451 - Communication Coach to Billionaires: “How to Speak Like the 1%” – Get Anything You Want
The Marie Forleo Podcast
Marie Forleo
4.7 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 12 August 2025
⏱️ 71 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Feel awkward in interviews or freeze up when the spotlight hits? Emmy-winning journalist and communication coach Bill McGowan reveals the biggest mistakes even top performers make—and how you can avoid them. Learn how to speak memorably, redirect tough questions with grace, and deliver your message with clarity and confidence every time.
Bill McGowan is the Founder and CEO of Clarity Media Group and a two-time Emmy Award–winning journalist. He’s the bestselling author of Pitch Perfect: How to Say It Right the First Time, Every Time and Speak, Memorably: The Art of Captivating an Audience. Bill is the top global communications advisor to leaders across tech, business, entertainment, and media, including founders of Amazon, Meta, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Airbnb. His communication training has helped professionals at the highest levels deliver their message with clarity, confidence, and impact.
WHAT’S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE:
00:00 Coaching High Performers in Media Training
02:50 Preparing for Media Interviews Effectively
06:11 The Art of Brevity in Communication
08:54 Overcoming Public Speaking Anxiety
11:50 The Importance of Storytelling
15:13 Avoiding Clichés in Communication
18:02 Injecting Humor and Levity into Presentations
20:51 Understanding Energy in Communication
35:06 The Power of Energy in Communication
39:26 The Magnificent Seven: Tools for Effective Communication
43:13 The Importance of Engagement and Attention
49:55 The Art of Preparation and Practice
57:10 Navigating AI and Authentic Communication
01:05:46 Creating Memorable Analogies and Stories
Thanks for listening! New episodes drop every Tuesday. Make sure you hit the follow button to get notified. <3
If you prefer video or want closed captions, you can watch all our episodes on YouTube → http://www.youtube.com/marieforleo
COME SAY ‘HI!’
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/marieforleo
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marieforleo
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/marieforleo
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/marieforleo
MORE RESOURCES FOR YOU:
Grab your copy of Bill McGowan’s new book Speak, Memorably: The Art of Captivating an Audience → https://amzn.to/45xyge4
FREE MASTERCLASS → Do you want a way to get more done, in less time, and with waaay less stress. Watch my brand new FREE masterclass called “3 Sneaky Mistakes That Kill Productivity & Tank Profits” https://marieforleo.com/freeclass
YEARLY GOALS MAP → Get instant clarity & achieve your goals with less stress. In 10 minutes or less, this powerful FREE tool will help you cut through the noise, zero in on what matters most, and drop the guilt about the rest. https://marieforleo.com/yearly-goals
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review! <3 It really helps us get encouraging and actionable advice to entrepreneurs and creatives who need to hear it most!
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You have coached so many people in these high-stakes situations, everyone from Kim Kardashian, |
| 0:06.8 | Jeff Bezos, countless superstar athletes and CEOs. What are some of the common issues that |
| 0:11.9 | even high performers struggle with when it comes to speaking? And how do you coach them through it? |
| 0:17.0 | I had had an individual session with Kim. Yeah. And she was about to be in a forum that was just |
| 0:23.8 | not her usual forum. She was going to be interviewed by Steve Forbes in the most powerful women's |
| 0:29.9 | summit or the most influential women's summit. And she was going to be talking about skims. And she wanted to be |
| 0:36.3 | wearing the hat of an entrepreneur and a business |
| 0:38.6 | woman. And so it was really just about how are we messaging around this and how are we executing. |
| 0:45.9 | And she said, you know, I think this would be great for my entire family because we've actually |
| 0:52.0 | never been media trained. I thought, really, how is that possible? |
| 0:56.3 | And she said, no, we've learned from doing. |
| 1:00.5 | And although we feel really comfortable in front of the camera, we don't know what the |
| 1:04.4 | ground rules are. |
| 1:05.8 | And they had done, you know, a recent interview that I think went a little sideways |
| 1:10.6 | and they |
| 1:11.1 | weren't happy with how it went. |
| 1:12.9 | So they wanted to be able to have influence over the direction of the conversation, but |
| 1:20.2 | not overtly make it seem like they were hijacking the interview. |
| 1:23.9 | Yes. |
| 1:24.4 | Which I think is a really finessed point. |
| 1:30.7 | And when we watch other people being interviewed, particularly politicians, and they in a very clumsy way say, well, I'm not here to talk |
| 1:36.2 | about that. What I am here to talk about, that is the worst possible way to control a conversation |
... |
Transcript will be available on the free plan in 4 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Marie Forleo, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Marie Forleo and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.