Crash Courses in Communication with Alex Perry - Welcome to Practically Speaking with Alex Perry

Welcome to Practically Speaking with Alex Perry

04/15/20 • 2 min

Crash Courses in Communication with Alex Perry

I'm Alex Perry, owner of Practically Speaking and host of the Practically Speaking podcast where we talk about what it takes to speak with confidence, whether you're speaking to one person or a thousand.

Let me tell you how all of this got started. I've been going to conferences, listening to top performers and speaking gurus my whole life. For years, I watched people on stage always thinking "I could do that... man I would love to do that" and for years I didn't pursue that dream because I was scared.

I was scared that I didn't have enough talent or skill. I didn't want to do it wrong. I was terrified of making a fool of myself. And I basically didn't want to be rejected by society, so I worked hard to be what I thought others wanted me to be.

All the while spending years as a Speech-Language Pathologist, helping people regain the ability to speak after injuries or illness. When it comes to the ups downs, ins, and outs of speaking, there's a little I haven't seen or worked with before.

Then through an unlikely series of twists and turns, I started my own company Practically Speaking, where I've coached hundreds of speakers from CEOs to young graduates to TEDx speakers and all kinds of people in between, helping them become clear and confident speakers. And in 2019 I gave my first TEDx talk.

I created the Practically Speaking podcast as a safe space where we can talk for real about what it takes to speak up in a world that's constantly telling us what, when and how we should speak.

Once a week, I'll be bringing you an episode that's designed around you, the person who longs to speak like a pro, whether that's in the board room, on a stage, or at home.

You can find that practically Speaking Podcast, wherever you get your favorite podcasts, make sure you hit the subscribe button, share this with your friends and follow me on social media.

You can find me on LinkedIn at Alex Perry and on Facebook or Instagram at @pswithalex. I know you, you have got something to say and I'm here to help.

I created the Practically Speaking podcast as a safe space where we can talk for real about what it takes to speak up in a world that's constantly telling us what, when and how we should speak.

Once a week, I'll be bringing you an episode that's designed around you, the person who longs to speak like a pro, whether that's in the board room, on a stage, or at home.

You can find that practically Speaking Podcast, wherever you get your favorite podcasts, make sure you hit the subscribe button, share this with your friends and follow me on social media.

You can find me on LinkedIn at Alex Perry and on Facebook or Instagram at @pswithalex. I know you, you have got something to say and I'm here to help.

Next Episode

My Native Language is Typo

My native language is typo. I speak and write typo, and while I use spell check, grammar check, Grammarly, and occasionally an editor who extends mercy upon me, I still mess up. It's important that you know this about me before you listen further.

If you are looking for perfection, you won't find it here. If you're looking for authenticity, you've come to the right place. It's my mission to help people speak with confidence. You see, I tried really hard to be a "traditional public speaking coach," teaching rules, formulas, and fixes in an attempt to help people be better speakers. And I failed and I apologize to my casualties along the way. What I’ve learned along the way is that there aren't magical formulas that help you speak. There isn't a "fix" for fear. There is no one "right" way to speak. turns out that when you help people speak in a way that honors their style, using tools that for work for them, and you encourage them and not shame, you bring out the best in them, and they become the kind of speaker they've always dreamt of being.

It matters to me, a lot, and here’s why... I spent nearly seventeen years as a Speech-Language Pathologist, helping people regain their ability to speak after illness or injury. I believe our ability to speak is the greatest gift we've been given. I believe that there is no one "right" way to speak; I believe there is your way. I believe that, if you're still listening to this, it’s because you’re a friend or my mom “hi mom” or it’s because you've got something to say, and, if that’s the case, I want you to know that I'm here to help.

So this isn’t a podcast that will teach you how to be polished and perfect. If you’ve ever uttered the words “I want to be just like Tony Robbins, Oprah Winfrey, or insert the name of your favorite celebrity speaker” this podcast isn’t for you.

If you dream of permanently ridding yourself of public speaking fear, you won’t find the answer here.

If your goal is to have your audiences rise to their feet, full standing O after every talk you give-this is not for you.

This podcast is for folks who want to be the best speaker they can be. It’s for people who are willing to show up and do the work that’s required to become a better speaker. It’s for people who are willing to make mistakes and own them. For people who are ready to fall on their face and get back up and try again.

This podcast is for people who want to learn to speak for themselves, not speak like someone else.

And, that my friend is what makes Practically Speaking, it’s what makes me different as a coach.

Because I’m not looking to teach you the “right” way to speak (right is a direction, not a prescription) you’ve been talking your whole life and you’re already good at it.

I’m here to help you speak as and for yourself. Your style. Your words. You.

You won’t find prescriptions or magic formulas to fix your public speaking problems here. You won’t find age-old public speaking handed down from generation to generation with no real basis of evidence for effectiveness here. And you won’t find any shame game here either... shame never motivated anyone.

You will find real advice to help you speak confidently from myself and other professionals who have been through the ups and downs that come with speaking. You’ll have your questions answered without a thinly-veiled ad for why you should buy my next latest and greatest program to find.out.more.

You will find help with your struggles.

You will find inspiration to try new things and to do things that are uniquely you.

You will definitely find humor, snarky comments, and the occasional slip of the tongue by myself or someone else.

And you’ll hear me mess up. Because mistakes are part of being human and the last time I checked you and I are humans (although if you’re an alien and you’re listening PLEASE message me). You need to know right now that my native language is typo and that happens in my writing and in my speech. If you’re looking for the perfect public speaking podcast, this isn’t it. You will hear errors in this podcast, I’m leaving them in intentionally. When you’re talking in front of a group of people, you don’t get the benefit of perfect sound quality or errorless speech, so I’m leaving that stuff in here.

Listen, I’m here to help people speak. It’s what I’ve done throughout my entire career and I am still learning, because there is always something new to learn about how people speak and I love it.

If you’re still here, I’d love to have you join me for this journey. I’m releasing an episode every week so if you’re along for the ride, hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out.

Thanks for listening. I’m Alex Perry, the owner of Practically Speaking where I coach and keynote on all things public speaking, storytelling, and communication. Yo...