In this inspiring episode, Ruth joins host Julie Berman on the Women with Cool Jobs podcast to discuss her mission to help professionals transform complex ideas into captivating stories. With nearly 40 years in communication-focused roles ranging from political speechwriting to executive pitch coaching, she shares her journey from a college speech major to becoming a leader in public speaking education.
Ruth dives into her work coaching scientists, executives, and professionals to share technical knowledge in relatable, audience-centric ways. She emphasizes storytelling as a bridge that sparks curiosity, not just information delivery. Her coaching philosophy is grounded in helping people form strong speaking habits, prioritize clarity, and make the audience the hero of the story.
Ruth outlines six threshold concepts of effective public speaking, and offers actionable advice: record yourself, reflect before asking for feedback, and make slides visually supportive rather than content-heavy.
The Motivated Speaker encapsulates these principles. She champions the idea that with practice and intentional feedback, anyone—not just “natural” speakers—can become a confident and impactful communicator.
Introduction (00:01)
Julie and Ruth tackle Ruth’s TEDx experience and how it helped narrow her coaching niche to translating complex information into accessible narratives, founding Articulation and the birth of her communication coaching business.
Accessible and Inclusive Speaking (24:49)
The women cover how to take complex information and research data and simplify it without dumbing down for a lay audience.
Threshold Concepts (34:43)
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, which they tested with clients.
Ruth shares how the book was designed to be accessible to both professionals and everyday speakers.
Practice and Preparation (42:53)
Ruth offers tips and advice to make learnings more powerful and sticky and the dos and don’ts of slides.
Check it out to hear Ruth’s favorite tip to make your presentation memorable!
