leaders master the art of impactful speaking. Ruth breaks down the myths around charisma and audience engagement, revealing why speaking isn’t a natural talent but a learnable skill that any leader can develop.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why effective leadership communication requires intentionality and self-awareness—not natural talent
- The myth-busting truth about charisma and how any leader can develop magnetic presence through simple techniques
- How to overcome fear of speaking by getting out of your head and into your body for confident delivery
- The three essential questions every speaker must answer before crafting content that moves audiences to action
- Why habitual practice beats perfectionism and how to identify the one speaking habit holding you back
- The storytelling secret that engages both sides of your audience’s brain for maximum impact
- How to structure presentations that answer your audience’s real questions instead of overwhelming them with information
- The recording technique that transforms your speaking skills faster than any other feedback method
The speakers you admire most didn’t stumble into their confidence—they built it through the exact strategies Ruth shared in today’s episode.
Which of these communication insights resonates most with your current leadership challenges? Remember, as Ruth emphasized, you can’t perfect your way to great speaking; you can only practice your way there, one conversation and one presentation at a time.
Connect with me on LinkedIn to share your biggest speaking breakthrough or the one habit you’re ready to transform. I’d love to hear how you’re applying these leadership communication strategies in your own journey.
Links & Mentioned Resources
More About Ruth Milligan
Ruth Milligan is an executive speech coach and founder of Articulation, where she specializes in helping leaders from science, research, medicine, and analytics make their messages more engaging and impactful. With nearly 30 years in communications, Ruth has coached over 750 people in TEDx and TED-style talks and trained thousands through her company’s programs on storytelling, public speaking, and executive presence. She founded her company after hosting one of the first and longest-running TEDx events, TEDxColumbus, and believes that any speaker—nervous, reluctant, or beginning—can deliver a great talk with the right feedback and development environment. Ruth began her career as a speechwriter in politics and has built a client roster including Paula’s Choice, UnitedHealthCare, Ecolab, and The Ohio State University, where she coaches executives for high-stakes presentations and pitches.
Connect with Ruth:
https://www.articulationinc.com/
https://www.facebook.com/articulationinc
https://www.instagram.com/articulationtalks/
Leadership Presence | Mastering the Inner Work of Leadership is your guide to leading with less ego and more soul. Your host is Janet Ioli, leadership and human development expert, sought-after coach, advisor to global executives, and former executive with experience in four Fortune 200 companies. In this podcast, she digs into the real deep work and empowers leaders to show up with authenticity, build emotional intelligence, and lead in a way that leaves a lasting impact.
Noteworthy Quotes from This Episode
- “We believe that speaking is habitual practiced, that there’s nobody that comes out of the womb speaking and that they’ve just all of a sudden became a natural speaker. That if there is a problem you have in speaking, you can work out of it through better habit forming.” (Ruth Milligan)
- “Speaking is embodied. It is not a thinking process. While speaking is informed by thinking, speaking is a full embodied experience. My eyes, my hands, my mouth, my breath, my diaphragm, my posture.” (Ruth Milligan)
- “If somebody can’t do something off the cuff, it’s probably because they haven’t thought about who their audience is, what’s their goal? And you can do those things in quick fashion.” (Ruth Milligan)
- “If there’s something that you are having to deliver that feels flat or uninspiring, can you think about the thing that you love to do and transmit some of that to the thing that doesn’t feel so exciting?” (Ruth Milligan)
- “Find the one thing that may hold you back if you’re invited to that next, the more illuminated room stage conference audience, and work on it. Now work on it in low stakes situations.” (Ruth Milligan)
Resource Links:
- Website: janetioli.com
- Linkedin: Janet Ioli
- Instagram: @leadershipcoachjanet
Janet is the founder of Power Presence Academy. She helps leaders ground themselves with confidence, connection, and purpose and lead with Less Ego, More Soul.
If you want to become more grounded, confident, and aligned with your deeper values in just 21 days. Check out Janet Ioli’s book Less Ego, More Soul: A Modern Reinvention Guide for Women.
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