Julian Treasure is one of the most-watched TED speakers in the world, but his message is simple: the most important skill for speakers is listening.

In this episode, Julian explains why audiences don’t hear your message “as delivered.” They hear it through filters: culture, mood, expectations, time of day, the speaker before you, and even the acoustics of the room.

We talk about how to “listen to their listening” in real time, how to recover when the energy is off, and how to make your voice land with more impact, without turning into a motivational foghorn.

1. Why speaking and listening form a circle, not a straight line
2. The listening filters that shape how audiences receive your message
3. How to handle the “graveyard slot” and other attention dips
4. What to do when the speaker before you has poisoned the room
5. The “gift” visualisation to instantly improve your on-stage presence
6. Why sound affects physiology, focus, behaviour, and buying decisions
7. Practical advice on mics, acoustics, and why lavaliers can betray you
8. The role of silence and humility in real listening
9. Julian’s Listening Society and his speaking and listening assessments

1. Julian’s Listening Society (free resources and membership) https://www.thelisteningsociety.community/sign_up?request_host=www.thelisteningsociety.community
2. https://www.juliantreasure.com/
3. Julian’s speaking and listening assessments (individual and organisational scorecards) https://juliantreasure.floot.app/

1. 00:00 Intro: Julian Treasure and why listening beats speaking
2. 02:00 Julian’s contrarian stance: listening is the base of the pyramid
3. 04:00 Listening to their listening: the filters audiences use
4. 06:00 Graveyard slots, room mood, and the speaker before you
5. 08:00 How to recover when the audience is off
6. 12:00 The “gift” visualisation for stage presence
7. 16:00 The three intentions: you, the audience, and their intention for themselves

Summary:

Political speechwriter and author Simon Lancaster breaks down how leaders and speakers win minds using rhetoric, metaphor and emotional language. We explore why corporate jargon kills trust, how metaphors shape beliefs, and simple persuasion tools speakers can use without sounding manipulative.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

1. What rhetoric is and why it matters for modern speakers
2. Why emotion often persuades more than logic
3. How metaphor shapes perception, behaviour and belief
4. Why corporate language dehumanises and disengages audiences
5. Practical ways to become “metaphor aware” and communicate more humanly
6. The responsibility leaders have when using persuasive language

Memorable ideas and quotes:

1. “Leadership is an emotional contract.”
2. “Metaphor speaks to the subconscious.”
3. The “company as car” metaphor and why it backfires
4. “Rhetoric is morally neutral. Like a pen, it can be used for good or bad.”

Resources mentioned:

1. Simon Lancaster, Winning Minds
2. Simon Lancaster, The Expert’s Guide to Speechwriting
3. Simon Lancaster, You Are Not Human
4. Book recommendation: The Queen of Bloody Everything by Joanna Nadin

Connect with Simon:

1. Website: BespokeSpeeches.com

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Welcome Back: Why This Classic Episode Still Matters

01:14 Meet Simon Lancaster: 20 Years in Political Speechwriting

02:31 From Songwriting to Speeches: Emotion, Metaphor & Simplicity

04:34 What Is Rhetoric? Ancient Persuasion Tools (Rule of Three & More)

07:43 Why Rhetoric Isn’t Taught (and Why That’s Dangerous)

09:15 Rhetoric in Modern Politics: Boris Johnson, Virtues & Moral Neutrality

11:17 What Makes a Bad Speaker? A Critique of Keir Starmer’s Delivery

13:04 Leadership Is a Feeling: Creating Tribe, Trust & Momentum

15:42 Inside a Speechwriter’s World: Process, Voice-Decoding & Client Sessions

19:04 Winning the Instinctive Mind: Making People Feel Safe (Obama vs Trump)

22:01 Different Styles, Same Impact: Barack vs Michelle + Biden & Harris

24:52 Metaphor as the Ultimate Persuasion Tool

25:42 Why Companies Talk Like Cars (and Why It Dehumanises Staff)

27:04 Switching to Human Metaphors: Family, Journeys & Belonging at Work

27:31 Politics as Metaphor: Brexit ‘Family’ vs ‘Prison’ Frames

28:36 COVID Framing Wars: Enemy vs House-on-Fire Metaphors

29:59 Becoming Metaphor-Aware: Listening, Responsibility & Leadership Language

32:32 Trump, ‘Fight’ Rhetoric & the Double...

The professional speaking world and the personal development industry have been intertwined for decades. That overlap has created energy, inspiration, and transformation. It has also created hype, pseudoscience, and borrowed authority.

In this solo episode, John explores where influence crosses into manipulation, why anecdotes are powerful but weak evidence, and how emotional intensity can lower scrutiny in a room.

This is not an attack on personal development. It is a call for healthier boundaries, intellectual humility, and higher standards.

If you are building a serious speaking business and care about long-term credibility, this episode is for you.

1. Why persuasive speaking is inherently powerful and inherently vulnerable to abuse
2. How pseudoscience and “science-sounding” language spread on stages
3. The role of TEDx in transferring perceived authority
4. Why anecdotes move audiences but do not prove causation
5. How high emotion lowers scepticism
6. The difference between confidence and competence
7. What intellectual humility looks like in a keynote
8. How integrity protects both your reputation and the profession

Certainty sells.

Nuance builds careers.

If you want short-term applause, oversimplify.

If you want long-term authority, raise your standards.

1. Carl Sagan – “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”
2. Edward de Bono – 'How to Have a Beautiful Mind'
3. Elizabeth Loftus – Research on memory distortion

Is the industry doing enough to distinguish between influence and manipulation?

Where should speakers draw the line?

What responsibility comes with the stage?

Share your thoughts.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Influence With Integrity: Why This Episode Matters

00:50 When Persuasion Meets Emotion: The Stage’s Power (and Risk)

01:13 Pseudoscience on Stage: ‘Quantum’ Claims & Debunked Myths

02:26 Anecdotes, Arousal & Bias: How Audiences Lower Their Guard

03:56 Borrowed Credibility: TED/TEDx, Branding, and Authority Transfer

04:45 The Industry Cost of Hype: Buyers Sceptical, Experts Exit

05:46 Raising the Standard: Stories + Energy, But Check Your Sources

06:48 Humility vs Certainty: Building Trust for the Long Game

07:23 Closing: Question Everything + What’s Next on the Show

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