Soul Over Strategy: Finding the Aliveness in Speaking
Explicit content warning
04/01/25 • 33 min
In a special flipped episode, Brian Perry turns the tables and interviews Soulful Speaking host Lauri Smith, diving into her journey of learning to surrender to creativity, let go of control, and serve the moment fully. Together, they explore the magic of playing beyond fear and tuning into the energy of aliveness. Brian highlights Lauri’s personal evolution, from following external formulas to embracing her authentic voice, and her philosophy on speaking from the soul. Lauri shares her insights on how to feel for the “neon lights” vibration in your words, move from tension to ease, and truly embody your message with authenticity. This episode dives deep into how spiritual alignment and creativity can transform public speaking into a powerful tool for self-expression and connection.
TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:
- Authenticity is Powerful: Following formulas can stifle what makes you unique. Authenticity allows your true voice to shine.
- Let Your Soul Drive: Putting your soul in the driver’s seat when creating and sharing your message makes you a Soul-Driven Leader.
- Small Groups are Magical: There’s a far more transformative power in small, intimate speaking groups than there is in large, impersonal programs.
- Speaking is a Spiritual Journey: The process of shedding what doesn’t serve you and embracing vulnerability leads to profound growth in both speaking and life.
- Connect and Play: Like acting, speaking is a co-creative process with your audience. They’re your scene partners!
- Choose Service Over Strategy: Prioritize service and purpose over “doing it right” or chasing financial success.
- Presence is Powerful: Tapping into a heightened sense of awareness during performance creates an electric experience for you and your audience.
- Trust the Process: Once you move through the fear you’re free to step into creative flow and play, which is the heart of what engages audiences fully.
- Follow the Aliveness: Tune into what feels "open and alive" versus "shut down" and then play with that energy to unleash your one-of-a-kind radiance.
About Brian From Brian:
I help you claim, live, and share more of your once-in-any-lifetime story. Because living your story matters. (Also, it’s more fun.) I serve as a singer-songwriter, authentic communication coach, and speaker.
My sound lives at the intersection of James Taylor and Bruce Springsteen with Garth Brooks directing traffic. Most days, that looks like me and my guitar telling stories with a few chords and as much truth as we can manage.
Authentic communication coaching helps you feel more like yourself and be more of yourself in the world. Stepping free of the endless masking of adulting. It feels like an act of bravery. Until it’s just obvious.
These days, my customized talks center around embracing uncertainty, the power of curiosity, and living more of your once-in-any-lifetime story.
But enough about me. Let’s talk about you.
Connect with Brian
Thank you so much for listening!
Take the free quiz and learn which Soul SuckerTM you need to release to free your voice: https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/
Follow me on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/
In a special flipped episode, Brian Perry turns the tables and interviews Soulful Speaking host Lauri Smith, diving into her journey of learning to surrender to creativity, let go of control, and serve the moment fully. Together, they explore the magic of playing beyond fear and tuning into the energy of aliveness. Brian highlights Lauri’s personal evolution, from following external formulas to embracing her authentic voice, and her philosophy on speaking from the soul. Lauri shares her insights on how to feel for the “neon lights” vibration in your words, move from tension to ease, and truly embody your message with authenticity. This episode dives deep into how spiritual alignment and creativity can transform public speaking into a powerful tool for self-expression and connection.
TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:
- Authenticity is Powerful: Following formulas can stifle what makes you unique. Authenticity allows your true voice to shine.
- Let Your Soul Drive: Putting your soul in the driver’s seat when creating and sharing your message makes you a Soul-Driven Leader.
- Small Groups are Magical: There’s a far more transformative power in small, intimate speaking groups than there is in large, impersonal programs.
- Speaking is a Spiritual Journey: The process of shedding what doesn’t serve you and embracing vulnerability leads to profound growth in both speaking and life.
- Connect and Play: Like acting, speaking is a co-creative process with your audience. They’re your scene partners!
- Choose Service Over Strategy: Prioritize service and purpose over “doing it right” or chasing financial success.
- Presence is Powerful: Tapping into a heightened sense of awareness during performance creates an electric experience for you and your audience.
- Trust the Process: Once you move through the fear you’re free to step into creative flow and play, which is the heart of what engages audiences fully.
- Follow the Aliveness: Tune into what feels "open and alive" versus "shut down" and then play with that energy to unleash your one-of-a-kind radiance.
About Brian From Brian:
I help you claim, live, and share more of your once-in-any-lifetime story. Because living your story matters. (Also, it’s more fun.) I serve as a singer-songwriter, authentic communication coach, and speaker.
My sound lives at the intersection of James Taylor and Bruce Springsteen with Garth Brooks directing traffic. Most days, that looks like me and my guitar telling stories with a few chords and as much truth as we can manage.
Authentic communication coaching helps you feel more like yourself and be more of yourself in the world. Stepping free of the endless masking of adulting. It feels like an act of bravery. Until it’s just obvious.
These days, my customized talks center around embracing uncertainty, the power of curiosity, and living more of your once-in-any-lifetime story.
But enough about me. Let’s talk about you.
Connect with Brian
Thank you so much for listening!
Take the free quiz and learn which Soul SuckerTM you need to release to free your voice: https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/
Follow me on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/
Previous Episode
Brain Freeze Busters: Stop the Freeze Before it Starts (mini-sode)
Brain freeze doesn’t happen in the moment—it starts long before we step up to the mic. In this mini-sode, Lauri explores how to prevent that icy mental shutdown before it ever takes hold. She dives into the hidden ways we set ourselves up to freeze and how to shift from freeze to flow by setting clear intentions, organizing thoughts effectively, and practicing in a way that builds trust instead of tension. If you’ve ever worried about going blank, this one’s for you.
TAKEAWAYS:
- Your focus shapes your reality – If you fixate on forgetting, you’re more likely to freeze. Shift your attention to presence and connection instead for a more flow-filled experience.
- Intention is everything – Setting a clear intention for the energy you want to create will help guide your words and ease your nerves.
- Structure and practice build trust – Organizing content in 3s and practicing in a way that builds presence (not rote memorization) helps prevent those “going blank” moments.
Join me for the next Soulful Speaking Immersion and take this soul-stirring transformative approach to speaking into your body and out into the world.
https://voice-matters.com/soulful-speaking/
Thank you so much for listening!
Take the free quiz and learn which Soul SuckerTM you need to release to free your voice: https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/
Follow me on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/
Next Episode
From Soul Suckers to Sacred Speaking: Inside the Speaker’s Studio (minisode)
Ever feel like your body goes into panic mode when you speak? Like something invisible is whispering “You’re not enough” or “No one cares what you have to say”?
In this special peek inside the Speakers Studio’s Soulful Speaking Immersion, Lauri guides you through the internal voices, habits, and energies that show up when we speak from the soul—and how to meet them with compassion rather than control.
This episode is a gentle, powerful invitation to stop fighting yourself and start trusting the sacredness in your sensations.
TAKEAWAYS
1. The body often responds to speaking like it's a threat—but it can learn a new story.
2. The “soul suckers” (Nervous Nellies, Imposter Monsters, Stage Mothers, and Below the Belt Bastards) are old protectors, not truths.
3. Of course you’re different—you’re one in eight billion. And that’s your magic.
4. Naming what you’re releasing can help you reclaim your voice.
5. Not everyone will vibe with your message—and that’s okay. Speak to the ones who do.
6. Feeling energy and sensation isn’t a flaw—it’s a doorway.
7. Your job isn’t to fake it or fix it, but to hold space for what’s real.
Join me for the next Soulful Speaking Immersion and take this soul-stirring transformative approach to speaking into your body and out into the world.
https://voice-matters.com/soulful-speaking/
Thank you so much for listening!
Take the free quiz and learn which Soul SuckerTM you need to release to free your voice: https://voice-matters.com/soul-sucker-quiz/
Follow me on:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/voice_matters_llc/
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauri-smith-voice-matters/
Soulful Speaking - Soul Over Strategy: Finding the Aliveness in Speaking
Transcript
You get very fired up
Brianwe share this in the industrial speaking models because you lose something , something fundamental and core is lost . What is lost ?
LauriFor 98% of the people , what makes them unique is also lost .
LauriIt gets suppressed and hidden behind all
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/soulful-speaking-594566/soul-over-strategy-finding-the-aliveness-in-speaking-88693966"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to soul over strategy: finding the aliveness in speaking on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy