How to Talk So People Listen (with Laura Sicola)

Dr. Laura Sicola is a leadership communication and influence expert, speaker, author of Speaking to Influence: Mastering Your Leadership Voice, and host of the Global Top 1% podcast, Speaking to Influence: Communication Secrets of the C-Suite and the podcast ALPHAWHISPERERS: Genesis. Her mission is to transform executives into confident, inspiring leaders. A cognitive linguist by background, she has trained and coached executives at Fortune 500 companies and non-profit leaders from around the world. Laura’s TEDx talk, “Want to Sound Like a Leader? Start by Saying Your Name Right,” has nearly 7 million views.

In this episode, Sicola explains that experts often “sound like a human spreadsheet,” overwhelming others with details so they only seem smart but aren’t understood or followed. She recommends simplifying without dumbing down and using storytelling elements—metaphors, analogies, vocal tonality, and brief case-study style narratives—to make messages more memorable, engaging, and actionable. She and Tom discuss how stories are recalled better than statistics, and define “voice” as both literal delivery and figurative point of view.

If you're tech oriented but want to learn methods for communicating clearly and engaging emotionally, you'll want to tune in.

DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE

00:54 Meet Dr Laura Sicola

01:57 Stop Being a Human Spreadsheet

03:57 Storytelling For Techies

06:05 Why Stories Stick

07:43 Simple Stories Work

09:36 Case Studies Sell

10:38 Emotion Drives Decisions

11:57 Master Your Voice

13:55 Sounding Authoritative

15:40 Record And Review

16:55 GPS For Conversations

21:25 Where To Find Laura

22:53 Final Advice - Don't Be Boring

24:36 Wrap Up And Resources

FULL EPISODE VIDEO

https://vimeo.com/1176496899

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