Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.

Think about a time you've had to speak in front of others, maybe during a work presentation, a wedding toast, or even on a first date.

Did you struggle with using too many filler words such as um and like,

talk too fast or awkwardly ramble? Most of us try to fix these saboteurs of speech by giving

ourselves mental mantras. Slow down. Think about what you want to say. But my guest would say

that becoming a more engaging and effective speaker comes down to realizing that's a very physical

act that requires getting out of your head and into your body. Michael Chad becoming a more engaging and effective speaker comes down to realizing that's a very physical act

that requires getting out of your head and into your body. Michael Chad Hepner, a communication

coach who has worked with everyone from presidential candidates to business executives, is the author

of Don't Say Um, how to communicate effectively to live a better life. Today on the show, Michael explains

why you need to treat speaking as a sport and shares

in body drills and exercises from playing with Legos to talking with a wine cork in your mouth,

throwing a ball against a wall that will fix common delivery problems, including eliminating

ums, enhancing vocal variety, and managing your gestures.

After the show's over, check out our show notes at AIM.i.m.com.

All right, Michael Chad Hepner, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. So you are a communication coach. You help people improve their communication delivery. So you help people speak more clearly, more confidently. With presence, you coached Andrew Yang when he ran for president to improve his delivery. You also coach executives. You teach on the

subject. I think when a lot of people think about public speaking or even just speaking on a first

date, you know, they're getting ready for a first date. They're often thinking about what they're

going to say, you know, the thing about the content. But why do you think people should focus

on the delivery as well?

There's a few reasons. The first is every study ever done that looks at what matters more in terms of the impression you make on other people validates delivery as a thing. But that's just the

first answer. The second answer, which I think is a much better one, is that I'm not even

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