In this solo episode of the "This Moved Me" podcast, host Sally Koering Zimney introduces Speaking Truth #4, part of an email‑course series that distills her public‑speaking philosophy. After briefly recapping the first three truths—authenticity equals connection, perfection kills connection, and becoming an "unspeaker"—Sally explains why stories are the most powerful tool for creating empathy. She draws on her former work coaching speakers for school audiences, recounting a vivid moment when a speaker’s factual “blah‑blah‑blah” segment left a room of 150 seventh‑graders restless, but the moment the speaker shifted to a story the audience fell silent and engaged. Sally argues that stories bypass the brain’s categorizing impulse, allowing listeners to inhabit another’s experience before judging it, which lights up empathy‑related brain regions. She offers practical guidance: start with a story, then follow quickly (within about 30 seconds) with the core message, and asks listeners reflective questions about how often they use stories, what challenges they face, and how to make space for storytelling in business contexts. The episode ends with a teaser for Speaking Truth #5, emphasizing that speaking reveals personal truth.
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Hey everybody, and welcome to This Moved Me, a podcast about creating talks that move the world. With me, your host, Sally Koering Zimney. Together with some fabulous guests, we will have a casual conversation about the art of public speaking, because a good talk can move the world, and it'll be fun. Yeah, I would think making alien cows meaningful. That's not a small task. I love your giggle. Wow. Oh my gosh. So, waiting for everybody to figure out the alphabet. Hey movers, it's Sally and it's time for the Speaking Truth #4. If you're not aware, if you're just jumping in right here, this is a series series we are in the middle of, the Speaking Truths series, which is also an email course over on my website. You can find at thismovedme.com. And the email version of this has some other resources connected in here, and it's got some fun little visuals that I made, but, but very similar messages. And I, I just want— I wanted to share it with my listening community here too. So we are on Speaking Truth Number 4. The first 3 were, as just a recap, Speaking Truth 1 is speaking plus authenticity equals connection. Speaking Truth 2, perfection kills connection. Perfection out. Speaking Truth Number 3, be an un-speaker. Whatever those ideas are that are getting in the way, that are getting in the way of you really embracing your role as a speaker. Forget 'em. Just be an unspeaker. And today, speaking truth number 4: Stories are the pathway to empathy. Hmm. So in my former life, before I was doing this full-time, I worked for an organization that worked with schools all over the country, and I spent several years myself out speaking to hundreds of students every day, and I was coaching probably close to 20 speakers who were each giving probably anywhere between 2 and 7 talks. So it was just a really rich experience, and I learned a ton about not just speaking but about coaching. And I remember as I was coaching, I remember I was sitting in the back of this room and watching one of my speakers up front speaking in front of like 150 7th graders. When she'd be, you know, in 7th, these are 7th graders, so man, 7th graders are an amazing test audience because if they're not with you, they make it really obvious, and when they are with you, they are so with you. It's really kind of amazing. So I remember sitting in the back of the room and watching Sally Koering Zimney, one of my speakers up front, and when she'd be sharing what we were all here to be doing, kind of more the talky-talky stuff or why it was important, and it was kind of like the blah blah blah part, it was like watching all these heads in the back. It was like squirmy squirmy squirmy. I mean, it was just movement. These 150 heads were just like, mm-gum-gum-gum-gum-gum-gum, just like crazy. But then she'd start telling a story and it was like, whoo! They would stop. They were taken in, they were curious, they were interested. And the difference was stark. And it was almost, it was almost funny how a story would pull them in. And I used to say, we'd tell a story and then I'd say, "You've got like 30 seconds after that story to offer your beautiful gold wisdom that we have crafted, because then they're going to be uninterested again. So you have a really short amount of time." So that's what we ended up doing. We started switching it around. We started with story and then followed up with the very important blah blah blah, and suddenly they cared a lot more about the blah blah blah. So before our thinking brains kick in and start defining things for us, like categorizing things and deciding what they think, which is what our brains do, it's what they're wired to do, wired to do, is like try and make sense of of everything that you're saying, and sometimes they're making sense of it in a way that you don't want them to. And the story— move beyond. Stories live outside category and definition, so it allows your audience to step into another person's experience without first deciding if they agree with them or not. Whoo! Oh my gosh, that's so important, especially right now in our world. Story is our most powerful tool to reach out to people who may not be interested in our ideas. And engaging those who already are. So when we share a story and we share it well, because that's important, our audience begins to imagine that story in their own brain. They begin to see it and sometimes they begin to feel it too. There's some really cool brain science that shows how this works and like what areas of the brain light up, but the bottom line is this: stories are the pathway to empathy. And I can't think of a more important tool for us as leaders and changemakers and speakers and unspeakers in this age of so much division. So some questions for you to ask yourself. Story is a really hot topic right now and important. How much do you really use story in your presentations? And especially in the business world, I think there's some hesitation to really use story. So how often do you really use it? And what's the hardest part about storytelling for you? Is it the craft of writing it or delivering it, finding good stories? Or is it just really believing and making space for them? When what so many of us want to do is talk at people. And the truth is that there is so much talking that happens in a story that speaks way more clearly and loudly. All right, that is it for the Speaking Truth #4. Story: pathway to empathy now more than ever. Let's do it! Next up, speaking truth number 5. Ooh, this is a big one. Speaking brings us to the truth of ourselves. Dang! I know, it's big. Test, test, test, test, one, two. I think it's working. It's a miracle.
