"Telling Personal Stories from the Stage" with Linda Cohen
Apr 26, 2024
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In this engaging talk, Linda Cohen, a professional speaker and author known as the "Kindness Catalyst," shares her journey of transforming kindness into a thriving career. She dives into the power of authenticity and storytelling in public speaking, emphasizing how small acts of kindness can have a big impact. Linda recounts her memorable TEDx talk featuring a humorous toilet paper story and offers valuable advice for aspiring speakers. Plus, she reveals her love for Earl Grey tea and how it ties into creating connections and enhancing audience engagement.
Linda Cohen emphasizes the necessity of authenticity in storytelling, as it fosters deeper connections and trust with the audience.
She provides practical advice for aspiring speakers, highlighting the importance of marketing oneself and engaging in ongoing skill development through industry resources.
Deep dives
Authenticity in Storytelling
Being authentic and relatable on stage is crucial for effective storytelling. Linda Cohen emphasizes the importance of presenting oneself genuinely, as it resonates more with the audience. She notes that vulnerability in sharing personal stories, including experiences of loss and motherhood, can create deeper connections with listeners. This authentic approach not only fosters trust but also encourages speakers to maintain a consistent persona on and off the stage.
The Value of Kindness in Speaking
Cohen discusses the concept of 'surprise and delight' in acts of kindness and how this translates into engaging speaking. By adding unexpected elements, humor, and interactive components to her presentations, she captivates her audience and makes her talks more enjoyable. She highlights the importance of being playful during speeches, which aligns with her overarching theme of kindness in the workplace. This approach keeps her presentations lively and memorable, as she draws from a wealth of stories accumulated over years of speaking.
Preparation and Story Crafting
Linda focuses on the ongoing process of collecting and refining stories for her presentations. She advocates for a structured approach to storytelling, vetting stories based on their relevance and emotional resonance with different audiences, including healthcare and senior living sectors. By maintaining a story notebook and categorizing potential narratives, she can easily pull from her experiences during keynotes. This continual evolution of her storytelling helps her stay relatable and engaging, even as the content adapts to various contexts.
Building a Speaking Career
Cohen offers practical advice for those aspiring to become professional speakers, emphasizing the dual focus on honing speaking skills and marketing oneself. She highlights organizations like Toastmasters and the National Speakers Association as valuable resources for skill development and industry networking. Understanding the business aspects, such as creating promotional materials and capturing audience interest, is essential for success. Moreover, she stresses the importance of unique topics that can address the challenges faced by potential clients, underscoring the need for a distinctive voice in a competitive field.
Years ago, when Linda Cohen launched a speaking career on the topic of Kindness, nobody thought it would fly. Flash forward, she’s now known as the “kindness catalyst,” and has created a successful business as a professional speaker and consultant focusing on the ROI of Kindness.
Linda’s superpower is her ability to share personal stories from the stage.
Join Gigi as she interviews Cohen about how she mustered the nerve to show up in downtown Portland, Oregon to interview strangers on everyday kindness, her best advice on launching a speaking career and how to engage your audience with authenticity and a roll of toilet paper.
Linda is past president and board member of the National Speaker Association, Oregon Chapter.
Her second book, The Economy of Kindness: How Kindness Transforms Your Bottom Line was published in October 2021.