In this engaging conversation, Catalina Del Carmen and Yvonne Armenta explore the journey of public speaking, authenticity, and personal growth.
They discuss the importance of simplifying business goals, the challenges of public speaking, and the significance of storytelling in effective communication.
Yvonne shares her background, experiences in the tech industry, and how she found her voice as a Latina speaker.
The conversation emphasizes the need for practice, reflection, and embracing one’s essence as a speaker to connect with audiences effectively.
In this conversation, Yvonne Armenta and Catalina Del Carmen explore the intricacies of public speaking, focusing on building confidence, the importance of mindset, and the techniques that enhance communication skills.
They discuss how personal hobbies can be leveraged to improve public speaking abilities and emphasize the significance of storytelling, authenticity, and sensory details in creating impactful messages.
The conversation also highlights the necessity of practice and intentionality in public speaking, as well as the value of creating spaces for feedback and growth.
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Summary Transcript:
Hello, hello, Yvonne. I am so excited you’re here. Welcome to Show Up Real podcast. How you doing?
Good, I’m doing well, you know, going through it like every other day, but I’m excited to be here and see where our conversation leads us.
I am so pumped about this conversation. Okay, this is why I’m pumped. So when I started my coaching business, I was trying to do a lot of things at once. And when my business really took off, it was a time where I was really committed to simplifying my business and staying laser focused on my goals, which is like a beautiful thing, right? I hit goals that just blew my mind. It was wonderful, right? Hooray. I say it so, like whatever. But during that year, especially my first big year, one of the things I committed to was not really trying to focus on other streams of income.
Not going out there and trying to do too many things at once. I have ADHD and I’m easily scatterbrained. So when I decided to really commit to selling, specifically selling one-on-one, I was so protective of my time and energy, actually more than anything. And because of that, I really held off on speaking gigs, workshops… I did my own webinars and stuff, but I really, really was not trying to say yes to public speaking. I did do some—obviously as my business grew, I started being invited and it’s been a blessing and I love doing it.
Since I was probably in sixth grade, people always told me I should be a motivational speaker because I’m that friend that has always been like, “You should just fucking do it.” I’ve always been that person. It’s why I’m a coach now. But public speaking is something I’ve resisted for so long. And now, years into business, I’m like, oh, I really should have brushed up on public speaking this whole time. And when I look at my business and where I want it to go, public speaking is something I’ve been quietly—haven’t mentioned this to my audience—quietly resisting and also quietly wanting to do more of.
Because I got myself into this mindset of “focus on one thing at a time,” it’s something I’ve resisted. I’ve been seeing your content, which is phenomenal. Your content is so good. Everybody listening to this needs to immediately go to Yvonne’s Instagram. What’s your Instagram name again?
Chats with Yvonne. Thank you for saying that. Sometimes you put stuff out there and you’re like, I don’t know if this is any good.
No, it’s so good. Chats with Yvonne. It’s so good. Anybody who wants to do public speaking or improve it needs to be following her. I wanted to give you that whole intro so you knew why I had you on the show. You’re such an expert at what you do. Your energy is contagious. I love your content. You give really, really great value.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
That’s why you’re on the show. I’m so excited to pick your brain and ask you questions.
No, I’m excited to be here and even more excited when people tell me, “I want to public speak” or “Now I’m ready to lean into it.” That is music to my ears because that voice is needed. I can just hear in your voice, too. You talked about motivational speaking—I can hear the cadence in your voice.
I always tell people this: when you go out into the world and hear speakers or someone, their voice, the tone, the way they put their sentences together tells you a lot about them as a speaker and their style. Some of us have that soothing tone needed for teaching something new, like public speaking, which can be scary. Others have that “go get your shit together” tone. You have a beautiful combination of both. It makes me really excited that you want to explore it.
Thank you. Well, I’m excited too. If anything, one thing I know about myself is I’m a chatty… what are they called? Chatty Kathy. That’s me. I think there’s just so much work for me to do there. So anyways, I selfishly was like, I need to get her on the podcast ASAP.
Yes, I love it. And there’s a lot of people in your same situation, right? So whatever questions you have will help other people get to that place too. Because you’re already there. You have the content. You have the topic…
A hundred percent. Yeah. That’s how I started my show too. I’m like, I want to know their story and how they learned all that. Okay, let’s get into it. Maybe we can start with a basic intro. I’ll give an intro before the episode airs, but give us a gist of who you are and what you do. And I’d love to know a little about your story. Where are you from?
Born and raised in San Francisco, California. My mom is from…
Really? What part? Like where’d you grow up?
Woo, woo, I was born there too. I grew up in the East Bay after fourth grade, but I was born in San Francisco at Mount Zion Hospital. I went to Geyser my whole life. I was in Bernal Heights in the ‘90s…
I was born at Kaiser Permanente.
It’s like, right after the tunnel from Chinatown, when you get out of the tunnel and there’s tennis… over there. That’s where I lived first. But my family’s from there. Everyone.
I know what you’re talking about, yeah. One of the things I brag about all the time is I still have a 415 area code number.
I was just telling someone about this! I think there’s a new one now, like even newer than 650. They were like “oh, the old 650” and I was like “no, no, no, the OGs are 415!”
Yes! I literally say please don’t ever make something go wrong with my phone number because I want to keep it forever. I love this tangent because I am very proud of where I’m from. I grew up in the Mission District for the first half of my childhood. Then middle school, I moved to Hunters Point.
Yeah, hell yeah. Me too.
Bayview District in San Francisco. Then later my family moved to San Leandro because things got real expensive and it was just my mom…
Is that where you’re from? My cousin lived there. San Lorenzo. Okay, we’ll have to do coffee or something one day.
Yeah, I’m the oldest.
No, I’m second, but I kind of act like the oldest. That’s another story.
My little sister acts older than my brother too. So it’s me, my brother who’s about 3–4 years younger than me, and my little sister who’s 10 years younger. From the age of six, I started going to Mexico, so I have close ties to my family there as well.
Wow, that’s so cool.
My mom came to the U.S. when she was 15 with her two brothers. They landed in San Francisco. I didn’t grow up with a big family—it was really just my mom, my siblings, and me. Holidays were just us or joining someone else’s family. But I’d go to Mexico every summer up until I was 15, and that was a blessing. I got to meet my cousins and extended family.
That’s beautiful.
I loved going to where my mom is from—Tarimora, Guanajuato. A really small town in Guanajuato, Mexico. I studied media studies and Native American studies in college. Didn’t really know what I wanted to do until my third year when I wanted to be a business major—too late! So I focused my classes on communication and supplemented it with marketing internships.
That’s a great field to understand.
Right? It’s very theoretical, so I had to go get real-world practice. After college, I worked in tech—communications, social impact, DEI stuff. Before tech, I didn’t even know what they did in those buildings. My first job was at Uber.
Same! I was like, tech = money.
Yes, passion matters, but financial stability was my priority. I wanted to provide a better life for myself and my family. I landed that job in college—it was just phone interviews. They never saw me. That’s one reason I stress the importance of public speaking. You can communicate passion and expertise without being seen. I had already done a few keynotes by then, starting in high school.
That’s amazing. So you’ve been doing this a long time.
Yeah. My high school made us do presentations to pass grades—in front of teachers, students, an audience. It was project-based learning. The teaching channel did a segment on us, and I got invited to speak at education conferences. I Googled tips—Tony Robbins, Obama, etc.—but no one looked like me. Eventually, I realized I was good, but I needed to be me.
Yes. 100%.
In 2020, I started doing more public speaking work when I was asked to host a talk show for work. That led me to interviewing people like Reggie Watts and Dr. Wendy Suzuki. Eventually I started sharing tips online and showing more of who I am—introverted, Latina—and that led to my consulting business.
I had no idea! That’s incredible. We have a lot in common. I was also raised by a single mom. It’s such a unique experience. It shapes your whole identity.
Yes! Totally.
[Transcript continues in part 2 due to length…]
[Transcript Part 2 – Continued]
We used to call ourselves the three musketeers. It was just the three of us solving stuff. We probably shouldn’t have been solving adult problems, but when you’re a single mom, you feel very involved in the family unit.
That’s not at all uncommon.
What high school did you go to? Was it a charter school?
Yeah, it was called Metropolitan Arts and Tech. If you’re familiar with San Francisco, City Arts and Tech was our sister school. We were the last class to graduate due to funding issues. We started in the same building as Horace Mann Middle School in the Mission. My class was just 20 students. Then we moved to the basement of Burton High School, then back to Horace Mann. Eventually we moved to a former elementary school building in the Bayview District, near Youngblood Park.
Oh my god, yes. I used to walk by Horace Mann all the time. So cool. What a unique experience. That makes so much sense.
All right, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of public speaking. I 100% relate to what you said about assimilating in tech. That played a huge role for me. I struggled in school and thought I wasn’t smart. Didn’t know I had ADHD. When I got into tech, I felt so insecure about how I spoke and who I was. Everyone was white or ex-white.
Business became this vessel for authenticity for me. It became the space where I could be myself. I’ve grown into embracing my whole ass, imperfect, messy self. But with public speaking, I know it’s worth learning strategy to actually communicate your message clearly. And I know I resist rules, but there’s so much value in mastering communication.
For me, I want to public speak so I can communicate my story, my mission, more effectively. I want to have a greater impact. I’ve been running my business for years and feel more confident now. What I’ve learned from you is that public speaking isn’t about fitting into a box. It’s about practicing the skills that allow you to make your message land.
That being said, what are the fundamentals of great public speaking in your view?
I love that question. First, public speaking is about engaging in deep reflection. I always ask people: What’s the first moment you recall public speaking? Who was there? What did you talk about? Did you enjoy it or hate it? That moment can shape your current relationship with public speaking.
So before you improve your skills, you have to assess how you feel about it. Is the work you need to do technical or internal?
On the technical side, I created public speaking practice cards. I break things down into fundamentals like deep storytelling. You have to practice telling stories, record yourself, see what resonates. Listen to others, analyze what worked. Then do it yourself.
We tell stories all the time—we just don’t always say them out loud. Practice is essential.
Yes! That’s why I love content creation. It helps you become a better speaker. Creating content helps you let the words out of your mouth—it’s what makes you better.
Exactly. And if you don’t like it, do it again. Social media is a great way to start practicing public speaking. Eventually, you have to hit share and feel the pressure of sharing something publicly. That also teaches you about nonverbal communication.
Public speaking is about how you say something and how you look while saying it. Voice inflection and body language matter. If your voice doesn’t match your message, it won’t land as powerfully.
To improve, you have to study yourself. Record yourself. Watch yourself. It’s cringey but necessary.
Once I knew my public speaking strategy worked, I felt confident. I knew how to deliver and how to write comms. But I still got nervous. That internal experience—nerves, pounding heart—is also part of the work.
Yes. Because what’s the point of having the skill if you don’t feel confident using it?
Exactly. The first one probably won’t be great. But that’s okay. You get to do it again. That’s how you grow.
100%. So good. I love that you started with “assess your relationship with public speaking.” So much of my coaching is mindset work. What do you believe about telling your story? What do you believe about showing up? That needs to be looked at before anything else.
Yes. And the way I coach is tailored. You can Google tips, but unless they address your specific needs, they won’t work.
So I ask: what are your hobbies? What do you love doing just for you? How do you practice that hobby? That can inform how you approach public speaking.
If you like to read, read out loud. Practice pacing and pausing with the punctuation. If you’re a writer, write your speeches. I’m a runner, so I focus on one thing at a time. That informs how I practice public speaking.
That’s so good.
If today I’m focusing on filler words, that’s it. If tomorrow it’s pacing, great. You take it piece by piece.
I love that. It’s really about being present and intentional. The way you described that made it so clear.
We could go even deeper. Like, how do you plan your workouts? Is it muscle-specific? Do you write it down? That process mirrors how you can create a talk. It’s all intentional.
Public speaking is about making decisions. You can talk about a thousand things—but your audience needs you to make a choice.
So good. That’s why I had you on the show. The way you teach this is brilliant.
Thank you. That means a lot.
Okay, next question. How do you help people decide what stories to tell? Especially leaders and experts who want to speak more. What should they talk about?
You get to decide that. I offer structure, but you remix it to make it your own. It’s about lessons learned. I listen for signature topics. For example, “business as a vessel for authenticity” is one I heard from you. That’s a lesson that took time, and it’s something people care about.
So we start by identifying lessons learned. Every great story has wisdom. Our abuelitas told stories to teach. We tell stories to spark growth.
Then I ask: when was this not true for you? That’s a story. Then what sparked the change? That’s the middle. Then the transformation. Then where you are now.
From there, we access all the senses. What did you see, hear, smell, touch, feel? That makes the story immersive and memorable.
So good.
As a speaker, your role is to spark curiosity. That’s the goal. Someone should walk away thinking, “Wait, what? I want to know more about that.” That’s the beginning of their transformation.
Wow. I remember going to a conference at Adobe where this woman talked about her book Drop the Ball. I don’t remember her name—but I remember her story and her message. It sparked something in me that stuck for years. That’s the power of public speaking.
Exactly. The phrase “drop the ball” probably came out of her practice—her process of saying it out loud. Great messaging comes from repetition, reflection, and refining over time.
You don’t just get on stage and say things. You prepare with intention. That’s what makes it land. Eventually it comes more naturally—but only after lots of reps.
Yes. 100%.
So good. Do you have a course or program?
Not really. I do workshops and one-on-ones. Most of it’s reserved for clients and corporate work.
You have so much good IP. You should totally write a book. You’re such an expert.
Thank you! That means a lot.
Where can people find you and follow your work?
I’m @chatswithyvonne across platforms. I have a podcast called Chats with Yvonne where I talk about public speaking con cultura. You can go to chatswithyvonne.com to learn more about my work. I also started an organization called Latina Presente to create practice spaces for public speaking. I believe we don’t need more info—we need more spaces to practice.
Amazing. Go follow her immediately. I was already impressed by your content. Talking to you? I’m blown away. You’re so, so good at what you do.
Thank you so much. I appreciate you.
Thanks for being on the show.
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