In his book, “The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication”, John Maxwell teaches that you should speak on what you know and what you do. I believe this is an important focus to have for your speeches. When you speak on what you have experienced, you have more credibility because you can include stories and examples from your own life.

In this article, we are going to explore four key aspects of speaking on what you know and live:

1. Authenticity Builds Trust
2. Personal Stories Make Messages Memorable
3. You Speak with More Clarity and Confidence
4. Experience Provides Lessons Others Can Apply

Authenticity Builds Trust

When you speak from real experience, your audience can sense it. Your sincerity, stories, and firsthand insights naturally build credibility and connection – far more than rehearsed facts or borrowed opinions.

Contrast that with a speaker who only shares other people’s stories and experiences. Maybe this is a speaker who simply regurgitates what he has read or heard from other speakers. He doesn’t share his own ideas and experiences. He just shares quotes and ideas that are not his own. Would you find this speaker compelling and inspiring?

For example, I was at a training event once and I was listening to someone speak on leadership. During her speech she shared a story that she claimed her grandmother told her. It was a story about how you can be soft, hard, or adaptable. It was a good story, but it was not her story. It was a story she had lifted directly from the pages of a book. I had read this book myself, and she lost all credibility for me because she had claimed this was her story, but it was not.

Personal Stories Make Messages Memorable

Sharing what you’ve lived through makes your message relatable and sticky. Your experiences bring concepts to life and give your audience something they can feel, not just understand.

For example, if I was to do a speech on effective delegation, I could list several points about how to delegate effectively. This may teach the audience my ideas on how to delegate, but a story to illustrate my points would be even more effective.

For example, one time when I was in charge of an online training event, I failed to delegate effectively. I assigned someone the task of creating the breakout rooms in the Zoom software, but I didn’t explain how to make the breakout rooms because I didn’t know how to do so myself. The person I assigned this task to figured out how to create the breakout rooms, but she didn’t know to turn on the option to let participants enter the breakout rooms themselves. This meant that the event organizers had to manually assign participants to breakout rooms, and this delayed the training sessions because there were at least 100 people in attendance who needed to be assigned to breakout rooms.

The lesson I learned from this experience is that you need to properly train volunteers when you delegate a task to them. At a minimum you need to clearly explain what they need to do to help ensure that the task gets done right. It also helps if you know how to do the task yourself so you can train the person if they need help.

By sharing this story, I have given you an example of how delegation can fail when not done right. Using this story was more impactful than simply stating that you need to train someone when you delegate a task to them. This story gave you a real example of what can go wrong when you don’t delegate effectively.

You Speak with More Clarity and Confidence

When you’re speaking on something you’ve done or lived, you don’t have to fake it or force it. Your words come with conviction, detail, and energy – making your delivery more impactful and persuasive.

It much easier to remember and share a story you have lived. You don’t have to memorize it from a book because you have experienced it. You will be more confident because speaking on what you know and live comes from a place of personal truth and mastery. You’re not guessing, memorizing, or pretending – you’re sharing what you’ve lived, which means:

• You understand the topic deeply, so you’re less likely to get thrown off by questions or nerves.
• You trust yourself, because you’re not trying to impress with knowledge – you’re simply expressing your own experience.
• You have real stories and insights, which are easier to recall and communicate naturally.

This foundation of lived experience makes your delivery feel grounded and authentic. Confidence grows when you’re not worried about being right, but focused on being real – and that’s when your message truly resonates.

Experience Provides Lessons Others Can Apply

People don’t just want inspiration – they want guidance. Your real-life challenges and successes offer practical takeaways your audience can use to grow, make decisions, and move forward.

When you give advice to you audience, do you back it up with evidence? This is where sharing your experience comes into play. When you give your audience real examples that prove what you are saying is true, they can better apply those examples to their own lives.

Conclusion

When you speak on what you have lived and experienced, you will have more credibility in your speeches. Your stories will illustrate the main points of your speech, and they will help the audience to understand what you have experienced.

The next time you are preparing a speech, ask yourself if what you are going to speak on is something you know and if it is something you have lived. If you answer yes to both questions, then you have chosen a great topic because you will have knowledge and experiences to share with your audience.