Episode 45: One question you need to ask before you take the stage with Julian Treasure
In today’s episode, I talk to Julian Treasure. Julian is a sought-after and top-rated international sound and communication expert. He is a gripping speaker with 5 TED talks online which have been viewed around 40 million times. Julian travels the world training people to listen better and create healthier sound. His vision is to transform the world by inspiring people to listen consciously and speak powerfully.
Julian’s speech ‘How to speak so people want to listen’ is my favourite TED speech. It’s also in the top-10 of most watched TED speeches of all time, with over 31 million views, that’s insane. I found his speech when I was running a presentation skills workshop for a local shire in Western Australia about 5 years ago, and ever since then, I’ve incorporated his speech into other workshops I’ve delivered on public speaking and being an effective communicator. Even in Mongolia a couple weeks ago, I used the vocal warm-up that Julian uses in his speech, as the icebreaker on the second day of the workshop!
However, when I was doing more research on Julian’s work, I also realised the emphasis that he puts on listening. Not hearing, but listening. We spend a good chunk of this conversation discussing how to do that effectively.
He believes that listening is the doorway to understanding and powerful speaking liberates us to make a difference and be known for who we are.
In this episode you’ll learn:
The one key question you need to ask yourself before taking a stage, or facilitating a workshop
The significance of Conscious Listening
How stance and posture affects your voice when delivering a speech
Tips and tricks on breathing and voice exercises
Aspects of voice: pace, pitch, timbre & prosody
Strategies on how to control the pace of your voice
About our guest
Julian Treasure is an expert on sound who uses his fascinating insights to advise businesses how to optimise their environments for sound. He is author of the books How to be Heard and Sound Business. He is also the founder of The Sound Agency. The audio-branding company asks and answers the question “How does your brand sound?” The Sound Agency work with some of the world’s biggest brands to improve their sound.
Julian Treasure’s five TED talks have been watched more than 40 million times. His latest, How to speak so that people want to listen, is in the top 10 TED talks of all time. Julian is regularly featured in the world’s media, including TIME Magazine, The Times, The Economist and the BBC.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
First Time Facilitator events
2019: The year you launch your podcast. Join me on a one day workshop where I'll take you through the steps by launch your podcast from scratch! It's on Sunday 13 January in Brisbane
50th episode meetup: Friday 18 January in Brisbane (email me if interested, hello@firsttimefacilitator.com
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Quotes of the show:
“You can't be a good speaker if you don't learn first to be a good listener.”
“My definition of listening is making meaning from sound and that colours your whole perception of existence.”
“The better we make our listening; the more we understand other people and the more powerfully we can speak to them.”
“Consciousness is the key to everything. Becoming conscious of what you're doing, how you're standing, the gestures you're using, the pace at which you're speaking.”
Episode transcript
View the First Time Facilitator episode transcript with Julian Treasure.