In this excerpt from Chapter 34 of the Speaking Story audiobook, host Sally Koering Zimney explains the concept of "integration" as an alternative to rote memorization for public speaking. She defines integration as the process of moving a speech from the head into the body, making the content personal, embodied, and "on‑book" rather than strictly scripted. Sally contrasts memorization (knowing exact words in order) with integration (knowing meaning, feeling the words, and being able to let go and be present). She shares personal anecdotes—her year‑long journey to integrate a youth‑organization talk, and how Elizabeth Gilbert spent six months walking and speaking aloud to integrate her TED Talk. She also discusses the challenges of integrating content that isn’t originally yours, the role of notes or cues (being "on book" but still integrated), and the benefits of integration for audience connection. Interspersed are promotional mentions of the Be Moved Institute and her Unspeaker Simple Storytelling course, plus a brief endorsement from a former Fortune‑500 executive, Tony. The segment ends with a call‑to‑action to explore the Unspeaker course and the Institute for deeper work.
Chapters
Whoop whoop, team! Oh, oh shoot. Why do I have to log in again? What's happening here? Okay, welcome back everybody to This Speaking Story audiobook coming to you live. Well, not actually live because obviously this was prerecorded. But it's live for me right now, and it's live for you right now as you're listening to it, wherever you're listening to it, whether you are listening on your podcast feed or over on YouTube. I'm so glad that you're here. And we are on part 6, the final part of the book Speaking Story. And hello, my name is Sally Koering Zimney. I am a keynote speaker, an author, and a coach. And through this audiobook and actually through the 350+ episodes that were here before this, I have been, I hope, bringing to you interesting, insightful conversations and ideas to help you show up with more authenticity and clarity and courage while you leverage your message to move this world. Because I really believe that a good talk can move the world. And that is partly why I'm bringing this to you free. Yes, you can go get the ad-free version over on Audible. Right now, but if you want the, and enjoy the extra chit-chat, then you're in the right place. And we're on chapter 34 as we move through this, which is all about integration. And first we should probably get a definition of integration. This is my version of an alternative to memorization because memorization often trips people up unless you're a trained actor and you have a lot of time to really take these words from a script on a page and bring them into your body. Memorization is something that just happens in the head, but integration happens in the body. It makes it real for you. It makes it personal. It's personalizing the content. And so we're gonna just talk a little bit about the difference there between those two things and some ideas on how to do that. Uh, and this is some of my favorite, favorite shifts that, that come to life. Like theoretically, I hope you've gotten a sense that I approach things really differently than a lot of people, but practically it's like, please don't bother with memorization. Just don't do it. Don't do it. You might end up actually becoming fairly memorized., but that is not the goal. And we absolutely, most of the time, most of us don't have that kind of time or even the skills and ability to do that skillfully. You know what I mean? I think you know what I mean.
Okay.
Amazing. So, um, this is another short and sweet chapter here. And then we're going to get into, in the next chapter, we're going to talk about using the stage, which is so fun and so cool. Amazing. But here we are, Chapter 34, Integration, the story, the voice, the body, the message.
Oof.
They don't have to feel like separate things that you're managing. Integration is about rallying all of these elements together and getting them to work on behalf of your audience and the message that they need. Whoop.
Okay.
My gosh. So fun.
Ready?
Let's do this.
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. What we also call Be Me. And I want you to hear something from Tony, former Fortune 500 executive who came to me at a real turning point in his life and his message.
You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you're not clear, if you don't come through clearly, then none of that matters. But in the end, are you connecting? Are you really moving people? And that's what Sally teaches.
Tony also said that working together brought him, his words, out of the shadows and into the light. That is the work. And here's the thing, leadership almost always comes with a microphone, a meeting, a board presentation, a conference keynote you didn't exactly volunteer for. And most leaders have never had anyone actually help them find their story. Not just polish their slides. And that's exactly what I built the Unspeaker Simple Storytelling course for. It's audio only, so you can do it on a walk or in your car. It's $49, just enough to get you going. And it is the fastest way I know to help you find the leadership stories that are already inside you. You can get started at Sally-Koering Zimney. Sallykoeringzimney.com/unspeaker, and when you're ready to go deeper, come find us at sally-z.com/institute.
Now let's get into the chapter. Chapter 34: Integration. The world isn't just the way it is, it is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it, no? Doesn't that make life a story? Yann Martel, Life of Pi. Speaking is not just about what we say.
It's also about how we say it.
Many people think that to do this craft well, you have to memorize your script and then magically you'll deliver it better. Listen though, even trained actors take a big ol' leap from memorized to performing it well. That leap crosses a much wider gap than most people think. For her brilliant, beautiful, and one of my all-time favorite TED Talks, author Elizabeth Gilbert walked the roads by her house for 6 months, talking out loud while she memorized her speech to really let it sink into her body, mind, and spirit. She was going for something deeper than simply knowing the exact words and saying them in a very specific order. Because saying the same words in a very specific order and without wavering, that is memorization. Instead, we are going for what Elizabeth Gilbert was going for: integration. Integration means that you don't just know the right words in the right order, you know what they mean. You know them in your body. They are a part of you. And they have become a part of you. Off Book. At the youth organization where I worked for over a decade, I spent years giving the same talk day in and day out. Within about a half dozen times, I had it memorized. I would change it a little bit every time because I was playing with something, getting feedback, or adjusting things, but on the whole, it was memorized. Same words, same order. It wasn't until the second year that I really understood what integration means. I had been giving that talk long enough that I finally really believed what I was saying and meant it in a different way. I felt it in a different way. It was in me in a different way. It took an entire year. As I look back, one of the reasons why it took so long for me to get to integration with my talk had to do with me, as a person. It came down to my maturity and my understanding of what I was really talking about because it wasn't my content, but rather the organizational content. The ideas had been given to me, and the process of integration can take a little bit longer when you are personalizing content that isn't yours to begin with. It can take a while for you to really believe it, embody it, and integrate it. But that second year, it felt like a completely different talk. It meant so much more to me. And unsurprisingly, it was a much more impactful talk at that point too. On book. Here's where things can get tricky. Unlike my time speaking to teenagers, when I was integrating content I had memorized, you can integrate content that you don't have memorized. You might be what we actors call "on book." or working from notes, your script, or other helpful safety nets. What I mean by that is you've got an outline or slides or your script in front of you. When I go live in my groups or do a virtual keynote or webinar, I've got Post-it notes on the wall behind the camera showing me what's happening when, and so I can see what's next. I've also got other cues around so that I don't have to do this memorized and so that I can connect with the audience more. I may be on book, but I know the content so well that it's integrated. Integration isn't about doing it perfectly. It's about knowing your content so well that you can let go and be really present with the audience in the moment. It might take a lot of time to get there, or if you're sharing a story about something that you know really well, you're essentially in your second year of knowing it. It doesn't take much time to get integrated for things that we have lived and experienced because we've spent all this time knowing it, feeling it, and living it. Integration Beyond Memorization. Memorization is basic. I know the right words in the right order, and I'm focused on getting it right. Integration is about why it matters and what it means. It's about speaking more from the body, It is such a powerful shift to let go of the goal of memorization and get to the place where your content is so integrated into who you are that you can show up and let go, bringing yourself fully to the moment and whatever may happen in it.
That's the end of this chapter of Speaking the Story. You can find the full audiobook ad-free on Audible or subscribe so that the next one drops right between your feet. And if anything in this chapter stirred something in you, that feeling of, "I have more to say than I'm currently saying," that is the feeling I want you to follow. The Unspeaker Simple Storytelling course is $49, and it is literally like having me in your back pocket on a walk. So start there. Go to sally-zimney.com/unspeaker. And when you wanna go further, we are here for you at sally-koering-zimney.com/institute.
All right, movers. This moved me. What is moving you? See you next time.
