When was the last time someone spoke so powerfully, so movingly, that you jumped out of your seat and gave them a standing ovation?
And when was the last time you gave a talk so compelling that over 200 people in a ballroom leapt to their feet for you?
That’s exactly what happened to my colleague, Yeo Chuen Chuen—an award winning author, Certified Story Facilitator and leadership coach. She’s no stranger to public speaking, but even she didn’t expect the kind of reception she got from a room full of executives at the 2025 Women in Tech Global Summit in Osaka, Japan.
So how did she do it?
We tend to think of great speakers as naturally gifted—like they were born with a mic in their hand and a message from the mountaintop. But the truth is, even the best speakers struggle, wrestle, and grapple with their message, and how to say it. Just like the rest of us.
In this week’s Marginalia, I’m sharing a video from my conversation with Chuen Chuen. Think of it as a backstage pass to her speech development process—and a look at how I helped her shape it.
If you’ve got a high-stakes talk coming up, or just want to deliver your message in a more powerful way, this video will give you some tools—and maybe even a spark—for your own standing-ovation moment.
