How To Authentically Connect with Your Audience with Katherine Johnson

The Speaker Lab Podcast

“Reframing my approach to public speaking was a game-changer once I recognized I was my own worst critic.”

This week, Maryalice sat down with TSL coach Katherine Johnson to chat about all things authenticity on stage. If you think you’re being authentic on stage, this may be the wake-up call you didn’t know you needed!

When it comes to presenting ourselves to an audience, we tend to think about the logistics, what we’re wearing, what we’re saying, etc., but we can forget about the intention and the science behind building trust and credibility with our audience.

"If you think you have to prove you are, you're making it all about yourself, and that cuts connection. Like, if I could just say that you can feel that in your body, you have to find some ways to shift to connection."

In this episode, Maryalice and Katherine get into:

• 03:50 Why actually connecting with the audience matters more than the words you say
• 08:49 Why aiming for connection will change the success you experience
• 12:19 How to set yourself up for success on the stage.
• 15:34 What are a few ways we can improve connection and authenticity on stage?
• 16:39 How does nervousness get in the way of our message?
• 20:06 The impact of energy in our pre-stage routine.
• 25:43 How to overcome fear of criticism during talks.
• 27:07 What it looks like to get comfortable with the fear and anxiety you might feel.
• 33:14 How do you remove armor and promote connection?

“Connection matters more than anything because you can actually say something. You could be a mediocre speaker. You could be an up-and-coming speaker. You can be pretty green. But if you know how to focus on connection with your audience, you're gonna do something special. You can continue to get better in terms of your content and some of your stagecraft, but if you know how to create that connection and be authentic from the stage, that does something powerful.”

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