Vishen LakhianiFounder of Mindvalley | NYT Bestselling Author | Transforming Lives Globally

How to Speak So People Actually Listen

6 Mar 2025 · 1 min

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A brief transcript excerpt in which the speaker demonstrates that meaning depends less on the literal words and more on the tone. Using the identical sentence—"I saw Steve and Sandy at the mall the other day, and they were alone"—the speaker presents two deliveries to show how tone changes listener interpretation.

Chapters

It's not what you say or how you say it. It's what they hear. Two examples. I want you to hear the words and simply the tone. Just listen to the words and tone. This is case number one. I saw Steve and Sandy at the mall the other day, and they were alone. So just with those words and the tone in which it was delivered, you're thinking, linda, big deal. People go to the mall all the time. But what if I delivered it in this manner? Same words, but different tone. And it goes like this. I saw Steve and Sandy at the mall the other day, and they were alone. Same words, but different tone.