Ruth joins host Suzanne Roberts on the Purpose For Life podcast to dive deep into the transformative power of effective communication. Their conversation will help you discover how applying threshold concepts can revolutionize your speaking, whether you’re addressing a large audience or engaging in everyday conversations. This episode explores the importance of self-awareness, navigating uncertainty, the necessity of practice, and cultivating relational awareness to truly connect through your words.
🎙️ Introduction & Book Overview (00:28)
Suzanne introduces Ruth Milligan, co-author of The Motivated Speaker, and praises the book’s personal and professional impact.
🌟 Threshold Concepts (2:03)
Ruth defines threshold concepts as transformative learning experiences that are recursive, troublesome, and irreversible. She shares how she and her co-authors developed six threshold concepts for learning to speak well, and tested them with clients.
🧠 Accessible and Inclusive Speaking (06:14)
Ruth shares how the book was designed to be accessible to both professionals and everyday speakers.
🕶️ Shaded Habits (08:40)
Ruth introduces the concept of “shaded habits”: unnoticed speaking patterns (e.g., filler words) formed in low-stakes environments that become problematic in high-stakes scenarios. She underscores the power of listening to yourself and identifying those habits, noting it’s harder than public speaking.
💬 About Articulation and Coaching (14:11)
Ruth describes her company Articulation, which coaches a wide spectrum of speakers. She stresses that coaching works best when there’s a real-life speaking opportunity at stake.
💡Core Themes from the Book (16:26)
Suzanne identifies three key themes: self-awareness, relational awareness, and transformation through practice. Ruth emphasizes that self-awareness begins with honest feedback and listening to oneself speak and explains how the messiness and iteration are essential parts of preparing to speak meaningfully.
🎤 Practice and Preparation (21:22)
Ruth breaks down the difference between training, practice, and performance, using quilting as a metaphor. She tells a story about a woman who spent 200 hours preparing a 15-minute graduation speech, highlighting the importance of caring deeply and investing time.
🎯 Relational Awareness (27:08)
Ruth discusses translating specialized knowledge for broader audiences. She emphasizes the need for accessibility, and not “dumbing down” tough information. She explains techniques like “laddering” and analogies help make complex ideas relatable and memorable. She also talks about reading the room, adapting to your audience’s emotional state, and assuming people don’t care—engagement requires intentionality.
Ruth and Suzanne recall a past coaching experience that illustrates how awareness and pivoting in the moment are key skills.
🧰 Conclusion (36:20)
Ruth expresses her commitment to continuous learning and gratitude to those who trust her with their growth journey.
Listen to this episode of Purpose for Life for these insights and many more!
