In this podcast episode Sally Koering Zimney walks listeners through Chapter 35 of her book Speaking Story, focusing on how speakers can intentionally use physical and virtual space to amplify their storytelling. She argues that body language and spatial positioning convey sub‑text that often outweighs spoken words, and she explains why many speakers overlook this dimension. The episode outlines several real‑world stage configurations (podium, circle, tables, coffee‑shop style) and virtual layouts (slide‑dominant, grid of faces, split‑screen) and describes the audience expectations each setup creates. Sally offers a practical checklist for preparing a space—touring the venue, considering lighting, microphone type, table arrangement, timing, and audience fatigue—and encourages speakers to advocate for changes that serve the audience experience. Interspersed are short testimonials from Carrie, Tony, and Todd, who describe how Sally’s coaching improved their presence, confidence, and ability to connect. The episode closes with promotional calls for the Be Moved Institute and the $49 Unspeaker Simple Storytelling course.
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Yes, please work. No, I'll continue with SO.
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Hey team, and welcome back to this Bookmate where we are walking through the book, Speaking of Story, a book that I wrote. That means I'm the author. Why was that so awkward? I don't know, but hello everybody and welcome back. My name is Sally Koering Zimney. I am a keynote speaker, an author, and coach, and we are walking together part by part, chapter by chapter through my book, Speaking Story, because I want the world to get their hands on these ideas and then go play with them out in the world, which means at some point it's not just theory and it's not just beautiful content creation, but what happens when we put this content in our body? At some point we have to think about how to move. And whoop, the stage is one of those places where people really don't know how to use it and how to leverage it, where to move and how to move. So in this chapter, we're talking about spatial awareness, the physical space that you're in, whatever size it is, that will enhance your presence and deepen your story because Most of us don't think about this, but we are, we are constantly cueing our audience into the subtext of what we're saying. Where you stand tells your audience something about your content, your relationship to that content, what you want them to think about that content, uh, how you feel about it, um, really what you're saying, even if you're not saying it, because we all know we listen to the body more then we believe the words. We believe the body. And one of the cool realities is that the body tells the truth. We cannot hide. You just cannot hide. The body will tell people where you're really at, uh, unless you're super skilled actor. But most of the time, the body reveals us. And so we want to know and be intentional about how we are using our body and using this space, and you can use your space in some ways to support your message. Even if you're, you yourself are like, "Man, I'm feeling really nervous, but I know that this is important. So even if my instinct right now is to step away, subconsciously move away because I'm nervous and my body's saying something that we are not intending to say." We've gotta really think intentionally about what we do want to say. And if you want people to know that it's important, you move towards them.
You step closer to them.
It's one way to almost trick yourself into feeling differently and thinking differently and ensuring that you're not accidentally saying something you do not mean to say. Oh my gosh, it's so cool. I can't wait. So let's do it. Whoop whoop.
Yeah.
I hope you're ready. Let's dive in.
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 listening of the Speaking Story audiobook is brought to you in part by the Be Moved Institute, or as I like to call it, Be Me.
I'm going to let a few people speak for me here.
First, Carrie, a senior leader who brought this work inside her organization.
As a leader in my organization, I am often in a position to be in front of people presenting to clients, running meetings, being asked to speak at a conference, moderate a panel. And working with Sally has really helped me hone my skills, specifically presence, my confidence, my warmth and competence on stage, and really has set me up for success to be a more confident representative for my company. So the ROI is incredible and really sets her apart. It's a repeatable system. Working with Sally has really changed our game.
And then there's Tony, a former Fortune 500 executive.
Regular speaking coaches is getting you, you know, here's how you package the message and here, be sure to stand over here, you know. Sally's brand is all about move, right? So be moved. And so she helps you to communicate from human to human and back.
And Todd.
She really focuses on each individual and what they need to get to the next place. She's so in tune with the moment and what you need at that moment that she individualizes everyone's journey. She calls herself a professional nudger. That is what she does. She keeps pushing in the most loving way possible.
The Be Moved Institute exists to bring this work into organizations at scale.
The real work of helping your leaders communicate with clarity, courage, and genuine human connection. If that's something your organization needs, I want to talk to you. Join the waitlist at sally-z.com/institute. And if you want to start right now, today, for $49, the Unspeaker Simple Storytelling course is at sally-z.com/unspeaker.
And that'll get you started. Now let's get into the chapter. Chapter 35: Using the Stage and the Space. "We owe it to each other to tell stories." Neil Gaiman. We as speakers spend a lot of time thinking about the words and the content, but we also need to think about the space. The space is how we bring the speaking to life. It's one of the most important elements of your preparation anytime you get to speak, whether you're standing around the Thanksgiving table to share a story, you're in front of your staff, or you're up on a stage to share a moment under the spotlight. How the audience is sitting and where you are in relation to them can change the way the content feels and is experienced in profound ways. If you were an audience member and you walked into a room set up Like each of the following scenarios, what is the space telling you about the experience you're about to have? Let's imagine you walk into the room. There is a podium up front and rows of chairs. I would guess then that means this first scenario is kind of passive, right? The audience is gonna listen. There's one person up front. That person has all the knowledge and is the talker. Okay, let's imagine you walk into a room and the chairs are in a circle, and the quote-unquote speaker is simply sitting in one of them. Hmm, I would imagine you walk into that room and you know, okay, we're going to be sharing. This is going to be collaborative. We are all equal. What if you walk into the room and there are tables with 6 to 8 people around each table? Well, yep, I would guess that this is gonna be some group work. You're gonna be talking together, maybe more of a workshop scenario. What if you walk into a coffee shop and speaker number 1 is on one side of the table and you are about to be speaker number 2 on the other side of the table? Or you walk in and now you're not sitting across from each other, but you're sitting next to each other. What do each of these setups tell you? The space is telling you something. It's telling you something about your status, your relationship. Are you equals? Are you competitive? Are you collaborating? And if you're in a virtual setting, the space still matters and you can still be intentional about how it's set up. Okay, let's imagine 3 different virtual scenarios. Scenario 1: The camera's focused on a giant slide, but your head is in there. It's just a tiny little box in the corner. How about scenario 2? There are 30 heads and a grid, and you're one of them. How about the third scenario, where half of the screen is the slide and and half of the screen is the speaker. Let's compare those three scenarios. How big are you versus your slides? Where are the people who are your audience? Or are your slides or your content delivering the message? Even beyond how you set up your space, there are many elements that can change the feel of the room and the experience that you cultivate. Is there a screen? Are slides even necessary? How are you going to interact with the audience if you are? Will you have a microphone? If so, what kind of microphone? How will the tables be set up? Do you want discussion at some point? Do you want to encourage or discourage interaction between you and the audience or between the audience members? Where will the sun be shining into the room and how will that affect the temperature in the room? At what time are you sharing this story? Will your audience be tired because they just ate lunch? Who spoke before you, if at all? What was their story or content like? There are a million things that can affect space, and all of those elements affect how you show up and deliver your story. It's essential that you find out as much as you can about the space and all of the elements that happen in and around the space so that you can intentionally create the kind of experience you want for your audience. Ideally, you'll wanna do a walkthrough of the space, either virtual or in person beforehand. You'll need to feel the space so that you can do two things: mentally prepare yourself and think about the space from your audience's perspective. From there, you can ask yourself, "Is this space creating the kind of experience I want for my audience?" If something is going to make that experience more difficult, I encourage you to adjust what doesn't work for you. You do not have to accept that the tables are set up in a classroom style, which is my least favorite setup, just because that's how the event planners have it set up. It's okay to be a respectful pain in the butt if it will significantly impact the experience of your audience. Do not be afraid of advocating for the experience of the people in the room. I love the stage, but that might not resonate with you. We might not be speaking often in the traditional sense of "stage," but that may be the dream for you. The dark theater, the spotlight on you, 1,000 people applauding.
Huh.
It's pretty great. I'm not gonna lie. But even if you're not going to stand on that kind of stage, thinking about how to use a stage like that is helpful in any delivery or performance. That is the end of this chapter of Speaking the Story.
If you want to find the full audiobook ad-free, you can go grab that over on Audible, or you can subscribe right where you're at right now so you never miss the next episode. And if what Carrie, Tony, Todd described earlier sounds like something your leaders need, that ability to get clear, to connect, and actually move the people they're leading, That's exactly what the Be Moved Institute is built for. It is not a one-and-done workshop, it's a system. So join the waitlist over at sally-z.com/institute, or if you wanna start right now, go grab that Unspeaker course for $49 at sally-z.com/unspeaker.
All right, movers, this moved me. What is moving you? See you next time.
