How to Speak to (and Like) a Human
A practical keynote about communication, human connection, and paying better attention to the people around us.
We are surrounded by communication.
Emails. Meetings. Customer interactions. Text messages. Automated responses. Forms. Notifications.
We're exchanging information all day long.
But are we actually communicating with each other?
We've become incredibly good at communicating information. I'm not convinced we've become very good at communicating with humans.
How to Speak to (and Like) a Human is an engaging keynote about communication, connection, and bringing more attention, curiosity, and humanity to the conversations we're already having.
Because better communication doesn't require more time, more technology, or more charisma.
It requires paying better attention to the humans you're already interacting with.
See the Keynote in Action
Want to get a sense of what this keynote is like? Watch the short video below to hear more about How to Speak to (and Like) a Human and the ideas behind it.
What Event Organizers Can Expect
Through stories, practical examples, and a little humour, participants will learn how to:
Notice the details, pauses, and changes that can tell us more than the obvious words.
Ask better questions that create understanding rather than simply gather information.
Listen without immediately jumping in with an answer.
Look for the question behind the question.
Make people feel seen and valued in the small moments that already exist throughout the day.
Communicate more clearly and naturally.
Replace unnecessary jargon with language that sounds like something an actual human would say.
One of the central ideas of the keynote is simple:
The goal isn't to spend more time with people. It's to be more human during the time you already spend with them.
The 30-Second Difference
One of the biggest objections to better communication is time.
People are busy. Organizations are busy. Nobody needs another meeting or another complicated communication initiative.
That's why this keynote focuses on small moments.
Five seconds to use someone's name.
Ten seconds to ask a follow-up question.
Fifteen seconds to remember something someone told you.
Twenty seconds to personalize an email.
Thirty seconds to send a thoughtful follow-up.
These small moments can change how people experience an interaction.
What's one 30-second moment already happening in your organization that could be made more human?
A Communication Keynote for Teams, Organizations, and Professional Development
This keynote is a good fit for organizations, teams, conferences, and professional groups who want to think differently about communication.
It is particularly relevant for people who work with:
Customers and clients
Students
Patients or community members
Colleagues and teams
Members of the public
Volunteers
Anyone else, really
Because communication isn't only about getting the information across.
It's about what happens between people while you're doing it.
What Makes This Keynote Different?
I'm a writer, educator, and communication instructor, and much of my work is built around paying attention.
I teach writers to notice the details other people might miss: the pause before someone answers a question, the change in someone's voice, what they avoid talking about, or the small thing that makes them light up.
Those same skills can make us better communicators.
This keynote brings together my experience teaching communication and my work as a writer and writing coach to offer a different way of thinking about the people in front of us.
It's practical without being another corporate framework.
It's thoughtful without being overly complicated.
And it leaves people with ideas they can use immediately.
A Few Things We’ll Explore
What happens when we listen for more than just the words?
How can we get curious without making assumptions?
What is the question behind the question?
Why does business communication sometimes sound like it was written by a robot?
And what would happen if we simply talked to people like they were human?
Because they are.
Bring This Communication Keynote to Your Audience
How to Speak to (and Like) a Human is an engaging keynote that combines storytelling, practical communication tools, humour, and opportunities for participants to reflect on the conversations they're already having.
The presentation can be adapted for conferences, professional development events, teams, organizations, and other groups.
Interested in bringing this keynote to your audience?
Erica Richmond is a Canadian author, college instructor, writing coach, and speaker who believes in the power of brave stories.
Her own writing explores the complicated, uncomfortable, and deeply human parts of being alive. She is the author of multiple books, including the Pixie Series, children's books that explore big feelings such as anxiety, self-doubt, and relationships through the lens of fairy tales. Her creative nonfiction has also been shortlisted for literary prizes and published in literary journals.
Through Open Sky Stories, Erica leads writing groups, workshops, and retreats and works one-on-one with writers who are finding their way into a story or looking for support along the way.
Whether she is writing, teaching, or speaking, Erica is interested in what happens when we approach ourselves and our stories with a little more curiosity, compassion, and courage.
About Erica Richmond
