Sound as Smart as You are

A few months ago, I was invited to speak on a panel about the changing digital landscape and its impact on international trade. If you’ve ever sat through a panel discussion, you know how hard it can be to keep an audience fully engaged, especially when you’re not telling a story, just sharing facts.

I made my points in less than five minutes, and though I wasn’t cracking jokes or spinning stories, people were listening—really listening. You know that feeling when eyes lock in, heads nod, and there’s an almost palpable connection between you and the crowd? That’s what happened. Afterward, people came up to me, telling me how much they enjoyed listening to me speak. “You speak so well,” they said. Their words didn’t surprise me, but they did make me reflect.

See, the thing is, I’ve had years of practice. As a pastor, I speak at least twice a week at church, and anyone who’s done public speaking knows it’s a muscle you have to work out over time. No one is born naturally eloquent. You learn, you practice, and eventually, it feels second nature. But it wasn’t always this way for me.

There was a time when I knew all the facts but struggled to express them in a way that resonated with people. It didn’t matter how smart I was or how much I knew; if I couldn’t communicate it effectively, it got lost. It took me a long time to learn that sounding smart and being smart are two entirely different things.

You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you can’t communicate that intelligence, it won’t matter. Some people have mastered the art of sounding smart without really knowing much at all. They’re persuasive, charismatic, and can turn a mediocre idea into a "masterpiece" with the right delivery. That might frustrate you, especially if you’re someone who’s spent a lot of time honing your craft.

If you’ve already got the knowledge and experience, imagine what you could do if you mastered the art of communication.

Public speaking is more than just a skill, it’s an art form. It’s about using the right tone, choosing the right words, and reading your audience so you know when to emphasize a point and when to let something linger. These are learned techniques. You don’t wake up one day suddenly knowing how to speak in a way that commands attention. But you can learn it.

It’s funny how people often think the ability to speak well is an innate gift some people have and others don’t. While it is true that some excel at it naturally just like any other skill, it’s something you can develop. Especially if you’ve put in the work to get where you are, to really know your stuff, why not also put in the work to make sure people can see that?

The opportunity to talk about whatever you are building will always come up. You want to be ready to take advantage of that by learning how to communicate very clearly and affectively.

Whether you’re in business, tech, education, or any other field, don’t just focus on doing great work. Work on learning how to communicate the great work you're doing. Practice public speaking, join a speaking club, or watch how great speakers command a room and engage their audience.

I have a private playlist I curated for public speaking beginners, from a comment saying "share" and I'll send you a link to the playlist.