“Across nearly two decades as an educator, university chaplain, ordained minister, and coach, my professional life has always been filled with public speaking. From delivering addresses at university commencement ceremonies, to providing live translation for social movement leaders across Latin America, to delivering speeches and sermons in pulpits of many faiths across the globe, I have found public speaking to be a great exercise in compassion, connection, and empathy. It is an invitation to know a group of people well enough to deliver information that actually creates meaning for them– and it also is a courageous act of self confidence to truly believe that we each have something worthwhile to say. “