In this conversational segment, the speakers argue that effective public speaking is fundamentally about treating the stage as a performance space rather than a platform for self‑promotion. They stress the importance of reverence for the audience, generosity of energy, and authentic humility. A concrete illustration is provided through the story of author‑speaker Joseph Wynn, whose genuine, mission‑driven delivery at a Nashville author event moved a room of seasoned speakers, embodying the principles of performer mindset and emotional impact. The discussion also references speech coach Vin Zhang’s advice on influencing through generous energy and cites Maya Angelou’s insight that audiences remember how they felt rather than the exact words spoken.
You are not a speaker, you are a performer. And I think the presenters who understand we are performers and have reverence for the stage crush it. The people who think they're delivering a speech, it's a different tonality. The people that don't have reverence for the stage and, and they think this is a selling platform or an opportunity for them to pat themselves on the back, stink. But the people who say, I am here to care for this audience, to educate, to entertain, to enact, to empower, all those things, those are the people that inevitably crush it regardless of their style. Those are the ones who crush it.
I had seen a, a video of a speech coach. I think his name is Vin Zhang, and he said, if you wanna influence someone, it's through the generosity of energy that you give people.
I'll give you a speaker who's that guy who— good luck getting him to speak. His name is Joseph Winn. You can look for his book. It's Don't Believe Everything You Think. It is wildly popular. Joseph did a presentation in front of 30 authors. He didn't say this, but he doesn't do public speaking. He's like, I'm not interested. If the situation mandates it, I'll do it, but not interested. Not his words. He goes up, he delivers a speech. He moved our audience of authors. This was an author-speaker event. Like, everyone there was a pro speaker. Like, you could go to any person in that audience and say, give me an You got 5 minutes and no problem. Yeah, got it. It's in my bag. Joseph went up there and blew all of us out of the water. I'm the guy moderating this event and hosting this in front of everyone. Knock me over. I'm falling down the hill. I wet my pants. I think he was so good. And the reason was just pure genuineness. He's like, I'm out on a mission to fix this world and the mental health challenges we have. And I discovered myself with my struggles, things that worked and things that didn't. And here's what I found and here's what it is. And I hope it serves you. All he cared was that this group was moved and took action on it. He's extraordinarily humble. He's introverted. He didn't even necessarily fit in the way he presented himself. Like, it was the middle of August in Nashville, 100 degrees. He's wearing a cardigan. It's like, my God, this guy. And he owned it. At the end of that event, if you did not love Joseph Wynn, you were not a human being. Right. Everyone fell in love with him and his message. I think it was Maya Angelou. I'm gonna mess up what she said. She said, people won't remember what you said. They'll remember how you made them feel. I'll never forget how Joseph made me feel in that moment. And he actually— you asked me who my favorite speaker is. It's now Joseph Wynn.
