How to Use Speaking Skills to Elevate Your Leadership Skills with Simon Trevarthen.

Welcome to Public Speaking with Peter George. Do you want to be calm, confident, and credible every time you speak in public? Then stay tuned as we discuss public speaking tips, techniques, and tactics that help you increase your impact, influence, and income.

Leaders have a tremendous opportunity to effect change, to move people, to make a difference — and few tools help them do that more effectively than the spoken word. Simon Trevarthen, known internationally as a top-rated keynote speaker on resilience, inspiration, and innovation, joins Peter to explore why great leaders are, without exception, great communicators.

Why Most Presentations Miss the Mark

Simon identifies three reasons professional presentations so often fall short: jargon that distances rather than connects, a failure to speak the truth — or as much truth as the situation allows — and an unwillingness to tell people what you actually believe. The antidote isn’t complicated. Use plain, direct language — the kind that hits at gut level rather than obscuring meaning behind technical vocabulary. Step away from the podium. Make yourself vulnerable. And say what you stand for, clearly and with conviction.

The Three Most Powerful Words in the English Language

Simon’s framework for leadership language comes down to three words: I, you, and we. Each serves a distinct purpose. “I” is a statement of leadership — it plants a flag and says, I stand here. “You” is a call to action, speaking directly to each individual in the room. “We” shrinks the distance between a leader and the people they lead, building a sense of shared purpose. Know when to use each one, and your words will land with an authority that no amount of jargon can manufacture.

The Three-Minute Masterpiece

Every speaker should be able to compress what they need to say into three minutes. It’s not a limitation — it’s a discipline. Start with what you believe. Give your audience three clearly defined points. Lead with your action step. The magic of threes is that it’s memorable in a way that twenty-two points never will be. It fits on a napkin. It survives the meeting where five other people have already presented. And when your hour-long slot gets cut to five minutes, you’ll be ready.

Clarity. Truth. Belief. These are the foundations of leadership communication — and the reason the Gettysburg Address still resonates more than 150 years after the two-hour speech before it has been entirely forgotten. I’ll see you next time.