No. 1 Communication Expert: This Speaking Mistake Makes People Dislike You! Vinh Giang
Vinh Giang (guest), Steven Bartlett (host), Narrator, Narrator, Steven Bartlett (host)
In this episode of The Diary of a CEO, featuring Vinh Giang and Steven Bartlett, No. 1 Communication Expert: This Speaking Mistake Makes People Dislike You! Vinh Giang explores transform Your Voice, Transform Your Life: Vinh Giang’s Communication Blueprint Communication expert and former magician Vinh Giang explains how most people massively underuse their voice and body language, and how small, trainable changes can radically shift how the world perceives them in 3–6 months.
Transform Your Voice, Transform Your Life: Vinh Giang’s Communication Blueprint
Communication expert and former magician Vinh Giang explains how most people massively underuse their voice and body language, and how small, trainable changes can radically shift how the world perceives them in 3–6 months.
He breaks communication down into concrete, behavioral “foundations” – melody, rate of speech, volume, tonality, pause, and hand gestures – and demonstrates them live, showing how the same words can feel boring, compelling, or terrifying depending on delivery.
Beyond technique, he tackles identity, social anxiety, introversion, accents, and bias, arguing that our current communication style is just a bundle of habits we copied as kids, not a fixed “authentic” self.
He also shares personal stories of being bullied, his autistic son, his monk parents, and his own battle with “enough,” framing communication as the instrument we use to negotiate reality, connection, and opportunity across every stage of life.
Key Takeaways
Treat your voice as an instrument, not a fixed trait.
Most people “speak like one piano key,” using the same pitch, rate, and volume all their lives and calling it their “natural” voice. ...
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Master the five core vocal foundations to become dramatically more compelling.
Vinh’s framework: (1) Rate of speech – slow down to highlight key points, speed up for energy, aim ~150–180 wpm. ...
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Use the record–review–refine loop to build self-awareness and strip bad habits.
Once a week, record yourself speaking impromptu for five minutes while standing. ...
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Level up physical presence with the ‘power sphere’ and foundational gestures.
Executive presence is largely vocal presence plus physical presence. ...
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Change feels ‘fake’ because it’s unfamiliar, not because it’s inauthentic.
When students first try a deeper voice, larger gestures, or more melody, they almost always say, “This feels fake. ...
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Build connection deliberately with improv principles and simple conversation frameworks.
Treat conversation as improv: you don’t know what they’ll say; you respond in the moment. ...
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Deliberately design how you show up on Zoom and in high-stakes contexts.
On video, most people unconsciously shrink: only their head is visible, their energy drops, and their audio is poor. ...
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Notable Quotes
“Don’t be so attached to who you are in the present that you don’t give the future version of you a chance.”
— Vinh Giang
“Reality is negotiable. Cool. Well, what skill do we use to negotiate the reality we desire? It’s our ability to communicate.”
— Vinh Giang
“Most people go through life speaking like this. I’m going to teach you how to speak like this.”
— Vinh Giang (quoting his vocal teacher Ms. Stanley)
“It’s not their responsibility to see the brilliance that exists within you. It’s your responsibility to learn how to shine your light brightly.”
— Vinh Giang
“A king that knows the limits to his desires will rule a lifetime.”
— Vinh Giang (quoting his father)
Questions Answered in This Episode
When you first started experimenting with a ‘bigger’ voice and larger gestures, what specific reactions from people hurt the most, and how did you stop those from pushing you back into your old identity?
Communication expert and former magician Vinh Giang explains how most people massively underuse their voice and body language, and how small, trainable changes can radically shift how the world perceives them in 3–6 months.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
You draw a strong line between accent and articulation; in practice, where do you think the ethical boundary lies between improving clarity and unconsciously pressuring people to assimilate to dominant speech norms?
He breaks communication down into concrete, behavioral “foundations” – melody, rate of speech, volume, tonality, pause, and hand gestures – and demonstrates them live, showing how the same words can feel boring, compelling, or terrifying depending on delivery.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
For someone who is already seen as ‘too much’ or intense at work, how would you adapt your five vocal foundations so they become more relatable and less overwhelming, rather than simply amplifying their existing style?
Beyond technique, he tackles identity, social anxiety, introversion, accents, and bias, arguing that our current communication style is just a bundle of habits we copied as kids, not a fixed “authentic” self.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Can you walk through, in concrete steps, how you’d help someone with severe social anxiety design a 30-day exposure plan using neutral ears, High–Low–Buffalo, and record-and-review without triggering shutdown?
He also shares personal stories of being bullied, his autistic son, his monk parents, and his own battle with “enough,” framing communication as the instrument we use to negotiate reality, connection, and opportunity across every stage of life.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Your father’s decision to renounce wealth and become a monk clearly reshaped your sense of ‘enough’; if you discovered tomorrow that your business could 10x without costing you more time away, would you still want it – and how would you know if that desire was aligned or just another ‘king’s greed’?
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Transcript Preview
You have this ability to become confident in every single area of your life. It's about us just learning a new series of behaviors. For example, there's something called a siren technique. In three, two, and one. Now he goes, "I'm crazier than usual." (explosion)
(laughs)
Fantastic. That's fantastic. You did a great job, all right?
Okay.
And then this next one is volume. So critical, because if I just increase my volume and I talk like this, I sound a little bit aggressive, don't I? But with volume, to highlight something, you could go very quiet. So it's about waking people up to the power of their voice. And we all have access to these tools. Let's go through all five.
Vinh Giang is the award-winning speaker and communication expert who helps people harness the power of their voice and body language in all areas of their life.
Just so overwhelming of how many people are suffering with not being able to communicate. They're asking, "I'm introverted. Does that mean that I'm doomed? How do I become more confident? How do I speak on the spot?" And we think there's no way for me to ever change this. It's super sad because I lived a massive part of my life like that. I was the awkward kid. I couldn't communicate with anyone. I moved schools so many times because I was bullied, but then I broke the mold, and then I just learned all these new behaviors, which has completely changed me. And anyone can do this in three to six months, and I'm going to teach you. So the first thing that really matters is a three-step process I call a record and review. It's gonna dramatically change the way you talk and the way you show up.
But how do we start a conversation with another human being?
(laughs) I've got a simple game called high, low buffalo, and it gives you three opportunities for a conversation to spark, and we'll play it in a second. And then there's hand gestures to level up your physical presence and then a simple framework that helps build connection. There's so many other things we could talk about.
And we are gonna go through them. But some people do have severe social anxiety. What do you say to those people?
The first thing I would do is...
(instrumental music)
This has always blown my mind a little bit. 53% of you that listen to this show regularly haven't yet subscribed to the show. So could I ask you for a favor before we start? If you like the show and you like what we do here and you wanna support us, the free simple way that you can do just that is by hitting the subscribe button. And my commitment to you is, if you do that, then I'll do everything in my power, me and my team, to make sure that this show is better for you every single week. We'll listen to your feedback, we'll find the guests that you want me to speak to, and we'll continue to do what we do. Thank you so much. (upbeat music) Vinh, if you had to summarize what it is you do fundamentally and why you do it, how would you summarize it?
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