In the 48th episode of the DesignRush Podcast, 3x TEDx speaker and renowned public speaking coach Nausheen I. Chen teaches us what it means to speak as a leader and the surprising benefits that go along with that.
Nausheen tells us how to speak with authority and how this skill can lead to better career opportunities, build inner confidence, and boost business growth in the long run.
Tune in to the show to learn:
- How to go from intense feelings of impostor syndrome to building true confidence
- How speaking as a leader helps you grow your brand
- Why companies should support their employees in becoming confident speakers
Who Is Nausheen I. Chen?
Nausheen is a 3-time TEDx speaker and an award-winning filmmaker. She works as a communication skills trainer at Fortune 50 P&G and has been recognized by LinkedIn as an Official Instructor for public speaking courses. She coached 8-figure entrepreneurs to speak with influence, including 350+ execs at Google, Amazon, SAP, AT&T, IBM, and Twitch.
What does it mean to speak as a leader?
We know that great leaders often exhibit things like clarity, confidence, and charisma when they speak.
But beyond these well-known traits, what can we do to not only improve on these skills but hone in on what makes us unique in our authentic authority?
"It's that act of stepping into those shoes and realizing that your words have power. You cannot be invisible anymore. You have to use your words and deliver them in a way that makes the most impact," Nausheen tells me.
Firstly, public speaking skills increase annual salaries by 10% and are becoming more and more important for career growth.
Seeing dollar signs?
Not so fast, you're going to have to learn to be a compelling speaker first. One that not only communicates well but also knows how to elevate their professional stature.
"It's about how you're delivering the message because you can have the best words, but if you're delivering them in a monotone, if you're not expressing anything if you're not touching people emotionally, then the words are going to be lost and wasted, " Nausheen notes.
Do you know what one of the most important factors of great communication is?
I'll give you a hint: it isn't how much you say or even what the content of you're saying — it's about your delivery.
If you want to do public speaking right, you have to incorporate emotional engagement that resonates with your audience, making the message much more memorable and impactful.
In addition to this, projecting confidence is often perceived as a sign of competence when addressing an audience.
As Nausheen explains: "For the longest time, I found it fairly easy to project that confidence without feeling that inner confidence, without feeling that conviction."
"I'd go on stage and do this talk or presentation, get applause. People would tell me later, wow, you're so confident. And in my head, I would just think, yeah, I can project it. You perceive me as confident, but I'm not confident."
Interestingly, what Nausheen mentions here reveals a common gap in public speaking — feeling confident internally versus projecting confidence externally. You know, faking it until you make it?
Yeah, it doesn't work as well as people seem to think it does. (Don't worry, I'm guilty of this too).
Key to Leadership Communication – Feel Confident and Project It
"I very often get clients who are so painfully aware of their opportunity areas that they completely neglect the fact that they might have natural strengths that they've developed over time, that if they can just lean into, they can become exceptional in those areas," Nausheen adds.
In other words, if we can learn how to be better speakers, we can open professional doors we never thought possible, especially when executed on influential platforms such as YouTube or LinkedIn.
Not to mention the boost in personal branding and networking it creates.
"If you're speaking on stage, it automatically opens so many doors, especially if you're speaking on the right stages. It opens doors for you at the moment where you can make an impact," Nausheen continues.
"It helps you emerge from the shadows. That's the biggest benefit that I've seen where a lot of people just shy away from speaking on stage or speaking on camera because it's too complicated, takes too much time, might not be worth the effort, or they don't feel like they're up for it."
This transition from hesitation to action in public speaking can catapult your career transformation by enhancing your credibility.
Public speaking isn't just about going out on stage or pushing videos onto whichever platform will embrace you, though, it's about really seizing the opportunities to grow and engage with your unique audience.
You just have to start, identify your strengths, and practice.
Nausheen shares her advice:
"As soon as they can overcome that barrier, that first step, and take steps toward speaking on a stage, speaking on camera, and being more visible, they realize they've started a journey that will only help boost their credibility and boost their brand in ways that they couldn't have imagined before."
"Understanding what you want to be known for is a great first step in developing a unique voice. A lot of people don't take that first step. They don't stop to think about what is it that I want people to associate with me."
Nausheen highlights this shift from anonymity to being recognized as an authority figure in your industry by speaking in a way that leans on your natural strengths.
"It gets you from being invisible and in a way a nobody. I say nobody with quotes, because of course you are somebody, you have, you probably have a lifetime's worth of work, but if you're not talking about it, if you're not developing your brand, if you're not going out there and being visible, then you are by definition invisible."
"It can future-proof your career. It's just the way that you were speaking about earlier that now companies hire employees that have some kind of presence that they can look up and say, yeah, this person seems to be an expert in this field. They've taken the time to become visible and establish their authority and credibility."
And hey, if all this seems like a lot (which it can be), there's no shame in hiring a PR agency until you get the hang of it.
I had the profound privilege to talk about all this and more with Nausheen over on the DesignRush Podcast, and out of everything, here's what stood out to me:
- By embracing the power of your unique voice, you can become a thought leader and enhance your personal brand
- Learning to speak well and with conviction will not only land you great career opportunities and scale your business but also put you in the right rooms to level up even more
Listen to the full episode on Spotify to get actionable insights on how to speak as a leader.
