Impactful storytelling
Millions Views
15 years
Coaching
$1.3
Writing
TEDxLondon
Director & Curator
Oxford
Visiting Fellow
For more than a decade, Maryam Pasha has helped shape talks delivered on some of the world’s most influential stages.
As the director of TEDxLondon, she has worked with bestselling authors, founders, activists, scientists, and cultural leaders – helping them turn complex ideas into stories that move audiences to think, feel, and act.
Now, in her debut book on storytelling and public speaking, How To Speak So Others Listen, Maryam shares the storytelling tools, speaking techniques, and coaching insights she has used to help hundreds of speakers command attention with authenticity and impact.
And contrary to popular opinion, Maryam believes that a good talk doesn’t start and end with your delivery – it lies in the quality of your content. Substance over style! Whether you’re giving a keynote, pitching a vision, leading a team, or simply trying to express yourself more clearly, this book will equip you with skills to help you speak with clarity, humanity, and influence.
Because of that, I started to see the power of storytelling to create impact. Because of that, I made it my mission to take complex and difficult ideas and turn them into persuasive and memorable stories.
Until finally, a decade later, I run one of the world’s top TEDx events, have worked with hundreds of speakers who have been heard by tens of millions of people, changed the law in England and Wales and raised $1 billion to fight climate change.
A new kind of public speaking guide – built on the power of story
The most memorable speakers are not necessarily the loudest or most charismatic. They are the people who know how to:
- Tell stories that create emotional connection
- Communicate complex ideas with clarity
- Hold attention without sounding rehearsed
- Speak with authority while remaining human
- Move audiences from curiosity to action
- Make people feel something; not just understand something
Maryam Pasha believes these are skills that can be learned.
This book will help you believe that what you have to say is worth saying — and show you how to find the power of your own unique voice.
Drawing on years of coaching high-profile TED and TEDx speakers and shaping talks watched by global audiences, Maryam breaks down the practical techniques behind impactful communication – demonstrating how anyone can apply them in everyday life.
Inside the book
You’ll learn how to:
- Structure talks and presentations in ways that people actually remember
- Use storytelling to persuade, inspire, and influence
- Speak more confidently without losing your natural voice
- Build emotional connection with an audience
- Transform personal experiences into compelling narratives
- Avoid the common mistakes that weaken talks and presentations
- Speak with more presence in meetings, interviews, pitches, and public settings
From boardrooms to conference stages, these techniques work because they are grounded in one essential truth: People remember stories far more than information alone.
Who it’s for
Aspiring conference speakers
Build a talk that lands, resonates, and gets remembered.
Professionals & leaders
From boardroom pitches to performance reviews – speak with authority and heart.
Activists & changemakers
Make your cause impossible to ignore by telling the right story.
Authors & educators
Bring your ideas alive in live events, panels, and press interviews.
Anyone with something to say
Experienced speaker or complete beginner – this book meets you where you are.
Praise for the book
About the author
Maryam Pasha is a storytelling strategist, producer and curator who has spent her career helping people find their voice – and use it to change the world.
As a Director and Curator for TEDxLondon and TEDxLondonWomen, and a supporter of TED’s global climate initiative Countdown, she has worked with hundreds of speakers: from Nobel Prize-winning academics and philanthropists to business leaders, activists and students – guiding each to deliver talks that land, resonate and matter.
She is co-founder of XEQUALS Studio and a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University. The Climate Curious podcast, which she co-hosts, has surpassed 4.5 million downloads in just over five years. She is also an advisor for Climate Spring and a Visiting Fellow at the Skoll Centre at Oxford University.
In ‘How To Speak So Others Listen’, Maryam distils everything she has learned coaching the world’s most compelling communicators — so that you can benefit too. Her belief is simple: Everyone has a story worth telling – and learning how to tell it can change everything.
Ready to find your voice?
‘How To Speak So Others Listen’ is available now in paperback, ebook and audiobook – narrated by Maryam Pasha herself.
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