Talk to People Podcast
New episodes every Tuesday.
Talk to People is a communication podcast about clearer conversations, stronger relationships, and confident public speaking — in everyday life and high-stakes moments.
Each episode blends communication science with real-world examples to help you understand how people actually talk, persuade, avoid conflict, and build trust.
Hosted by Chris Miller, a communication expert with graduate-level training in communication and public speaking, and the creator of the Talk to Chris Miller YouTube channel — where he analyzes how communication works in the world’s biggest moments.
Talk to People Podcast
Why Copying Great Speakers Fails: How to Speak With Authority Using Your Own Experience | Ep. 97
Ever watch a great speaker and think, "I wish I could sound like that"? Here's the problem: copying great speakers makes you worse, not better.
In this episode, I break down Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech—not to teach you his style, but to reveal his process. The speech wasn't planned. It was a "rhetorical scrapbook" of material he'd been testing for years. When Mahalia Jackson yelled "Tell them about the dream, Martin," he had the mental library to improvise 4 minutes that changed history.
You'll learn:
- Why MLK's authority came from his context (and how to find yours)
- The "Stitch & Deliver" method for building your own speaking library
- How to prepare so you can improvise in high-stakes moments
- What to study from great speakers (and what to ignore)
Great communication isn't about being MLK. It's about being you with better tools.
Start your rhetorical scrapbook today.
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Produced by Capture Connection Studios: captureconnectionstudios.com
