In this audiobook chapter of Speaking Story, host Sally Koering Zimney walks listeners through the process of becoming a storyteller. She opens with a personal anecdote about a corporate workshop where a participant named Jean initially resisted the exercise, calling the facilitator “hate you,” but through reframing the task as a teaching moment, Jean delivered a powerful 2‑minute story and gained confidence. Sally uses this story to illustrate that anyone can become a speaker by simply doing the work, regardless of self‑label. She then discusses another client, Tanya, who prefers the title “facilitator” over “speaker,” prompting a conversation about the fluid boundaries between speakers, facilitators, teachers, and workshop leaders. Sally visualizes these overlaps with a Venn diagram that shows workshops and keynotes share storytelling, inspiration, and educational content, differing mainly in format. The core message is that the shift to a speaker identity is internal: believing you belong, trusting your voice, and taking action despite doubt. Throughout, she promotes free resources—the Movers Roadmap, Power Pitching Push audio series, and the Unspeaker Simple Storytelling Mini‑Course—to help listeners move from aspiration to a paid speaking career. The episode ends with a call to action to access the ad‑free audiobook and the mini‑course.
Chapters
I think I just realized why I have a crink in my neck. Welcome back, everybody, to the audiobook version of Speaking Story here on This Moved Me. We are walking chapter by chapter through the book here for free on your podcast feed and on YouTube. But if you want to skip past some of the extra talky-talky, you can go get the ad-free version over on Audible, and that would be amazing too. But I think it's kind of fun. I'm so glad that you're here because I get to add just a little bit of commentary and tell you a little bit more about not just the process of doing this, but kind of what has even happened since we pulled this book together, because it has been, it has been a bit. And one of my— in this chapter, you're going to hear one of my all-time favorite stories of what— it's happened more than once, but this particular time in the middle of a workshop on storytelling, I had a really, really powerful moment with one of the attendees. I think it's actually a pretty incredible moment. I guess speaking was not on her bucket list. She had to be there. She had to be there. And she was only because she had to be there, not 'cause she had any interest in doing this thing. And I, I, I'm not afraid of a resistant audience, a hesitant audience. I worked with teenagers for a long time. It's great training. To continue to stay open and meet them where they're at. But it is still humbling when somebody is like, "I hate this." But because she stuck with it, some really incredible things happened. And really, truly, she became someone who tells stories. I can't wait for you to hear what happened. So this chapter is about what it actually means to do that, to become a person who does this. And the becoming is, I think, much simpler than we tend to think. I can't wait. Let's go!
Hey everybody, and welcome to This Moved Me, a podcast about creating talks that move the world. With me, your host, Sally Koering Zimney.
This complimentary episode of the Speaking Story audiobook is brought to you in part by the Movers Collective. If you are listening to a book about speaking stories, I have a feeling you already know that you have a message worth sharing.
Maybe you've been on a stage or two.
Maybe it's still just a dream kind of sitting in your chest waiting. Either way, I want you to know that there is a real path from where you are right now to a speaking career that actually pays, one that fits your life, your message, and the change that you want to make in the world. That path starts with two free resources I wanna give you. The first is the Movers Roadmap. This is a clear-eyed look at what it actually takes to build a career as a professional speaker. The second is an audio series that I recorded live, and this developed with my own clients, and it's called the Power Pitching Push. And in this series, I walk you through exactly how to pitch yourself as a speaker so that you can get some gigs. You will get a real taste of what it's like to work with me. Both are free. Go grab them. Sally-z.com/path. Sally-z.com/path.
And when you're ready to go all in, The Movers Collective is where we can take you from talented to professional. All right, now let's get into the show. Chapter 9: How do you become someone who tells stories? Great stories happen to those who can tell them. Ira Glass. One time I was leading a multi-day workshop with one of my corporate clients, helping them learn this persuasive story framework. It was day 2, and the participants had been practicing what I call a 2-minute talk to share with the group. This was not a group of speakers. Rather, this was a group of middle managers who had been asked to level up their speaking and communication skills, and most of them did not have speaking on their bucket list. But by this point in this particular workshop, I've generally lowered the bar for folks and let them know that any action and risk they take is appreciated and that they're probably better at this than than they think. There was a buzz in the air when I walked in that day. People were feeling nervous, unsure. A few of them seemed excited. I chatted with a handful of people who were asking for my advice on their short talks and joking around. And then I saw Jean. She was sitting at her table, arms crossed, and she looked, well, angry. I took a deep breath and walked over to Jean to see what was up. I've learned not to assume anything about people's body language and reactions because more often than not, people are not thinking about me or my experiences nearly as much as I think they are. She could have been tired. She could have been worried about something at home. She could have been confused and in need of some clarity. But nope. She was angry. At me. "Hey, Jean," I said. "How's it going?" "Not good," she answered.
"Okay, what's up?
Anything I can help with?" "Well," she paused and then went on a short passionate tirade, "I hate this. I hate that you're making me do this, and frankly, I hate you for making me do it. I do not want to be here. I just want to leave." This is not the first time I've heard "I hate you" from one of my speakers. I don't take it personally. In fact, I find it kind of endearing because I know they're facing big fears, and I see it as a sign of courage to even voice those fears. I could see the fear reverberating off Jean. She could hardly even look at me. I said, "Jean, I hear you. I know this isn't your thing, and that's okay." She shot back, "You just love speaking. You're so happy and extroverted. It doesn't mean the rest of us do." She was right. I do love speaking, and yes, it's probably kind of annoying. So I duly noted that she needed to hear more about how it's hard for me sometimes. I hung in there before replying, "Yeah, that's fair. I know it can be kind of annoying if I'm enjoying this when it's not fun for you, but I want you to know that some of the best speakers I know are introverts, and there are a million ways you can do this. You don't have to do it like how I do it. Can you tell me a bit more about what you're nervous about because I I guarantee you that everybody in here is also feeling the nerves, just like I do when I speak. She turned to me, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "I am not a speaker and I don't wanna be a speaker." Jean, I promise I'm not here to make you a speaker, but you are speaking. Is there another way of thinking about this that might help? She looked at me blankly. I tried again. Like when you're with your team and leading a meeting, you're speaking then, What do you call that? Jean paused for a moment, then said, "Teaching. I'm a teacher in those moments." Bingo, I thought. I can work with that.
Okay, I love that.
You're a teacher. Okay, what if you thought of this 2-minute talk today as a teaching moment? It's just you being a teacher. No judgment, no expectations for wow or polish or performance. It's just you teaching. She thought about that a minute. "Okay, that feels a little better. I'll maybe do it. Maybe." I took that as a major win and said, "Great, no pressure. If you decide to do it, then doing it is the goal, okay? You as teacher." I sensed I had gotten Jean as far as I was going to take her, so I left her to check on the other participants. When it came time to have people share their 2-minute talks, one of the last people to get up It was Jean, and let me tell you, it was awesome. Powerful, intentional, story-driven, perspective-shaping. She was grounded, thoughtful, and so courageous. Her colleagues cheered, and I could not help but give her the biggest hug. She reluctantly let me. And I could tell she was so stinking proud of herself, as she should have been.
She didn't call herself a speaker, but she indeed was one.
More importantly, in her speaking, she became a thought leader. She came up to me afterward and said, "I really thought I was going to hate that, but thank you." We become by doing, and the only way there is through. Whatever you call it as you do it, doing it is how we become. We have a lot of terms in this speaking world: speaker, facilitator, teacher, workshop leader, etc. To me, if you're speaking, whatever the context may be, you're a speaker. And if you're speaking with a story-driven message and with the aim to change perspective, you're a thought leader. One of my other speakers, Tanya, had had speaking on her bucket list for for years. As an entrepreneur, she hired me with the dream of getting on bigger stages and spent a full year with me learning the nuances of creating, delivering, and scaling her story-based signature message. Even with speaking on the big stages on her vision board, and even after investing her time and finances to hire me as her coach, Tanya would still pause whenever I'd encourage her to call herself a speaker. She'd say, "I'm not a speaker. I'm a facilitator." "What's the difference?" I'd ask. She'd answer, "I feel really comfortable in the workshops I do because I can lean on what I know and interact with the audience. Then I'm not being a speaker. I totally trust myself in those moments. It feels like I can just be me without performing." "How is speaking on stage different?" I asked her once. I mean, I don't want a keynote speaker who doesn't interact with the audience any more than I want a workshop facilitator who doesn't know how to inspire and share a powerful message. We want both in both circumstances, just perhaps at different levels based on the context. Then I pulled out a piece of paper and I drew one of my all-time favorite teaching tools, the Venn diagram. This one was for workshops and keynotes, and the two circles overlapped a lot. Both require story and inspiration. Both require some educational, tactical teaching. For example, the message and the idea you're sharing. But how you do that can lean more toward a workshop style, even in a keynote setting, or more toward a keynote style, even in a workshop setting. Each context will call for something a little different. The reality is, no matter what title you have or give yourself, truly becoming and embracing the title of speaker is an internal shift. It turns out that the tactics and skills of speaking aren't all that different in these contexts, —even if you're on stage under bright lights and suddenly feel like a total impostor. The internal shift is about believing that you belong in that moment, that you have something to say, and that your voice and story matter. It's about doing the personal, internal work so that you know, on a deep level, that it's okay to take up this space, that it's okay to be seen, that it's okay to be heard. There will be days when you'll question this truth. You'll wonder if this level of power and influence is truly within your capability. Here's a hint: it is. You'll forget that it has nothing to do with how perfectly you show up, but simply in that you do show up. You'll doubt that you are worthy or as skilled or as awesome as what you think is required. And guess what? You are. You won't believe it, but you have to take action anyway. There are days when I question all of this too, so keep in mind that you'll have to teach yourself the profound and simple process of finding self-trust again and again, because once you do, you can move your audience with your story.
That's the end of this chapter of Speaking Story. If you want to keep listening ad-free, you can find the full audiobook on Audible or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube. And if this chapter stirred something in you, if it, shall we say, moved you, let me suggest that you start with the Unspeaker Simple Storytelling Audio Mini Course. At Sally-Koering Zimney.com/unspeaker.
All right, movers, this moved me. What is moving you? See you next time.
